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My graphics card keeps crashing.

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by Vinchenz, Dec 9, 2011.

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  1. Dec 9, 2011 #1
    Vinchenz

    Vinchenz

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    I put together a new computer yesterday for my dad and after a bit of messing around with the RAM (I think one of the sticks is dead), the computer boots up no problem. I proceed to install drivers for the mobo and drivers for the graphics card (it's a Sapphire Radeon HD 6850).

    The thing is, before installing the card's drivers Windows 7 installed drivers for it on its own and it wasn't running Windows Basic, it was running Windows 7 with its graphics accelerated interface. After I inserted the disc and installed AMD Catalyst from the disc I restarted.

    First thing I notice upon start up was when I opened a window there were many after images. The computer froze and then the monitor turned black, then it starts working again and I get a notification that Windows recovered from the graphics card's crash. And it happens every. Single. Time. I do ANYTHING. I open a new window, freeze, black, crash. I right-click, same thing. I spent a good 10 minutes trying to get the computer to run in Windows Basic. And of course it fixed the problem, except now the $800 desktop is about as useful as a notebook.

    So, anyone got any ideas? I tried downloading and installing Catalyst from AMD's website rather than from the disc but the problems still persist. I hope my graphics card isn't FUBAR'd...

    Here are the specs for this computer:

    Windows 7 (32-Bit... yeah I know, I gotta upgrade this)
    AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2GHz
    Sapphire Radeon HD 6850
    4GB of RAM DDR3 1333MHz
    (Its supposed to be 8 but I think one of them is busted, also only 3.5gb is available on 32-bit Windows 7).

    I also wonder if its the power supply... which is strange, as I have the same one for my computer but other than the fact that I'm running a 3.0GHz CPU, the graphics card uses more power (this is card in question).

    My power supply is this.
     
  2. Dec 9, 2011 #2
    CarrierHack

    CarrierHack

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    You could try installing the driver's from AMD's site instead of the one's from the CD, I doubt that's the problem though. Other than that I'm afraid something's broken, as a clean windows install + right drivers can't cause any problems. The PSU should be enough for the computer.
     
  3. Dec 9, 2011 #3
    Vinchenz

    Vinchenz

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    Well it wasn't a clean Windows install (that is why it is still 32-Bit) but I uninstalled Catalyst before sticking the HDD into a new computer.

    And yes I did indeed download the Catalyst driver's from AMD after the crashes started happening. I should have mentioned this in the first post... >_>
     
  4. Dec 9, 2011 #4
    Dario FF

    Dario FF

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    I don't think it would even boot if one of the sticks was busted AFAIK.

    Anyway, if it helps, here's the PSU calculator I used from Coolermaster last time. I don't know how reliable it is, but it worked fine for my last system. I think a 600w supply should be more than enough, I currently have an AMD Radeon HD 6870 with a 500w PSU(Antec Earthwatts series), and it's worked great so far. I should clarify that I just have one HDD though, and the CPU is just an Athlon x2 2.7ghz... but the calculator tells me I should have plenty of power needed when I upgrade to a similar CPU and RAM like you mentioned.

    EDIT: Nice GPU you got btw. :v:
     
  5. Dec 10, 2011 #5
    Vinchenz

    Vinchenz

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    The RAM stick wasn't connected, I just couldn't get the computer boot with both of them in. Doing a test where I tried to boot the computer with only the stick I thought was faulty indeed makes the computer not boot. Holding down the MemOK! switch also does nothing. So yes, the stick of RAM is indeed faulty. For now its no big issue, I just hope I can send the one back without sending both of them.

    So I somehow fixed the problem. I uninstalled Catalyst and then I unplugged the power from the card and put it in as tight as I could. Not sure which one fixed the issue but I'm just not going to bother installing Catalyst. Windows 7's handy enough that it knows what drivers it needs to use so I'm OK with it. And it indeed works because I can play StarCraft II on Ultra now. :v:

    Mods can close this if they want.
     
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