7900gt question

[andr3w]

i just ordered my eVGA 7900gt from newegg and was snooping around the reviews

some people are saying they are overclocked way to much stock and it is causing problems..should i be worried? or change anything when i receive mine?

im running a 420w powersupply is this sufficient for the card? the specs say 400 is min but a few reviews state it requires a 450w.

[Nine]

I don't know about the PSU but..

if you overclock anything "way too much" it causes problems.

[thrash_head]

I am sure it will be fine straight from newegg. The PSU "should" be ok depending on what else you have in your computer. (ex. how many hd's, fans, lights, cd burners) But if your really worried about the PSU, I would go ahead and get the 550w by antec to ensure that you have enough power. BTW who is the maker of your current PSU?

[andr3w]

antec

i have 1 harddrive, 5 fans, 2 leds, 2 cd drives only 1 is a burner

if i do pick up a new one, any recommendations?

i also just bought an amd athlon dual core 3800 so im in the mood for new computer parts =o

[Janus]

my vote is the Fortron (FSP Group) AX-500 from ewiz.com

[andr3w]

whats ur take on the vid card itself janus, anything i should worry about?

[Direhit]

I personally think that's an excellent video card. As for the PSU, with a card that requires that much amperage, you may want to shy away from a dual rail PSU as some of them can't handle that much power over a single rail. If you do go with a dual rail PSU, which can be just fine, just make sure that a single rail can handle the full power requirement of your video card.

[andr3w]

awesome, thanks dire

[jabroni]

7950gt2 !!!

[Cent]

Im getting that video card too

Heres the Power Supply im getting with it:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=008357&cid=PS.808

But I looked one up on newegg if your american:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817711001#sctNav
^^^I think thats good as long as it has 2 PCI Express cables

[Karnage]

Problems with the 7900s:
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTA2OSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA

[andr3w]

article states pretty clearly that evga is doing more than another other company and working on the quality of their products.

a lifetime warranty and rma is good for me.

[Cent]

article states pretty clearly that evga is doing more than another other company and working on the quality of their products.

a lifetime warranty and rma is good for me.

evga is definately the best company and ive been reading peoples reviews about this card. The only thing bad people are saying about it is: It over heats due to the over clocking of it or something like that. So I would recommend getting atleast a 600W Power Supply, and a nice case that cools your system really well like the antec P180. Im basically dragging stuff from my "setup help" thread and what I plan on getting (been comparing prices, specs.. etc)
Also, out of the comments and people helping me, almost 99% of people agree on the evga 7900GT CO (or KO) is the best card for the price. It will run all games like F.E.A.R, Source games, Battlefield2...blahblah..etc at highest settings. Just make sure you get the right cooling.

[andr3w]

ty for the help cent, i appreciate ur time

as for my case it is pretty good at cooling..


as for the 600w psu, id have to look into thats a lil larger than i was looking to get.

if anyone has any knowledge of these cards and their problems/solutions plz post anything u know.

[Nine]

cent are you actually toronto or are you just in the gta?

[Cent]

im in toronto

[adamantium]

I recently built a computer with the 7900 GT KO, and I've had zero problems so far. I did get a new VGA cooler to replace the one that came with it, so I can't say whether or not the stock fan/heatsink works well, but the video card itself is completely awesome. I'm not at my house right now so I can't get any temperature readings, but if you'd like I can look at them and post when I get home. Just keep in mind that I did get the different VGA cooler. Here's a link to it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118001

[andr3w]

how is installation...? ive never really replaced a heatsink and fan on a video card

[adamantium]

It was simple. To remove the stock one, all I had to do was unscrew four screws. Putting on the new one was a bit more tricky, but nothing complicated. Basically I had to screw in four thumbscrew extensions into the holes that I took the old screws out of, then set the fan on top and use those thumbscrews to tighten it on. I had my brother holding the card up while I did this, it might be kind of difficult if you didn't have anyone to hold the card for you.

[andr3w]

any real chance to damage the card if ur careful?

[thrash_head]

There is always a chance you will damage any hardware if your not careful. I like to put any parts on the styrofoam that comes under a motherboard when i work it them. I sit at the table which is a good hard surface.

[adamantium]

Yeah, you always need to be careful and make sure you're doing it in a good environment, but unless you seriously fuck up hardcore, then no, you should not have any worries about damaging it. The only four holes in the card that you are working with are already there, and they're just the right size to accomodate the screws, so there's no pushing or anything requiring you to squeeze the thing together.

