# Two questions: Can a powersupply fry video cards?



## pccenterllc (Jul 23, 2006)

Can a power supply fry video cards?

Can a surge cause your system to crash and restart? 

I have two GeForce 7100GS video cards that started acting up after I updated drivers. Recently a friend lent me a new video card to try in my system and everything worked. I removed his new video card and put one of mine back in the system.

I can use my video card as long as I do not install the drivers for it. If I install the drivers I get a nv4_dsp BSOD after about 5 minutes of the monitor flashing on and off. 

I was at my computer and noticed something on the video card that I didn't replace. Looking closer I realized that it was a blown capacitor. That card has several capacitors that are blown.

I looked at the other 7100 and it also has at least 1 blown capacitor. 

My system seems stable for days at a time and other times it will crash on a daily basis. Sometimes more than once. I have ordered a new video card and seeing the blown capacitors, I have also ordered a UPS. Will the UPS prevent the capacitors being blown or do I need to look into an issue with the power supply?

Recently before I noticed the blown capacitors I ran memtest86 for 17 iterations without an error. I then ran prime95 for 17 hours without any errors. This was with a video card that didn't have drivers loaded.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

pccenterllc said:


> Can a power supply fry video cards?
> 
> Can a surge cause your system to crash and restart?


Yes and yes. Low quality/underpowered PSU's are infamous for causing both of the mentioned issues.
Are you running both GPU's at once?
If we knew what we're working with we could be more in depth.

Pre-Built Brand & Model Number
Custom Built-Brand & Model of Mobo-CPU-RAM-Graphics-PSU.


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## pccenterllc (Jul 23, 2006)

At one point I was running both GPUs. 

I am not sure where to find the information you are asking for. That is partially because I am not sure what you are asking for.

I got the system from Cyberpower back in 07 and installed XP. Now I don't remember all of the specs. I know that it came with 1gig of ram and I bought 2 gigs and added it in. At the time of purchase I made sure that the specs of the 2gigs I bought matched the 1gig coming with the system.

The GPUs are PCIE, e-GeForce 7100GS with 128MB of ram. I bought them to use the SLI capabilities of the machine. Currently I only have one GPU installed, no NVIDIA drivers. Not sure if this is the model#: SH 94V-0 E248779 0636. 

The CPU is an AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual core, 4200+, 2.21GHz.

The MOBO is a MSI K9N4 SLI, nForce 500 SLI chipset, MS-7325 (V1.X).

The PSU Model# is RX-450 K (KY-550ATX) ATX 12V.

I hope that is the information that you are looking for.

For recap: What I am trying to figure out is why the capacitors on my GPUs blew out, so I can hopefully prevent that from happening with the new one I ordered. I did order a UPS in case it is an issue with surges through the power lines.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

CyberPower, as well as most all online builder's, are known for using poor quality/underpowered PSU's to increase profits.
RX-450 K is a very poor quality RaidMax unit.
KY-550ATX is of equally poor quality by Winsis.
Neither of the above are capable of powering one of those GPU's.
We suggest a minimum 550W good quality PSU for any PCI-E GPU.
The power you will need will depend on the GPU you get for a replacement.


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## pccenterllc (Jul 23, 2006)

1 "PNY GeForce GT 430 1024MB DDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 DVI+VGA+HDMI Low Profile Graphics Card VCGGT4301XPB"


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I wouldn't use one of those power supplies on any card you have mentioned. Any modern pcie gaming system these days should have a minimum of a good quality 550w psu which neither of those power supplies come anywhere near good quality.

A low quality psu or a psu that is being pushed beyond its limit can fry anything and everything inside a computer.


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## LMiller7 (Jun 21, 2010)

When a power supply, particularly one of poor quality, is pushed beyond it's capabilities it is unable to supply specified voltages on all outputs. And the power that is supplied may not be clean (contain ripple). This can happen even when the nominal power rating is not exceeded. In marginal cases there may not be any symptoms or they may only show in unusual situations. But at this point you are in uncharted territory where even the manufacturers of the graphics card and other system components aren't entirely certain what the results will be. But eventually component damage is likely and then there will be symptoms.

Edit: In addition to the above problems, poor quality PSU's are more likely to fail than better quality units. And when they do fail they may take the motherboard and other components with them. Such failures may occur without warning or apparent cause. 

The PSU is a poor place to economize in building a computer. But it is often a cost effective way of building a cheap computer if reliability is not a major concern. But the end user is always the loser in such cases.


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## pccenterllc (Jul 23, 2006)

RX-450 K (KY-550ATX) ATX 12V

That is the model number on the PSU in my case. It also said raid max on the side.

I did not know a PSU could fry chips if it was underpowered. Unfortunately I don't have tons of money to buy an expensive PSU. Especially as I just bought a new GPU and a UPS. Right now I can probably do $80-$100. That is if I am willing to listen to my wife complain about the cost. With that price range in mind what would be my best option?


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

very good price Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

even better if you plan to get a better graphics card Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

$76: Newegg.com - XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply


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## pccenterllc (Jul 23, 2006)

Thanks for your help and advice. I went with the Seasonic 620 as it is slightly larger and instock.

Of course that means I now have the fun of replacing the PSU when it arrives and hoping that I don't screw it up.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

its not difficult. If you might have difficulty in putting cables back where they are supposed to go make a diagram or write down where they go


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Make a list-draw a diagram and or take pics of all the power connections before disconnecting the power connections from the PSU. Disconnect the connectors, remove the 4 screws retaining the PSU and carefully remove it. Installation is the reverse order of removal.


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## pccenterllc (Jul 23, 2006)

That picture idea is great. I usually just count the connectors and then try and mark something near them. The picture will help improve that. 

Thank you all for your help and advice. :beerchug:


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

You're welcome and best of luck!


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