Ati 4890 very loud, monitor doesnt recognize it

[yorktown776]

last night i think my 4850 overheated so i bought a 4890 to see if it was the graphics card causing problems -- i could only run windows in safe mode & there were red lines thru all pictures, videos, the desktop wallpaper, etc. i popped the 4890 in but now as soon as i bootup its spinning like crazy & the monitor doesnt recognize any device & goes to sleep.

the thing that worries me is a about a sips worth of water spilt into the ventillation at the top of my tower, but thats not too close to the GPU and the CPU certainly works fine. does anyone know what the problem could be? i know nothing about working w/ the insides of computers.

 

[brockh]

last night i think my 4850 overheated so i bought a 4890 to see if it was the graphics card causing problems -- i could only run windows in safe mode & there were red lines thru all pictures, videos, the desktop wallpaper, etc. i popped the 4890 in but now as soon as i bootup its spinning like crazy & the monitor doesnt recognize any device & goes to sleep.

the thing that worries me is a about a sips worth of water spilt into the ventillation at the top of my tower, but thats not too close to the GPU and the CPU certainly works fine. does anyone know what the problem could be? i know nothing about working w/ the insides of computers.

That could damage many components on the motherboard that cannot be replaced which deal with transferring the signals from the components. [strike]If I were you I'd disassemble everything, make sure it's all dry, and put it back together.[/strike] Before doing that, as it is a lot of work and probably a last-resort, I would wipe your hard drive and re-install the operating system (or try a different HDD) as you may have conflicting drivers.

I see you're not particularly tech-savvy so I removed part of my post. Unfortunately, water is not good for these types ofelectrical components in any way and may have severely damaged your motherboard or other parts which is probably causing this problem if that is when it started. In that case, replacing the motherboard (or getting someone to do so) will be your best option.

 

[yorktown776]

thanks, thats what the HP guy said but i was hoping he was just trying to scam me into paying extra money. if its a new motherboard were talking about, am i just as well off getting a new computer? ugh id hate to do that. cant believe a little water has fried a 2500 dollar investment.

 

[ubernoobie]

maybe it's your psu, also uncontained water = bad lol

 

[brockh]

thanks, thats what the HP guy said but i was hoping he was just trying to scam me into paying extra money. if its a new motherboard were talking about, am i just as well off getting a new computer? ugh id hate to do that. cant believe a little water has fried a 2500 dollar investment.

Replacing the motherboard is fairly easy for someone that can assemble a computer, however for someone that is not familiar with that it requires removing all the components, re-seating the CPU/cooler thermal paste, re-connecting all the power and adapter cables, and seating the motherboard itself inside the case not to mention removing all of the aforementioned parts and motherboard before doing so. I could imagine a retail outlet would charge out the ass for that, so your best bet may be finding a friend/relative/co-worker that won't screw you over to do it for a bit of money. On the bright side, it will still be cheaper than replacing all your components.

 

[yorktown776]

problem solved! (i think) i couldnt believe a tiny bit of water could fry a system like that.

i was just using the power cable of the 4850 to hook up to my psu but then i noticed a couple cables in the box, id seen some lose connectors in my tower and wondered what they were there for, afraid id knocked em lose or something. embarrassing but im a happy man at the moment, thanks again the for the advice brock, glad i probably wont to use it!

 

[brockh]

Excellent. I'm very happy for you, and don't worry, everyone who has ever touched the inside of a computer ends up doing something like that and feeling dumb after.

 

[yorktown776]

well, i spoke too soon. i downloaded the latest drivers and the computer runs fine until i try to load a game, then it shuts down. is it possible i need to upgrade the power supply? i looked up my tower (HP d5200t) and its only 460w apparently, which seems pathetically low & a lot lower than i wouldve figured.

 

[rangers]

did all this start when you put the card in or when you spilled the water

 

[yorktown776]

well, it depends what 'this' is. the problems have been numerous but all seem to relate to the GPU. at first, i couldnt boot anything graphics intensive whatsoever (including windows outside of safe mode). once i put the new card in, i can boot windows fine, run low intensity 3d applications (well, a chess program that can render in 3D & is supposed to draw off the GPU), etc. however as soon as i start actually gameplay in far cry 2 et al, the computer dies & reboots. other than that there arent problems as far as i can tell...the other thing is that running CCC seems to cause an effect where the screen gets a bunch of weird (ironically) watery looking splotches -- but one time (out of 3 or 4 ive tried) it seemed to run perfectly fine, & even rendered the sample 3d graphics...which i guess might suggest a motherboard problem.

my guess is that, if tis not a motherboard issue, the old GPU simply fried, & the towers PSU cant handle the 4890.

i just noticed that the 4850 had a 450w requirement while the 4890 has (i believe) a 500w req (and again my tower has a 460w psu). that might explain why everything is fine until something heavy duty is called for, no?

 

[brockh]

Well, if your power supply wattage is that low those are definitely symptoms of needing a higher wattage. I'd recommend at least 550-600W. Brands like Antec (EarthWatts in particular), SeaSonic, Corsair, and OCZ (ModXStream in particular) are all good choices.