[andr3w]

thanks for ur help ada, im looking into purchasing that fan very soon.

card should come in the mail today, then i get to install my new mobo and processor =)

[Psychojo]

I don't know about the PSU but..

if you overclock anything "way too much" it causes problems.

Overclocking anything "way too much" isn't what causes problems. Overclocking past the hardwares limit is what causes problems. I can take my AMD CPU from 1.8GHz to 3GHz and its just fine. However it refuses to be stable after 3GHz no matter what voltage. So 3GHz is my limit.

Just check your card for artifacts with something like atitool.

[Fusion]

I am on my third 7900GTX and its broke as well. Its an eVGA and the GTX are having the same problems as the GTs. I have to underclock it to 350/400 to be able to play any games that would remotely tax it. I can't play FEAR on anything higher than the 350/400 settings Im at.

The first card I got (step up from 7800 GTX) had a faulty 6-pin connector. Second card would have artifacts in FEAR and 3dmark06. Third card started exhibiting the same problems today.

If it doesnt crash in either program, then when I exit either and return to my desktop I have artifacts on my desktop and my screen flickers every 5-10 seconds rendering my computer useless and causing me to do a hard reboot because I can't get the the Start menu to reboot through windows.

eVGA tech support has been pretty good. They'll overnight you a new card if yours is broken. Its just that the new card might not work either. Today I had some problems when I called and said I didnt want a 4th card unless I knew it worked and the tech support guy, Michael, basically tried to pin the problem on me and my computer. I explained to him all the testing I had already done as well as the numerous threads on different forums of people with the same problem. He basically said, yeah well, RMA it then. That was irritating.

Right now I'm waiting. Supposedly there is another batch that should be "better" in the next week. So I'll send back the second card, wait a week, and RMA the third one. Hopefully 4th time is a charm.

If you have any questions about it you can find me in #s-crew or #intrepids

[Janus]

that really sucks bud. I am going to keep my eyes out on similar problems such as yours. I am starting to lean towards the X1900XTX/XT instead of the 7900gtx because of all of the problems.

[andr3w]

-_-

one of the reasons i went with this card was because it was recommended in every system people were getting help putting together

havent received mine yet but =\

[adamantium]

I've had mine for a week (a little more) and I have had none of the aforementioned problems. I have played HL2, UT2k4, and Doom 3, all with no hassles whatsoever with all the specs turned all the way up. I plan on buying FEAR today and I'll tell you whether or not it hiccups when trying to run that.

[andr3w]

mine just arrived..........going to install it momentarily

[Janus]

sounds good. I didn't mean to put a downer on the card. It is an excellent card with excellent performance. I haven't heard a lot of reports of the cards going bad, but I have heard a few. Important thing is that it will be under warranty for just-in-case purposes.

[andr3w]

well its in and working great

im using the stock heatsink and fan...ill look into the one ada posted soon though just in case.

[Fusion]

Yeah let me know if you guys try FEAR. My card worked fine until I played that game, then it fried. Still works ok on other games now, just something about FEAR and 3dmark06.

[andr3w]

i picked up that zalman fan and heatsink with some artic silver and ive had zero problems..

i havent run 3dmark06 but ive played fear fine.

[adamantium]

Yeah let me know if you guys try FEAR. My card worked fine until I played that game, then it fried. Still works ok on other games now, just something about FEAR and 3dmark06.

Took a little longer for me to get FEAR than I thought it would, but I got it, and, sadly, it doesn't work :(

At first I could play for about 3 mins, then it would just freeze and I would have to reboot my computer. After installing the newest drivers, I couldn't even play for 3 mins; the loading screen would just get to 100% and then it would crash and Windows would give me the usual "this program has encountered a problem and needs to close".

I know I'm basically guaranteed to get my RMA accepted by eVGA, but I don't know if I even want to bother with it. Everything runs amazingly (even better than amazingly, perfectly) except for FEAR. I have no use for the 3dmark studio, and I'm pretty sure I can do without FEAR, so I probably won't even bother with the hassle of an RMA. They do offer cross-shipping for the 7900 GPUs, but I don't even want to open up my computer and take everything out and remove my GPU cooler and blah blah blah, so yeah.

[Fusion]

the word on the street (actually I have an email shhh) is that there is a modification to the cards they are making and will be available shortly. I get one of the new ones today (probably because I bitched a LOT). I'll let you know how it works. I plan on beating the shit out of this card.

[Fusion]

So far so good. No failure yet. I have played FEAR and run 3dmark06 a couple of times a day on it. If you can get a new batch then this card might be worth it. However, Im still leery that some day this one will fail too.