That's the problem with warranty service...

[TsR-RareAir23]

When one PC hardware component dies, every other one wants to have a turn to fail as well. First its the motherboard, then the CPU, and now its the video card! An ATi AIW Radeon 8500 128MB card has now died as well as an MSI 845GMAX-L motherboard and Pentium 4 2.4GHz 533MHz CPU. I know its dead because it won't send its picture signal to the monitor its connected to. So what now? I got an AIW Radeon 32MB DDR card in another system waiting for a new monitor I can use temporarily for the system I'm warranteeing for until ATi sends me a working AIW Radeon 8500 128MB card. Damn but you know, as a computer builder you always believe and think that these problems will never happen to a computer you build and then lightning strikes and you're screwed. Oh well. I'm sick of ranting. I am out!

[Rainbow]

Sounds like your PSU is overvolting :(

[Mike1_2001]

Are you OCing??? I've NEVER have a video card blown out in my years as a professional system builder & ODM. Give me a complete system spec including your PSU. We should be able to find out which component buggered your video card. Also use a system monitor and tell me what your AGP voltage is.

:D :D :D

[Tachyon]

Originally posted by TsR-RareAir23
When one PC hardware component dies, every other one wants to have a turn to fail as well. First its the motherboard, then the CPU, and now its the video card! An ATi AIW Radeon 8500 128MB card has now died as well as an MSI 845GMAX-L motherboard and Pentium 4 2.4GHz 533MHz CPU. I know its dead because it won't send its picture signal to the monitor its connected to. So what now? I got an AIW Radeon 32MB DDR card in another system waiting for a new monitor I can use temporarily for the system I'm warranteeing for until ATi sends me a working AIW Radeon 8500 128MB card. Damn but you know, as a computer builder you always believe and think that these problems will never happen to a computer you build and then lightning strikes and you're screwed. Oh well. I'm sick of ranting. I am out!

Try that 8500 in another machine. No video on the screen does NOT mean a bad video card- in my experience, no video is ALWAYS due to another component in the system.

I think I've had "no video" more than anyone else on these boards! Some examples:

Bad RAM: No video.
Overclocked too much: No video.
Dead CPU: No video.
RAM not seated properly: No video.
Power button wires knocked out of place or not connected properly: No video.
Bad motherboard: No video.

[TsR-RareAir23]

Well for those who wanted to help here are the specs of the system I had built. Note: absolutely no components were OCed during the making of this system:

Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz 533MHz CPU
MSI 845GMAX-L motherboard
512MB DDR333 RAM (Samsung)
ATi AIW Radeon 8500 128MB (was running Catalyst 2.5's with DX 8.1b)
Integrated AC97 sound
3COM 10/100 Etherlink NIC
D-Bracket 2
400W Allied brand dual-fan PSU
52X Sony CD-ROM
3.5" floppy
ViewSonic G90f 19"
WindowsXP Pro

All voltages were stock for the components and to make another note the MSI board required that the AGP card in its AGP 4X slot run at 1.5V. If it ran at 3.3V for example it would permanently damage the board. Also the CPU and mobo were already replaced with the same part but this time it was a working part before the video card kicked the bucket. And the video card was tested on another system at the local PC Club by a couple of acquaintances of mine and it wouldn't show a picture on that either. Hope that helps. Also the network card was in PCI slot 3. I am out!

[Mike1_2001]

Have you tried taking out all but your video card & disable your onboard stuff and tried running it??? Reset your bios too. Try that card on another system. If all else failed, that card is FUBARed.

:D :D :D

[opus512]

That does sound like a lot to be crapping out in a specific time frame.

[Apoch003]

I think every time this happens, you should just go out and buy another video card, then throw it directly in the furnace. :D
Or plug it directly into the wall with some home made soldering and a knife-cut extension cord! :D


Ooo! Better yet, just send me the money you would pay for another video card.

