Originally posted by noquarter

Well the power supply has a chance at being defective just like any computer part - it SHOULD work, but you also shouldn't be losing signal - so obviously something isn't working right :)  Also just cuz a power supply says it's x amount of watts doesn't guarantee anything about stability or quality.  There's actually a somewhat decent list here that has some power supply rankings.  As you can see, even power supplies from the same company vary widely on quality.

 

The more I read about that card the more it sounds like it may be the overvoltage protection or overcurrent protection like Nitrox was saying.  But I still find it strange that both video cards would have the same problem unless they sent you back the same exact video card you sent in after they tested it.

nah PNY didn't send me the same card back. i remembered how my old card looked like and this is one is completely different plus it was nice and clean, lol. and the tech told me that on his system it said that they sent me a new one to... and to add on im sorta worried if download that Gaming Hud thing and try to fix this problem that i will mess up something.  i mean some of you are saying its probably my power supply...so maybe i may try to get a new one...or i can do a full system restore to factory settings first with Gateway first? or since my PC is still under 1 yr manufactory warranty i can send it in to them as well for repairs?

if you're under warranty a tech call should be free maybe it's a known issue they can deal with.  Or was the 9600 aftermarket?  I guess it was since it's from PNY.

Usually to get through problems associated with a computer you look at if any of these are the problem.

• User Error
• Driver Issues
• Malware
• Overheating
• Faulty Power Supplies(especially true with OEMs)
• Failed BIOS Flash
• Faulty Motherboard
• Faulty Hard Disk

I find that there is rarely ever a problem because of the GPU, CPU, or memory if it is properly installed.

Originally posted by Cleffy

Usually to get through problems associated with a computer you look at if any of these are the problem.

• User Error
• Driver Issues
• Malware
• Overheating
• Faulty Power Supplies(especially true with OEMs)
• Failed BIOS Flash
• Faulty Motherboard
• Faulty Hard Disk

I find that there is rarely ever a problem because of the GPU, CPU, or memory if it is properly installed.

so what i think im going to do first on tuesday or wednesday is do a full system restore to factory settings with gateway over the phone. they said they can walk me through it since its not a regular system restore to a few days ago that i can do by myself. the PNY tech told me on my previous 9600gt that it sounded like my card was overheating, so told me just to send my old one and and they'll send me a new one, which they did.....and for Noquarter yea this one is an aftermarket videocard i bought at Best Buy...my system came with a nvidia geforce 8600gt 512mb installed already from gateway.

if they full system restroe doesn't work then. i definately have to send it in to gateway to see if they can repair it. iv always had gateways since my first PC i ever had..this is the first one thats actually giving me problems...with that in mind maybe i should of just boughten the Dell XPS 630 i was comparing/nedotiating the Gateway with, lol. got the gateway because they gave me a little bit better of a good deal.

I don't think it's really Gateway's fault anyway, doesn't matter who makes the pc there's always somethin that can go wrong, when you buy a prebuilt computer you're buying their tech support.  The components aren't made by them anyway.

Originally posted by noquarter

I don't think it's really Gateway's fault anyway, doesn't matter who makes the pc there's always somethin that can go wrong, when you buy a prebuilt computer you're buying their tech support.  The components aren't made by them anyway.

my 1yr Gateway manufactory warranty expires this may. ........it's getting really aggrivating cause sometimes i don't even want to play a game on my PC because i know it's going to happen again.  so i hope gateway can fix it... i will probably mention to them that i tried everything already, dusting whole PC out, the card individually, ram slots out as well, power supply itself to and the problem is still there....and i guess i can also tell them that i think its the power supply and maybe this one is defective or what not..and hopefully if it is the power supply they can give me a new or better one.  also looked up some of those tier 1 power supplies posted in an earlier post...the first tier 1 one is like $300!! geez, lol

also ill probably mention as well that this has been happening since December. and that PNY has sent me a brand new 9600gt already. so it cant be the card nor it can't be my monitor since i bought a new acer 23inch widescreen and its happening on this, including my old 19inch widescreen one as well...so cant be the monitor

well i meant this coulda happened to the dell just as easily

if it is the power supply and for some reason Gateway won't replace it or what not ....what do you guys think of this power supply i found on newegg....  www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx ? in comparing it to this one which came with my computer already installed   www.barebonekit.net/itemdesc.asp ?

also i found a very interesting topic in different forums. although i have no idea what my power supply is, if it is a power supply problem like some of you have mentioned. heres the link....   www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php 

what do you guys think?

anyone?

