New Geforce 7800GTX Problems --HELP

[irt2]

I am having some REALLY strange issues with a pc I just built. I am posting in the graphics card/monitor section because I wasn't sure which device is causing the problem and this channel seems to get more traffic. I installed some new components, namely a new motherboard, powersupply and graphics card and switched cases - at which time all hell broke loose on a system which previously was more solid than Fort Knox.

At first when I installed the components and booted up, I couldn't get keyboard support. It just wasn't there. I used a ps2 adaptor for my usb keyboard and went into bios to see if usb support was disabled for some reason and it wasn't. I rebooted and suddenly I had usb support..... very strange. This wasn't a fix either... sometimes when I boot I won't have usb and I need to reboot with a ps2 adaptor to get it. WHAT is that?

After I got that set I changed the boot order of the hard disks so my Windows disk would boot first (dual boot Windows/Linux) and restarted, which led to an immideate blue screen of death when Windows tried to initiallize. I rebooted - same deal. I was forced to repair Windows with the cd in order to get the system to boot.

That shouldn't have happened, but whatever it seemed to be done being cranky and i went ahead and installed all the pertinent drivers and reconfigured everything and it all went well. Video games all played well, movies, music and everything worked. after about 5 days things started to break. Suddenly and without warning, I might lose my keyboard (but that only happened once and I couldn't reproduce the error so take it as you will) and my screen would start flashing like a strobe light in a sequence that ended in a blank screen and possibly unresponsive pc - I couldn't tell because the screen was blank, although events may have still been happening (i.e. I heard an AIM message go through although I didn't send one). I rebooted to find strange quotation marks and weird flashes littering the inital startup screens, the bios startup screens BEFORE any operating system kicks in. I rebooted and they were still there. I turned everything off and waited a minute and they were still there, although in lesser numbers. I thought the issue might have been my monitor but none of these errors transfer over when I boot to Knoppix, a live Linux cd.

So heres what I installed:

ASUS K8N4-E DELUXE Socket 754 ATX Motherboard
XFX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB PCI Express x16 Video Card

If this post belongs somwhere else I apologize but this is where I thought it would fit best.

If you have ANY advice on how to test these devices for issues, solutions, or suggestions PLEASE put them up because I need some help on this one. I've built more than a few systems and I have never had problems like this before.


Thanks

-Ian

 

[irt2]

I have attached a picture that shows the image fragments on boot to help you see whats going on. Its blurry because the camera I took the photo with couldn't get any better, but those dots are quotation marks. Thanks -Ian

 

[Cromewell]

What PSU do you have?

It's odd that doesn't happen when you boot Linux but I'd suggest exhanging the card for a new one.

 

[irt2]

What PSU do you have?

It's odd that doesn't happen when you boot Linux but I'd suggest exhanging the card for a new one.

I installed a Enermax Noisetaker 600W power supply.

I'm starting to think that the problem is in the motherboard since the fonts are displayed correctly in Knoppix, the live cd, and not in the boot-up.

I'm calling Asus first chance I get to see what they say about it.

Thanks

-Ian

 

[Cromewell]

If the problem was the motherboard it would exist in knoppix too. That it happens right at the POST screen suggests video card (it runs off of a generic VGA driver there).

 

[irt2]

If the problem was the motherboard it would exist in knoppix too. That it happens right at the POST screen suggests video card (it runs off of a generic VGA driver there).

If the problem does lie in the graphics card, then could it be a problem with overheating? I am running this system in a 4u rackmount case (all my other equipment was in racks so it was just easier) which has led me to question its ventillation (I run an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ at 55 degrees celsius under load with the motherboard hovering between 45 and 50 degrees celsius - I have been told that these are ok numbers given that modern processors (especially AMD) run fairly hot). I have 1 60mm, 2 80mm, and one 120mm fan to cool the system - which I thought cooled the system decently - but the heatsink on the card itself becomes EXTREMELY hot to the touch under excessive load (say gaming or video editing) and I wonder if it can't cool itself well enough?

 

[Cromewell]

It could be, too hot too touch isn't accurate enough though. The card has a thermal sensor that you can monitor if you can boot to windows and goto display proterties->settings->advanced->nvidia GeForce7800GTX->click temperature on the side tab that appears.

 

[irt2]

It could be, too hot too touch isn't accurate enough though. The card has a thermal sensor that you can monitor if you can boot to windows and goto display proterties->settings->advanced->nvidia GeForce7800GTX->click temperature on the side tab that appears.

Did that and currently, at idle, I am getting 62 degrees celsius for the core temperature. That doesn't seem obscenely hot and the core slowdown threshhold is set at 115 degrees stock.

 

[Praetor]

Did that and currently, at idle, I am getting 62 degrees celsius for the core temperature. That doesn't seem obscenely hot and the core slowdown threshhold is set at 115 degrees stock.

Not too hot (although iwas expecting 50s) at all What other devices are powered by the cable powering the VC?

 

[irt2]

Not too hot (although iwas expecting 50s) at all What other devices are powered by the cable powering the VC?

No other devices are running off that line, the Noistaker is SLI certified and has two lines each dedicated to a card, I am only using one of them.