6800 GS: Power Issue

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Vlad_S

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Jan 28, 2006
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I have recently bought a pci-x MSI 6800 GS. When I installed the fresh version (81.98) of Forceware drivers, the Sentinel immediately informed me that the GPU is not receiving enough power. I have a 400 W PSU, athlon 64 3500+, 2 HDD's, 1 CD-ROM and an ASUS A8N SLI mboard. Surely 400 Watts is sufficient for this system?

Forceware automatically slows down the GPU by loads - i am only getting a puny 12 fps in NFS Most Wanted menu, when I had around 40 with my stock- clocked X800 GTO.

Can anyone suggest anything? I have already tried installing the older 77.xx drivers, but, since the card is new, they do not support it.


:?:
 
What type of power supply do you have, and do you have the GS plugged into a seperate cable, or is there other stuff connected to that power line as well? I have a 6800GS from evga with a MODStream 450 watt power supply, a 3700+, 2 hdds, 2dvd rw drives, EPoX MOBO, Audigy 4 Sound, and several system powered usb devices. I have no problem whatsoever with preformance with the current drivers from nvidia.
 
No, there is no separate supply for the GPU, it all comes from the main PSU. I don't know what brand it is, it came with the ColorIt case. I personally think there should be no problems, it is just that the Forceware is falsely detecting a shortage of power. Maybe it thinks that I am in SLI mode or something, but I am not.
 
No, there is no separate supply for the GPU, it all comes from the main PSU. I don't know what brand it is, it came with the ColorIt case. I personally think there should be no problems, it is just that the Forceware is falsely detecting a shortage of power. Maybe it thinks that I am in SLI mode or something, but I am not.
Click to expand...

I am going to assume (yikes) that this is a fairly inexpensive case with an included power supply. If so... chances are it isn't even close to being a 400wt power supply! I would suggest picking up a decent power supply of at least 400 watts. Does your system require the newer ATX 24 pin format?

Oh, I hope it's a typo... you have a PCI-e vid-card... pci-x is a whole different proticol, ussually seen in server enviroments.
 
Sorry, i didnt do a good job describing what I meant about the power supply :). What I meant is, do you have any other devices hooked up to the cable your video card is connected to? Like one of the hard drives? Also, alot of times the power supply that comes included with a case are very underpowered, and do not actually put out the wattage that they say they do.
Did you use an adapter when you plugged it into the PS, or did the power supply have the connector built in? If you do have other stuff hooked to the same cable as the video card is hooked into, try giving it a dedicated cable, and see if that helps.
 
Sorry but at that price it doesn't sound like you have a 6800GS, at least not a genuine one. The fact that there isn't an additional connector on the card for the PSU makes me very nervous - the 6800 series cards can't draw enough power through the PCI-E slot alone. The product description for this card on NewEgg suggests there is a power slot. You should have received a splitter with the card to allow you to connect the card to your PSU even if your PSU does not have PCI-E compatible cables as standard.
If I've misinterpreted I'm sorry. Certainly I'd also take a closer look at your PSU anyway as Althor is definitely right on that one too!
Good luck.
 
$80 was the price for my case, GPU was around $200 😀....

Is the power slot a 6-pin black thing on the end of the card? If it is, then this whole topic was a bit pointless, sorry... 😳 I don't have a cable connected in there simply becasuse I did not get one with the card! Do they sell them separately?
 
$80 was the price for my case, GPU was around $200 😀....

Is the power slot a 6-pin black thing on the end of the card? If it is, then this whole topic was a bit pointless, sorry... 😳 I don't have a cable connected in there simply becasuse I did not get one with the card! Do they sell them separately?
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yes, they can be bought at nearly any PC store for about 2 bucks or less. I also have a 6800 GS, though mine is eVGA. It came with a DVI-VGA adapter, but no power adapters.

If you can't find them anywhere near you, they can be ordered online.

Double Edit - i really wouldn't advise using a splitter, just get a new PSU with a dedicated GPU line, should run without problems. I don't have a choice, since i have mine in a Dell Dimension e510...
 
You didn't read the documentation that came with your card, did you? Bad dog! j/k. :lol:

Yeah, that card needs its own connection to the PSU. I'd advise you to invest in a new PSU though. In the majority of situations, the PSU provided with a case is a generic piece of crap. Don't trust your system with it. Go out and buy a new one. Brands I've seen highly recommended include Antec, Enermax, OCZ, and Thermaltake.

When I built my rig just recently, I came across a good deal on an Antec SmartPower 2.0 450W PSU, so that's what I bought. It was 'PCIe-ready', meaning it had a separate lead specifically for the PCIe card (and it was labelled right on the connector - foolproof). I have the same card as you: 6800 GS. I would assume most other PSUs would be the same.
 
Would you say 450W should be enough for my system (AMD 64 3500+, 2 HDD's, 1 x 6800 GS, 1 CD ROM and a few fans) ?
 
As long as its a good or reasonable quality 450W PSU then yes, if it's a no name brand provided with the case you bought then I'd be suspicious (check the amp ratings and look up the brand online). If you are looking to buy a new 450W then that will definitely be enough if you follow the guidelines above for recommended brands.
 
i have

p4 2.8 prescott overclocked to 3.06
1 gig pc3200
1 hdd 7200rpm
1 evga 6800 gs overclocked to 400/1155
sb audigy 2
1 DVD +R/+RW
300 watt zalman hi-power 18A/12V max output on all rails 280 Watts

so, 300 watt is enough for my system. granted, this power supply is awesome. active PFC, runs cool.

:lol:
 
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