[Emig5m]

If this helps, on two systems I've built for people, their case wasn't lining up perfectly with the mount where you screw in the card. Turning on the system, everything sounded like it was running, but no picture what-so-ever on the monitor. In one case simply reseating the card fixed it, but on the other system, bending the mounting tab slightly on the card so that it lined up perfectly with the mounting hole fixed it.

When I build a new system, especially one that someone is paying me in one way or another to build for them and powering it on for the first time and you get no signal makes your heart skip a beat, hehe, but luckily I was able to find and fix the problem within a few minutes.

[OtakingGX]

Hmm, MSI motherboards. Cheap capacitors on those things. I've got three of them with blown capacitors right now.

I'd agree that the root source of your problem is the power supply. I bought a cheapie 450 watt PSU online and paid the ultimate price. Okay, so it wasn't that bad, but I ended up burning through over $500 in computer equipment. Asus A7M266, A7Pro, ECS K7S5A, Athlon 1333, and an Athlon 1400.

OEM and low-priced components are a boon to computer builders, but I've learned to spend a little extra when it comes to computer power supplies.

[Rainbow]

Originally posted by OtakingGX
Hmm, MSI motherboards. Cheap capacitors on those things. I've got three of them with blown capacitors right now.

I'd agree that the root source of your problem is the power supply. I bought a cheapie 450 watt PSU online and paid the ultimate price. Okay, so it wasn't that bad, but I ended up burning through over $500 in computer equipment. Asus A7M266, A7Pro, ECS K7S5A, Athlon 1333, and an Athlon 1400.

OEM and low-priced components are a boon to computer builders, but I've learned to spend a little extra when it comes to computer power supplies.


Finally someone is listening to me :bigthumb:

[OtakingGX]

Huh, did you say something?

I wasn't aware about how important a quality power supply is until this happened to me. Then months later Tom's Hardware writes up a review on power supplies and how most are lacking.

We've had power supplies catch fire and smoke at work. I think they're Achilles brand. That's not something I'd name a critical component in a PC.

[Dr. Feelgood]

I only use HEC in my own PC's... lol :) I love them, and they have never let me down.

[Ailuros]

We've had power supplies catch fire and smoke at work. I think they're Achilles brand.

I bet they even had a heel :D

[Rainbow]

Originally posted by Ailuros


I bet they even had a heel :D


Right that's it, turn the dogs on him :D :P

[Sharkfood]

When you said "when lightning strikes.." did you mean that literally? hehe.

Honestly, if you are having a domino effect of failing hardware, there is likely some other cause. It's just way too unusual to have component after component fail... unless of course this PC has been operated during a thunderstorm with no surge protector or UPS, or it's been subject to conditions of similar (or faulty PS or other critical component).

[Ailuros]

If it was literally meant what lightning concerns, then a strong UPS would be a good recommendation for the future.

Thunderstorms around here aren't that regular, but when they appear they can be pretty bad. I had last year three external modems burning out in a month, through the telephone line (yep the devices were connected to a UPS).

If a UPS isn't present I would suggest a strong one (>600W) that has actually jacks (in/out) for telephone lines.

Since we're on topic:

Shark,

Have any idea after how much time UPS batteries have to be checked/recharged?

[Sharkfood]

Depends on the UPS.

The ones I get from work are pretty beefy and on monthly maintenance. I just rotate. :)

Your typical Fry's cheapy UPS usually goes belly up after a few months. Higher end units are anywhere from 8 to 14 months battery life with any amount of usage (i.e. brownouts or power failures).

[Ailuros]

Oooops time for a checkup I guess. I shut the UPS's down when I leave or when a powercut occurs anyway, yet I've a 300W one that has only the monitor on it and it's prolly at least 1.5years old. It holds still well when a powercut occurs, but I really should play safe and have it checked out.

The bigger one (625W) is fairly new (supporting PC, office light, speakers etc.)

Thanks for that.