Weirdest Problem I Have Ever Had (Gtx 260)

[SpamShadow]

Here's my setup:
ASUS M4A89GTD PRO
XFX GTX 260
4GB Gskill DDR3 1600
Phenom II x4 955
OCZ Fatal1ty 550w


The mobo refuses to detect the video card. When I start it up, even with the PCI-e bus chosen as the primary display controller, it still reverts to the integrated chip. So I disabled the integrated chip in the BIOS. Now the computer won't start at all. That's when things got weird....

When I start the computer up, everything starts up but the video card, and then nothing happens. Fans run, disks spin, but no display, no fan running on the card, nothing.

When I try to shut the computer off though, suddenly the video card comes to life, spinning its fan (it seems) as fast as it can. I let it sit as long as I was comfortable (a minute or so) and nothing happened, no display, no POST beep, nothing. So I switched off the PSU.

So clearly the card works and can be powered on, but for some reason it only works at really weird moments. I hate to suggest it, but you think the PSU isn't powerful enough? Seems like it should be able to cut it, I've heard of people running GTX 260s on 450W psus. Regardless, it should still start and at least POST.


Any thoughts? I'm getting pretty desperate. There's a lot of college student money at stake here.

thanks.

 

[SpamShadow]

Will take it over today and try it out in a friend's computer.

More evidence of mobo issues:
ran speedfan, reported one of the temp sensors at -128C
usb ports randomly stop working

 

[nforce4max]

OK I think that you practically solved ware your problem is. When you got ports going bad on top of every thing else you got a bad board.

 

[SpamShadow]

Alright, going to RMA the mobo, will let you know how the replacement works out.

 

[victordilorenzo]

To save yourself some money in the future, buy the corsair 950 watt or 1000 watt. Those will last you a lot longer. I bought the 550 and am regretting it because when I build a new system im gonna have to buy a larger PSU, so it was a waste...

 

[SpamShadow]

Ok, quick recap:

USB issues, video card not starting, memory not working in certain slots, general system instability

I purchased a new PSU, brand new XFX 650W, single rail, works great, no change in system problems.

I RMAed my motherboard. USB and stability issues have resolved themselves, computer is running great now, memory functioning in proper slots.

STILL the video card won't work. I have it hooked up, the PCI-e bus is the primary video controller in BIOS, it has all the power it needs, but still it won't start. Sometimes, after I shut the computer off, suddenly the card will come to life, spinning its fan like mad, but not doing anything else, nothing is output to the screen. It can't be the mobo or the psu, both have been replaced.

Is there a chance the card isn't sitting right in my case and isn't making complete contact with the PCI-e bus? Any suggestions? Or should I just RMA the card?

Edit: I also noticed that this card came without the cap for the SLI port on the top, maybe its been opened before?

 

[iam2thecrowe]

rma the card. you have pretty much ruled out all other possibilities that would cause the card not to work.

 

[SpamShadow]

RMAed GTX 260, was out of stock. I got an HIS 5850 instead, arrived and installed today, working great! Thanks all. Honorable mention to nforce4max for identifying mobo issues!

 

[SpamShadow]

Best answer selected by SpamShadow.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey