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My problem, since day 1.

M

mussafry89

Weaksauce
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
93
This is my rig:

Asus Maximus II
Intel Q9450
eVGA GTX280
2x2gb DDR21000
Corsair 1000HX
2x 640GB AAKS Drives

Okay, ive had my CPU since like June 16th, and it has been sitting there doing nothing. I was waiting for the GTX280 to release, and i was still deciding on a mobo. After i got the mobo, the GTX280 that i wanted was never in stock (eVGA Watercooled version) So i went ahead and i bought a shitty Gigabyte 8500 ($50) just so i can have a desktop running.

So when i got the VGA card i started building my system, everything was good so far, turned it on, everything worked but i got NO Display, and i couldnt turn my PC off , i had to switch the PSU off in order to do so.
Didnt know what was wrong, so i took the CPU out and looked at the pins, i saw a few were damaged (on the mobo) I just put it back in and to m surprise i got a display.But the screen was really messed up, like block of random colors and shit, i thought this was normal and i installed windows. Still the screen was really messed up. So i went ahead and installed the VGA card drivers. Had to restart my PC, my PC was stuck. It doesnt load into windows anymore, at all. So i thought it was the mobo.

i RMA'd the mobo, received a brand new one today. Set everything up. EXACT SAME THING happened. at the start, no display. Took CPU out put it back in, i got a display but screen messed up. Installed windows, installed VGA drivers, and i cant get back into windows now. It stays on a black screen then it just restarts, and repeats a million times.

I really dont know whats wrong. Can any1 help me? Im sorry if its really long >_< but this is really pissing me off. and the gay thing is, i bought the CPU on the 16th of june, and now its the 17th of July. I dont know if i can RMA it :'(
 
You can RMA back to the manufacturer. If that's a retail Q9450, you have a 3-year warranty on it. If it's OEM, you have a 90-day warranty on it.

You never mentioned it but the system was working just fine with the 8500GT correct?
 
No, It didnt. This is a new system, i built the system once i got the 8500. I couldnt be bothered to wait for the VGA card i want to come in stock (been waiting for 2 weeks+). could it be the VGA? I thought it was the CPU because i remember i didn't mount the heatsink properly, and the CPU hit 90c, turned it off ASAP and fixed it. Its running at ~ 40 now.
 
Test every single part, except for the motherboard, in another PC if you can.
 
I dont have access to anything else >_< all i have is laptops :p And all my friends only have laptops (university) no1 has a damn desktop >_<
 
Ok, so the problems occur with both the 8500GT and GTX280, correct?

And it could be a RAM problem as well. Go into the BIOs, if you can, and set the RAM timings and voltage manually.
 
nono, i dont have a GTX280 yet. I am still waiting for the one i want to come in stock.

Im about to go to sleep, ill try that tomorrow morning. Thanks for the advice ^_^

But, can you explain why my screen is really messed up? Is that something normal. Its a 24" screen. I told some1 about that, and he said it was fine that its messed up at the start.
 
No thats NOT normal.

If you truly want to make sure it isn't your monitor, hook it up to one of you laptops and activate it as a second display.... everything should show fine.


I'm thinking your video card is wacked. Do you have another one laying around? Any old shitty PCI card will do. You can test with it.
 
Since you mentioned that the CPU looks damaged, and also that you had HSF installation problems, why wouldn't you think the problem is with the CPU?
 
Yah, sounds like the vidcard or RAM, to me. RMA the vidcard if you can, and run memtest on the RAM for several full passes.

Standpoint said:
Since you mentioned that the CPU looks damaged, and also that you had HSF installation problems, why wouldn't you think the problem is with the CPU?
Click to expand...

Because these CPUs are designed to shut themselves off before turning into a ball of fire. I'm not saying that mechanism always works, nor that the chip reaching such high temps won't have any permanent effects; but you can always RMA the CPU if needed. Wait, he said the pins on the MOBO were damaged (these CPUs don't have pins), and he already RMA'd the mobo, so he's fine with the CPU.
 
Yeh, i know its NOT my monitor. I use it with my laptop. But, what i meant was. Is it normal that im getting a fucked up screen because i havnt installed video card drivers?

- I cant run mem test cause i cant get into windows >_> Like i dont even know what to do :p How do i reformat a drive where i cant even boot te CD. All i can do is get into BIOS.

I have a large feeling its the Video card, since its pretty hard to damage the CPU. I might as well just order a damn GTX280 with another 2x2gb kit since they are so cheap. And hopefully, the problem is with the video card and i can run 8gb ^_^
 
mussafry89 said:
Is it normal that im getting a fucked up screen because i havnt installed video card drivers?
Click to expand...
It's not due to not installing video drivers. It's simply that video card is defective. So whether or no you install drivers, you still have a fucked up video card.
 
But how can you explain the fact i cant log into windows. It just stays black for 2-3 mins then it resets the PC fully.
 
mussafry89 said:
But how can you explain the fact i cant log into windows. It just stays black for 2-3 mins then it resets the PC fully.
Click to expand...

I've seen some cases when that has happened as the result of a bad GPU.

Then again, I've seen the same behavior with bad drives. Could be hard drive troubles as well then.

Oh and you don't need to get into Windows to run Memtest. Memtest is a bootable testing software. No need for a host OS whatsoever.

Hmm, before spending $500 on a new GPU hoping it will work, buy another motherboard that's compatible with your parts just for testing purposes. Buy it locally if you can so that you can return it later on without having to pay a 15% restocking fee.
 
Sounds to me like your video card RAM is corrupted which causes all the artifacts on the screen.

Go to the for sale section of this forum and pick up a cheap older video card to test with and then consider an RMA on the video card you bought.
 
Go back to basics.
Remove anything not needed to post.
Gointo the bios.
If possible try a different vid cable just to make sure its not that.
Is the display messed up ??
If it is then I would say its the vid cards memory that is bad.

Luck............ :D
 
Hmm, Ok the artifacts could be from the VGA (Most probably) Im gonna buy the GTX280 on monday and ill RMA the VGA card.

But, how come i cant get back into windows. It was fine before i installed the display drivers on the CD. Could the display drivers really prevent me from getting back into windows? What a shitty shitty VGA card.

eVGA 280TX FTW Edition! Woo.
 
Without video drivers installed, the GPU isnt ready for use and therefore is not initialised.
Once drivers are installed, the GPU tries to initialise and is failing, giving a blank screen.
You will only be able to use this card without drivers installed.
 
Eh, I've used $20 cards that work fine. I think Gigabyte is just making some bad vidcards right now, lol.
 
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