How concerned should i be ? weird screen from psu/graphics?

[compsarethebest]

Hey guys I have just purchased a new $1300 computer with a APEVIA ATX-AP900W PSU and a radeon 7970 graphics card. After receving my computer i noticed that it was displaying weird things on my monitor. The screen has i guess what i believe to be artifacts, sometimes pixellated lines and vertical lines and such. I returne the graphics card thinking it was defective. After researching more on the internet i found out that my psu isnt very good. I was wondering if this particular psu could have caused this and if i should be concerned with keeping this psu? do i have to replace it? if so do i have to replace it immediately to keep my purchase safe? I would love to hear some feedback

 

[shamsmu]

if you could try out that gpu onto another system and make sure it works fine, then yes it is very likely to be a psu fault. The Apevia atx has quad 12v rails with 25A output in each rail but even so, it seems too unreliable and you might have a faulty unit.

Hd7970 draws heaps of power and you need at least a quality 500-550w for that. Though I'd suggest a quality 650w psu if you have overclocking in mind. A Corsair tx/hx 650/750w or antec Truepower 650/750 would be the best way to go.

 

[compsarethebest]

thanks for your reply. You have no idea how much i appreciate it! one last thing though say that I didnt have another system to test the graphics card, is there another way to know that its psu's fault? And from your tone it seems that you are heavily suggesting that i should replace the psu regardless am i correct?

 

[shamsmu]

yes you should consider replacing the psu if you know for sure the gpu is not faulty. In all honestly, I cannot think of another way except for trying it out on another system. Maybe you can see a local pc store in regards to this they usually do it free of charge. Have you tried installing the catalyst 13.1 drivers?

 

[compsarethebest]

last thing ! in your opinion, say the card was faulty to begin with and everything seems to be working just fine. Do you think its still within my best interest to get a corsair psu? ultimately is it risky keeping the psu that i have?

 

[shamsmu]

yes a psu is the heart of a system and it is something you shouldn't leave to chances- like if the psu fails, it can potentially take the entire system with it.

So I'd strongly recommend you to get the corsair tx650 or the tx750/tx850 if you want to use dual hd7970 in the future.

 

[compsarethebest]

Best answer selected by compsarethebest.

 

[compsarethebest]

ok ill buy an hx850! that be cool too right? which is the better on hx or tx?

 

[shamsmu]

ok ill buy an hx850! that be cool too right? which is the better on hx or tx?

Good choice on deciding to get a bigger psu, its always better to have more headroom for future upgrades.
hx should be better I suppose since its silver rated and modular so easier cable management.
However, in terms of real life performance, I think they are about the same. I have had tx850 for a long time and always been happy with it.

 

[compsarethebest]

thanks shamsmu you helped a lot! like you have no idea how this problem was on my mind and it was pretty much crippling me from doing anything else. I will buy an hx (cause they are the same price right now) and ill install that, wait for my graphics card and set that up and hope that itll fix all my issues. thanks for helping a newbie like me! all the best to you