New display card not working (Radeon HD 7770)

[ecolier]

Hi I am new to the forum, would like to ask a question please. I did search for this and since the symptoms are so specific I have a very rough idea about what *may* be the problem but no definite answers. So here goes...

I have a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Li 3740 (http://pdfs.icecat.biz/pdf/22080900-8395.pdf), specs as follows:

MoBo: MSI MS7504
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33Ghz
Ram: 3Gb DDR2 SD-RAM
Display (original): GeForce 9500GS (cheap and nasty OEM card)
PSU: Delta Electronics 400W

Bought the Radeon HD 7770 and received it yesterday. Slotted it into the PCI-e slot and plugged in the 6pin PCI-e power connector (surprised that this PSU actually has one of these). The card worked fine - installed all the drivers etc.

Was playing on Mafia II when FPS suddenly dropped from 30-odd to 5/6 constant. Then on exiting and launching GTA IV BSOD and computer restarted.

After restart booted into Windows successfully (but that was the last time), tried playing Mafia II and error message "No display card detected" (or something similar). DxDiag showed disabled DirectDraw / Direct3D / AGP Texture. Restarted - how wrong I was!

The computer was never able to be booted back into Windows after that restart. It either (1) says no signal to monitor and the fan of the graphics card spins at full speed or (2) will go on to Windows 8 loadscreen, and then flicker so my monitor keeps going between 'Input: HDMI / 1080p' and 'No signal'.

Now I *think* from reading various forums that it may be a PSU issue (i.e. 400W is not enough), as the manufacturer of the 7770 did recommend 450W minimum. However I also read that 400W should be enough for the card as it wouldn't be drawing that much power anyway. So before I ditch my faithful Delta PSU which I have lived with for >4 years and part with more cash for a PSU, can any helpful soul advise if this sounds like a PSU problem or something more? Thanks! 😀

 

[FoxwoodForgemoor]

Okay, I am not an expert on these things, but here:

1. You said the FPS dropped and suddenly a BSOD happened on GTA IV. Might be a drivers problem if it caused a software error.

2. I currently have intergrated graphics on my build, and sometimes that cuts out and I have to do system restore. Surely the drivers must have created a restore point, so go back to it.

3. If all else fails, do the best thing of taking it out, checking it, plugging it back in again in the PCI and conencting it to the power, making sure there are no damages on the card.

4. If it is the PSU, then I suggest getting a cheap CX-600W for £60/$80 and then you don't have to fork out say £100 for a 1200W or somthing.

 

[ecolier]

Thanks! Can anyone explain if the symptoms are likely to be due to the PSU not providing enough power? Also I wonder why the card worked for a few hours before giving up - can this still mean the PSU is not up to the job?

 

[haider95]

PSU problems cause stuttering and random shutting off/BSOD's. I might be wrong but i truly believe this is a PSU problem.. you should be able to get a corsair builder 430watts power supply fairly cheap which would be enough for your system

 

[ecolier]

Thanks again. I am just not sure if it is a PSU problem that's all. There's people on this forum who wanted to fit a 7850 in a Dell PSU (which I assume is an OEM one, and similar to mine) 375W rated and I have a 400W just trying to work a 7770. As the current PSU works fine I don't really want to change it that's all.

 

[ecolier]

Just to refresh the question: I bought a CoolerMaster Elite 500W PSU to power the 7770. However I still cannot boot into Windows!! Very frustrating - now the symptoms are (1) bios screen and windows load screen shown (2) cannot boot into windows proper - a flicker of blue / purple after windows boot screen, occasionally I can see the cursor which I can move about on a black background but so far cannot boot into windows login screen yet.

I have (1) unstalled all nVidia drivers (was using a 9500GS before) (2) uninstalled all AMD drivers (the 7770 did work for a few hours before) - still no joy. The comp boots into Safe Mode successfully (in fact I am typing on it now), with full recognition of the 7770 in control panel, so I honestly believe it is a software problem.

Any ideas what's wrong? Thanks in advance again.

 

[haider95]

Okay have you tried re-installing windows? salvage your data by booting into the pc with safe mode and then re-install windows to see if that works. Use the drivers that came with the card. You shouldn't have bought that PSU btw. For about 5 Pounds more you could've gotten the xfx one! return it if you still can. Before you do that run driver sweeper then install latest drivers (Or the ones that came with the card for now) let us know how it goes and please for Gods sake return that PSU btw dell oem PSU's are good but not that good

 

[Sophie King]

Although my issue varies from yours, I have the exact same card with a PSU of 700watt yet I still get blue screen and I can not run Skyrim or GTA for more than 10 minutes before it crashes and I have tor restart my PC. I got mine from Amazon and rung and explained my issue, they replaced my card with a new one but it still does exactly the same thing. I have updated my drivers (which in fact only made it worse) I've tried changing my fan speed (which works but still eventually crashes.) I have had no response from AMD, my person opinion is this card causes everyone who owns it issues.

More than welcome to read through my forum topic and see if any of the solutions help but as of yet I can not get this card to work and I have been trying for over 6 months:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1723243/asus-radeon-7770-crashes-playing-games.html#11097507