burnt bits :(

[powned]

Hi, just built new system... rig in sig.

tested with memtest/prime95, prime, all was ok for 2 hours but i had to end test early. i ocd my xtx with ati overdrive but found it slightly unstable so i reduced mem an core by 10 mhz and that fixed probs i was having hanging in 3d05.

Just been playing BF2 for about 2 hours an the display went all strange.. like loads of blocks, and lines and it froze like that (bit like when a spectrum game loads ). so i powered down and rebooted and got a red message on boot up telling me to hook my gfx card up to the psu, like my gfx card had blown .. i turned the pc off for 10 mins thinkin the gfx had got to hot but got the same red message again.
So i unplug my xtx from the pci-e slot and also find the power cable that adapts 2 molex connections to 1 pci-e gfx card connection has a brown patch like it has burned.. i plug it back in to the pci-e slot and its ok (used different molex connections this time).. i see the POST screen but i get a message telling my my overclock failed and i have to go into bios setup. Also on POST it seems to search for USB longer than it did... and when i got into windows it installed a couple of devices (forget what now). Now i have reset my overclock on my cpu and gfx and im gonna test it like this.. but anyone have any ideas y this happend? is it my gfx/cpu/mobo or my overclock?

my 3d05 score is back down to 9001 now and im worried somethin is on its way out

any help much appreciated

 

[fornowagain]

What part had the burn mark, the cable? It's a sure sign something's getting way to hot. Could be pulling to much current for the wire gauge or a bad joint. I'd take notice, its a cause of fire. The XTX on overclock can pull 150w. Is there a single PCI-E feed from the PSU to the card? The PCI-E feed is six wires, if you use a molex 4 core feed its got to be fed from two different feeds, 8 wires into 6.

 

[powned]

its the 6 pin plug that connects to the pci-e gfx card that has the burn mark. It is not a direct feed from the psu but it is two 4 pin molex connecters converted into one 6 pin pci-e conection.
Funny you should mention a bad joint, when i was installing the gfx card the supplied 6 pin connection i mention above took a lot of work to fit in the gfx card.. lemme elaborate:
the 6 pin plug has inside each pin, what i would describe as a sleeve of metal comprising of 2 pieces. the pins on the gfx cards socket sit inside these sleeves. on one of these sleeves the two parts seemed to be crushed together which stopped me from plugging it in the the gfx card.. i had to prise the 2 bits apart with a sharp object in order to make the plug fit the socket.

I suspect if i rma the gfx card i will be told it is working fine

wonder y it would make my bios throw a wobbler and not like its oc setting anymore

cheers

 

[fornowagain]

Sounds like a poor contact and it was arcing across. It may have done some damage to the PSU. If the voltage regulation circuit is fluctuating to much that would effect your overclock. Maybe it time for a PSU with dedicated SLI PCI-E feeds?

 

[powned]

Heres a pic, u can see the burns on the close up pics. And the bottom pic is the 2 molex connectors that plug into the pci-e connector.

Think i will try and RMA it, the burn has occoured on a part that came with the vid card so dont see how they can say no (didnt buy from ocuk btw). Any ideas as to why when i POST it takes a lot longer to initialize usb devices? am gonna reset my bios now so i hope that fixes it

edit: tempted to get a crossfire setup now and a nice psu to go with it

 

[fornowagain]

edit: tempted to get a crossfire setup now and a nice psu to go with it

Well now's the time to do it, at least if you buy a master card you can still play whilst the RMA is going through. Any thoughts on the PSU, those two cards are going to pull 280W alone. Check this article before you make up your mind.

 

[powned]

cheers.. bookmarked

might just RMA for a refund..coz the prices have dropped a fair bit in the last week or so (hope i get the full ammount back) was looking at ocuks crossfire deals which look quite tempting.. i think id order the new stuff then RMA this card when the new gear arrives