[theholygod]

Hi

I made a thread recently about the requirements of the GeForce 280 GTX.

I got the card in the post today and found I had mistaken my 8pin motherboard plug from my power supply for a 8pin PCI-e plug. Fortunately EVGA had provided a couple of adapters: 2 4pin to 1 6 pin, and 2 6 pin to 1 8 pin.

I already have a single 6pin on my power supply, so i ended up using 3 adapters to convert 4 lots of 4 pin plugs into a single 8 pin plug.

Turned on my computer, everything running fine, played some games for about half an hour. After restarting I started to get some "graphics card has stopped responding" errors and distorted red pixels all over the screen. After a few tries playing with different driver versions the problem started to occur on the black and white boot screen.

I am sending this card back for a replacement. Do you think it is my fault that the card broke? I can't find any PSU's with more than 1 6pin plug or even a single 8pin, so I would assume that many people have ended up trying to use the adapters like I have.

Thanks

[Martyr2]

Well this GPU is known to have a huge power demand and some enthusiasts insist it is a bit too much. So 1) Make sure you have AT LEAST a 550 watt power supply or else the card is not going to get enough juice. 2) Make sure that your system is cooled efficiently because this card gets quite hot because of the power consumption. It is known to run upwards of 105 degrees C. 3) Never put that many adapters in a system especially with power.

You might want to check out the corsair line of power supplies they typically come with the right connections. Your board should have the 1 main power connector (24 pin) and then a 8 pin connector which can be split into 2 4 pins if you need to. Given the juice that your card will want it is probably best to do the full 8 pin connector that a power supply like a corsair will give you. You may not see these 8 pin connectors on power supplies less than 550w because you can get away with just 4 pins. Since the power supply can supply extra juice for high performance cards it then adds in the 8 pin connector.

And yes you may be screwing up the card with the power. Video cards can be very finicky with their power. Either you are underpowering it and the restart just pointed out the fact (boot up would suck the most power) or your chaining of connectors is the problem.

So check out your power supply, make sure it is at least 550 but I would go with something like a 650 and make sure that it comes with an 8pin connector for your 8pin on the board so that it can power everything.

Hope this helps!

[theholygod]

Thanks Martyr

I currently have a 650w PSU but I guess I need the correct connectors and amps. A friend has suggested I buy http://www.overclock...rodid=CA-033-TG

I'm pretty confident my cooling should be fine. I have a very nice Antec case (Antec 900) and my Geforce 8800 GTS 512 never goes above 65c on the lowest fan settings.

[MorphiusFaydal]

That PSU should be fine. A little smaller than I'd prefer (I'd say to try and find a 550 or 600w version if you can), but it should work.

[theholygod]

Ah, I didn't notice the wattage. I was looking at "Power Max: 800W" in the technical data.

Found the 600w version http://www.overclock...orce%20II%20PSU

Is that a fair price?

[GWatt]

That's a fair price.
It wouldn't hurt to have one that supported a bit more wattage, but if that's enough for you then I'd recommend getting it.

[PsychoCoder]

Or you could just do like me and get a 1000 watt power supply. I know, it's overkill, but I have a lot of hardware and my video card seemed to need a lot of power as well

[theholygod]

I'm not really used to spending more than £40 on a PSU

[MorphiusFaydal]

The more you spend, the better it is (usually). Better capacitors, higher wattage, higher amperage, better efficiency. There are some exceptions to the rule, but for the most part.... Quality really does scale with price.

[theholygod]

Yeah, I get through the cheap ones pretty quick. How often do you guys replace the PSU?

[MorphiusFaydal]

I've never had to replace a PSU. I usually buy a new one when I buy a whole new machine though. But my older ones are still good, even 5 or 6 years on. Admittedly, they are still in the machine that I bought them for, but they still work just as well as the day I bought them.

[KYA]

I bought a new one when I bought a 8800 GTX a year ago. Rosewill makes good products.