Need Help with XFX GT 240 512MB DDR 3

[wrabit]

Hello guys

I had GT 220 1GB DDR2 card which i claimed in warranty and was replaced with GT 240 DDR3 512MB by XFX the problem is that this cardis causing screen crashes while browsing otr even doing nothing system crashes and i have to restart manually , some times screen flickers for 5 or 6 seconds then comes back to normal
this is the same problem i had with my old GT 220 card i have tried drivers given on cd with the card, updated drivers nothing works the problem comes back
system specs are

HP DC 7800 Minitower
q6600 Quad 2.4 Ghz
2 GB Ram
Q35 motherboard
365 powersupply with 12v 12A

[truckpuller]

Looks like your power supply may be some what weak for the GPU....but im sure someone with more knowledge will come along.

[wrabit]

i dont think its power supply cause i had my gt 220 card woking fine for 7 months but suddenly it caused problems and it was replaced by XFX

[ShyguyXPC]

if that is indeed the Amp rating for the +12V rail on that PSU, that is atrociously low, and could very well be causing the problem.

that or they replaced it with a defective card from what they have on Hand. XFX really doesn't make Nvidia cards anymore, aside from a couple low end cards, but the ceased making Nvidia cards with the GT/GTX 200 series.

Apparently Nvidia yanked their contract for some reason.



granted the GT 240 isn't that powerful a card, it still needs decent power to run.

Needs about 70W of +12V power to run.

nVidia GeForce GT 240 GDDR3 Video Card - Reviews, Specifications, and Pictures - GPUReview.com

Sadly so does nearly everything else on the motherboard, only tapping into the 3.3 and 5V lines as needed, but items like the Video card, Drives, etc, require the +12V rail to run.

if that is a 12A rail, thats only 144W on the +12V, with 70W needed for the card, thats less than half, and would easily be eaten up by the CPU, HDD, DVD, etc.

in fact since it is a Quad core, its very possible the CPU is consuming 2/3's of that, between 100 and 125W range if I remember right. (or was some where in the neighborhood of 100W)



in any case, its a good bet it is the PSU thats just too weak to run the extra card in that system.

From what little I could find online about the PC you have, assuming this is the one (just different CPU)

HP Compaq dc7800 Convertible Minitower PC (KA590UT) specifications - HP Products and Services Products

It looks like it uses a standard ATX Power supply form factor.

So in theory you should be able to just buy a new one, take out the old and put the new in, of course after disconnecting power cables inside and reconnecting new ones, but should be relatively easy to do.

Something like this would more than be capable of running that system:
Newegg.com - Antec Basiq BP350 350W ATX12V v2.01 Power Supply

though its a 350W unit vs the HP 365W unit, it has a much more powerful +12V rail, with up to 276W on the 12V (Dual 12V Rails)

Otherwise this is one of the better deals online right now: Newegg.com - Antec VP-450 450W ATX 12V v2.3 Power Supply

in fact not long ago, Best Buy had this same unit for about $25 or $30 through their website.

[wrabit]

well thanks
i was already planning to upgrade my system and graphics card but as i received this card as replacement so thought i should make some savings and then upgrade with a better budget but sadly i m stuck as before
yes thats the system but i think it has a BTX type power supply i will check it out

[ShyguyXPC]

I think your right, it is BTX layout, at least for the case, but it should still work out, unless HP has some funky mounting positions or points for the PSU. BTX is mainly the Mobo Layout used.

but I know there are some dedicated BTX PSU's out there as well.

LOL, sadly this is the only worthwhile ATX/BTX unit on newegg, thats specifically made for either standard:

Newegg.com - Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC "compatible with Core i7" Power Supply

besides the price, its way over kill, and out of stock LOL.

probably too long front to back as well since it is such a high wattage unit, compared to most smaller low wattage units.