I installed an MSI HD 6970 2Gig card and the recommended power supply in reviews I read was 550W. I have a 600W PSU so I thought I would be OK. The back of the box states 650W however. Uh-oh. Oh, and the card has two 8 pin slots and comes w/ 2 8 pin to 6 pin connectors. The PSU had only one 6 pin so I connected that and got a 6 pin to 2 molex connector and crossed my fingers.

I was OK surfing the web and playing CMBN but when I fired up RoF got a black screen two minutes in and had to shut down the power via the switch in the back. Ouch! Was this just a fluke? I fired up a big land battle in ETW and same thing!

OK. Switched out the card for my old card and I am back in action - but w/ less GFX awesomeness.

Now need a rec for a new PSU for $100 or less. Any advice would be much appreciated.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLis...701W%20-%20800W

OCZ (not Fatality) , CoolerMaster and PC Power&Cooling.

FWIW, I've got a 550 watt ps, running my 6950, basically the same card and connected as you mentioned. I'm not saying your ps isn't the culprit, it could be going bad as they simply do, but if this is right after installing a new card, might try it again to be sure it was fully seated.

Is it an older PSU? Might be that it's putting more power on other rails, so the GPU isn't getting enough under load. I saw exactly the same thing on my box using the old 600W PSU while waiting for the new 750 to arrive. Tried a friends newer 600w to rule out GPU problem and it ran fine.

Recommended Power Supply Wattage Calculator:
http://support.asus.com/PowerSupply.aspx?SLanguage=en

Wattage is only part of the requirement for new cards. For example, some cards just won't run right without a strong, single 12v rail.

Certified power supplies aren't the only power supplies that will work, but getting one sure reduces the chances of having problems and takes the guesswork out. Mostly it lists for CrossFire or SLI, but getting one that is certified for multiple cards helps even if you have a single card configuration.

Certified Power Supplies for AMD/ATI:
http://support.amd.com/us/certified/power-supplies/Pages/listing.aspx

Certified Power Supplies for NVIDIA:
http://sli.nvidia.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

obviously the 650w PSU didn't have enough juice on the rails the GPU Needed.

Yep. It is a no name PSU and probably the weakest part of the build. I do not even know if it has a 12V rail.

Thanks for the info. folks - informative as always. I will probably go w/ a 750 OCZ and I will check on certification.

Any tips on installation?

Once you've got your new PSU open your case and have a good look at where your power connectors go. There's usually two cables directly connected to your MOBO, one for each HDD and DVD drive, Fans/fan controllers as well and obviously the GPU.

Once you're confident you know where they all are, touch something metal to discharge any static, or wear an antistatic wristband if you have one.

If some of your cables are routed behind the motherboard tray you will have to open the other side of your case as well. Check to see where cable ties have been used and undo them and start to remove the power cables one by one, try to be carefull not to loosen the SATA cables while your in there to avoid that heartattack moment when your PC doesn't boot!

Removing the PSU is pretty straightforward, its usually just the four screws on the rear of the PSU.
Installing the new one is pretty much the reverse of what you've just done.

If you have a modular PSU use all of the preinstalled cables first before plugging in any extra ones, take your time routing your cables tidily to maximise your airflow through the case, and double check everything is fully connected before powering on.

I gotta agree with this genius. Todays new cards are power hungry hogs and are more powerful than many of our first computers so you gotta feed them what they need or else your gonna be chasing gremlins trying to figure out problems.

Take your current supply back and get 1000 watts at least to help future proof your system.


Good Luck
Mr Wags

Thanks for the info. Bokononist.