Problem: 4870x2 or PSU?

[leonardo7w]

Hello guys,
Recently I had noticed some problems in my computer and I need some help from who knows 😀
First of all, when I played Battlefield 2, there were some black circles in the ground, like texture problems, so I thought it was the driver.
Later, Windows started having problems with the driver, and said it stoped working or just appeared BSOD :S
And now the PC doesn't boot, or seems it boots "slow" showing some stripes over POST screens, and then the display doesn't recieves signal. When you leave the computer 1 or 2 days quiet, and restart it works some minutes, and fails again.

I made this tests:
1) disassemble and reassemble all components in the pc, using even the other pci-e slot
2) using my VGA and PSU with other MB, and failed again
3) using my PSU with a ati HD 5770 it worked with both 6-pin adapter, but I suppose it's not the same power consumption

So, my question is: what could be the problem? vga o psu? or should i try another psu to know that?

Sorry for my english, i'm argentinian.

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
4 GB RAM DDR2 800 Kingston
MB MSI K9A2-CF
SAPPHIRE HD4870x2
PSU OCZ600SXS
HDD SATA 320 Samsung + IDE 250 Maxtor
DVD-RW LG Optical Drive

 

[hunter315]

If you are noticing graphical issues at the POST screen its quite likely to be a GPU issue and not a power supply issue, power consumption is fairly minimal at POST. Have you cleaned all the dust out of the system to make sure nothing has a clogged heatsink that is making it overheat?


Also, just to be sure, what power supply do you have? The 4870x2 is reasonably power hungry but not nearly as bad as some of the newer dual GPU cards.

 

[leonardo7w]

Overheat problems are not, because sometimes Windows started and i saw that temps were ok.
I tried also with the "VideoCardStabilityTest" to test the VGA, but driver failed and the temps were reasonable for that vga.

My power supply is a OCZ 600 SXS. Here's a picture same than the sticker on the side http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/98/ocz600sxs600watt.jpg/sr=1

 

[hunter315]

Its a good unit with more than enough power for the 4870x2 so im thinking thats not likely to be the issue, as it is a solid unit that got a Golden award from hardware secrets and used decent parts that should last many years.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/OCZ-StealthXStream-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/451/1

4870x2s were known to have a higher failure rate than a single GPU card due to their high heat output in such a confined area so i find it plausible that your 4870x2 has reached the end of its life, especially since a 5770 works just fine in your system, yes it has a lower power draw, but it also puts about the same stress on the PSU at boot so if the PSU was causing the stripes the 5770 should show them to and since it doesnt im betting on the GPU.

 

[leonardo7w]

Ok, thanks a lot 😀
I didn't know both VGA consume the same energy at boot.
I supposed the 4870x2 needed more, so maybe the PSU could be the problem, but with that you say i will be looking for a new vga =/.
Do you know where I should look for info about this kind of issues and how to repair it?

 

[leonardo7w]

Best answer selected by leonardo7w.