Fun Stuff > CLIKC
The PC-building/hardware knowledge thread
Eternal_Newbie:
Thanks for the replies,
I tried both RAM sticks singly in different slots, the PSU has the right connectors for motherboard and I unplugged and reinserted them all.
Unfortunately I don't have any alternative parts to swap in. My old Motherboard is a Core 2 Dou with DDR2 ram, and the only spare PSU i have is a dodgy old 400 Watt one which I still don't know why I didn't throw out. (But I've got a dead Nvidia 9800 and an old IBM keyboard full of coffee lying about as well (I'd have even more computer crap like an AMD i386 sx40, a working EMMS card fully populated with 2 Mb RAM and IBM OS/2 Warp on 60 floppy diskettes, if I hadn't moved ) .
I've RMA'ed the motherboard and RAM as the (IMHO slightly clueless) people at EBuyer think it could be either of them. But I spent 3 days trying to get the damn thing to show a BIOS screen and that is as good a clue as any I have.
I've still got a nasty feeling it may be the PSU. I've got a new one on order.
pwhodges:
That sounds as good a way to proceed as any. And if it wasn't the PSU, you'll have a spare - all I can say to that is that I have never ended up with an unused PS!
Eternal_Newbie:
Turned out the PSU was starting to die - and it's just out of warranty, of course.
The GA-Z68X-UD3-B3 motherboard is probably not the best Z68 out there - it basically seems to be one of Gigabytes older LGA 1155 motherboard designs with a Z68 chipset droppped in, so it doesn't use all the features, but it does the job.
LTK:
I'm going to plunge into the deep end: Buy a second-hand video card. There's an MSI-manufactured GTX 560Ti that's advertised for €150; the same one is €210 on the hardware site I usually frequent. It's a reasonable price to pay and I think the amount I save on getting it second-hand will offset the risk of the possible drop in reliability.
The card is 2,2cm longer than my current one, plus the power supply cables connect at the long end as well, but I think I still have 3 cm to spare in my case. The other issue is the power consumption. NVidia lists a 500W PSU (which I have) as adequate for its GTX 560Ti range, but I know it's usually recommended to put an extra 50-100W on top of what you'll actually need when you build a computer, so that might pose a problem...
I think I'll ask the advertiser whether or not he's willing to take it back if it turns out to be nonfunctional. If he says no, I might yet consider buying one new...
bicostp:
Check the number of amps on your 12-volt rail(s). Many lower-end power supplies (OEM, the ones that come with cases, etc) pad their wattage rating by pushing tons of amperage on the 5 volt rail, where it doesn't do your video card any good.
If your power supply has two rails, keep them balanced, or move a couple devices from one to the other to give the video card enough headroom.
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