I think you should hook up that power supply from your old PC with the x1600 and see what happens :)

 In all honesty posters like Cleffy have gave advice and if you cant sort it from there then you should take it to the shop you bought it from or a PC shop in general.

At the end of the day if you cant sort it from the people like Cleffy's advice then you wont sort it from this forum,also trying different things could end up costing you more cash.

My advice would be ..bite the bullet and get it into a proper shop and get your pc running like it should.

well if tried everything...last night i did a full system restore to factory settings...so now im testing it out now....if this doesn't work then Gateway told me i will probably have to send it in to them for repairs........but still i wanted some opinions from people about if it's my power supply etc and what power supply i should look into replacing my power supply.....with comparing to the corsair i found on newegg...and wanted to know if i do really need a new power supply if i should get a dual +12V Rail one or get a Single +12V Rail one...i only know a little about computers as why im asking the community for help with things.

Actually 700w PSU is more than enough for 9600gt ,usual suspects for pc freezes are heat,driver problems and PSU generally .If you have a chance try with another PSU before sending pc to gateway. I would choose single rail psu over dual/multi rails and corsair  has very nice ones .Btw airflow in your case is it good?

I didn't read every post in this thread so If this has been addressed, my apologies.

There is a lot of really good information hear.

After building a Gaming PC I had similar issues with video and BSD issues.

How old is your Mionitor? Check the manufacture specs for response time.

For the higher end Gamer PC you monitor should have a response time of  9 Milliseconds or lower.

Just a tought, but that's what was causing my issues.

well after doing the full system restore to factory settings...tested it out yesterday on Left 4 Dead and after 20 minutes of playing i got the "no signal" problem again. my PC is well ventilated, i even have one side of my tower wide open as well for even better ventilation. like i said in my previous posts, this no signal problem happens only when i play videogames, if my PC is just on or im just looking at websites the problem doesn't occur at all...only on games. and the weird thing is that it happens at random. can play games for a few hrs with nothing happening, can go for 2-3 days as well...or i can play for 10 mintues sometimes and it happens. sometimes it happens a few times in a matter of a half hr as well.

the PSU i have  now....i have no idea if it's a dual +12V rail or a single +12V rail. but read on a site that higher end PC's they recommend single rail PSU's. so maybe mine is dual? ...but i think im going to send my PC to Gateway still..i already contacted Gateway and got all the info...i also contacted PNY and im sending my 9600GT to them to. as for monitors, i recently bought a new one 2 weeks ago 23inch Acer one and its 5ms response time. also back in december when this problem started i had a 19inch Gateway Monitor 5ms response time. but it's happening on both monitors.

this was the interesting thread i found www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php

and this is my exact PSU i found onlinebut i don't see anywhere if its dual or single +12V rail ..  www.barebonekit.net/itemdesc.asp

your PSU has 4 rails can deliver 50A with 4 of them according to info

Originally posted by jagd1

your PSU has 4 rails can deliver 50A with 4 of them according to info

i dont know how you can tell with the website to my PSU on how many rails it has, lol.  i happen to take out my 9600gt and i installed my 8600gt that came with my Gateway when i ordered it. this card doesn't require a 6-pin connection via the PSU like the 9600gt does......been playn Left 4 Dead for a decent amount of time with no problems today but can't say for sure if its going to happen or not. but you say my PSU has 4 Rails...im guessing thats bad then? should i look into getting a sinlge +12V Rail PSU then?

Originally posted by DeadlySwordz

Originally posted by jagd1

your PSU has 4 rails can deliver 50A with 4 of them according to info

 

i dont know how you can tell with the website to my PSU on how many rails it has, lol.

If i cant tell why are you asking ? Go to webpage and look to output info
# +12 V1 / 18.0 A
# +12 V2 / 16.0 A
# +12 V3 / 18.0 A
# +12 V4 / 18.0 A , 4 +12v rails and '' Maximum combined load on +12 V is 50 A ''  not a hard thing to tell  . Rail amounth dont show psu is good or bad but single rail has one advantage you dont have a limit on +12v line  ,i dont want to confuse you .Look for corsair /enermax/pc power PSU with single rail  if youll change psu