Video card problem! Can't play games :(

Hello,

I am having a major problem here, 3 months ago I had a GeForce 6600GT in my computer, then it kind of broke so I sent it back to the company with warranty and I waited until they send me a new one...

In the meantime, I installed an ATI 330x graphic card, which is really shitty btw...

Today i recieved my new GeForce 6600GT graphic card, so I uninstalled everything related to ATI, also erased the files that the uninstall didn't remove, and I installed the nvidia card with the latest drivers from the website...

So everything works well until I get into games, all games are having the same problems, there are black squares all over the screen...

I also tried to go into my control panel and get into nvidia control panel to configure my card, and when I go into configuring my 3D section, it shows me nvidia logo turning around for me to configure quality to performance, but also that nvidia logo have black squares all over it...

I tried playing videos, and there was no problem with the videos...

I reinstalled the driver, but it is still doing the same thing...

I installed the latest drivers for everything, I also installed the latest chipset drivers...And also updated my bios to the latest one...And it is still doing the same thing...

I am pretty sure it is only the 3D that isn't working because I did some tests with a utility that comes with nvidia drivers, and only 3D is having problems...

When I get into counter-strike, the first page where u need to connect to servers, the background image have no problem at all, only the option images and words have black squares over them...

One thing weird that happens, is when I reboot my computer, there's a message that pops up after reboot, it is telling me that SLI rendering was turned off because I don't have another graphic card, my old card wasn't SLI technology, this one, so I don't know if the problem is related to that or not...

Can anyone please help me?

Here is my computer info...

Abit AX8 v2.0 motherboard
AMD Athlon 64bit 3000+
GeForce 6600GT SLI technology
SB Live! 5.1
160GB SATA HD, 40GB HD
Windows XP 32bit home edition

Thank you

 

Is the card properly seated in the motherboard?

And the SLI problem shouldn't be an issue. SLI only applies if you have 2 different video cards in your computer at the same time.

 

Yes it is well seated, I reinstalled it 3 times now...

 

you said you removed the drivers, have you also run Driver Cleaner Professional in safe mode between driver uninstall and the new driver install?

Also, have to tried a different driver version? (Older nVidia drivers). Often times newer driver versions are built and optimized for the newer cards. If you go back some driver series, you can find better optimized drivers for your somewhat older card. For example, i'm using the 66.97 drivers for my 6800GT, granted I dont game a lot anymore and I'm sure newer games might require newer versions for fixes, but there are a lot of drivers you can experiment with.

 

I did try the 71.xx driver that came with the card itself...but I started having problems with it even worst than the 3D problems lol

I game a lot and I play games like everquest 2, titan quest, DDO and other games like this that need the latest drivers, so i can't really do much with the older drivers...

 

ohh yeah and I uninstalled the driver with youruninstaller, which uninstalls everything and then takes everything out of the registry too..

and then I did a search for ati, and deleted everything

 

I know this may sound like a stupid question, but have you attached the molex power supply to the graphics card properly?
What is the PSU in your machine? (preferably please give the number of amps on the 12v rail)
Do the black squares always appear straight away when you are using a 3D application?
Could you try and download a program called RivaTuner. There is a function in it that shows you the temperature of your card. http://www.majorgeeks.com/download737.html

 

Ok,

I have some knowledge when it comes to softwares, but when it comes to the physical part of the computer I know nothing hehe...

So this is what I have as a power supply...I have the Antec Sonata enclosure with it's own powersupplu which is...

350W Quiet SmartPower ATX12V power supply
- for AMD™ & Intel® systems
- SmartPower runs cooler and quieter

I also didn't know that I had to plug the powersupply to the video card, so no I did not plug anything to the video card, other than plug it to PCI E slot

If I have to plug anything to it, can you tell me how and what please hehe

For the temperature of the card and the system overall, I have an asus software that takes care of that, which is smartdoctor fr the card, and the temperature is not an issue, anyways, this problem started as soon as I installed the card in the computer, so it can't be overheating...

Yes the problem happens as soon as the game starts, or any 3D starts...

 

If its definitly not overheating, and i've just checked and it seems that unlike the AGP version of the 6600GT, the PCIe version doesn't have a molex socket, so my next guess would be that your powersupply is not good enough.
350W is cutting it fine, but i would have thought it would be enough.
Could you find out how many amps are available on the 12v rail? You can find this info on the side of the powersupply (or it might be in a booklet that came with the case).
If you have version 1 of the SmartPower powersupply it will only have 10amps on the 12v rail, which is definitely not enough for a 6600GT, if you have version 2 of the SmartPower it should have 15amps on the 12v, which may be enough for a 6600GT (my AGP 6600GT runs fine on 15amps, but the recommended is 18amps).

Is there any way you could test the card in another system with a much better powersupply (one with at least 18amps on the 12v rail), or you could fit a new powersupply in your system?

 

I will go and buy a new powersupply and test it, I will need a new one anyways...

What do you think about these ones? Which would you recommend...

SmartPower 2.0 450W 450W ATX 12V v2.01 PSU w/ Dual 80mm Fans / 2x +12V Circuits / PCI-Ex Connector / 4x SATA Connectors

EZ-Media 480W Quiet Silver Aluminum 480W ATX w/12V P4 Power with 120mm fan: Quiet / Silent cooler (retail)

CX450 ATX 450W CoolMax CX-450 ATX 450W 120mm Silent fan Silver

Neo HE 380W 380W High Efficiency ATX 12V v2.2 PSU w/ Active PFC / 18dBA 80mm Fan / Advanced Cable Management / 3x +12V Circuits / PCI-Ex Connector / SATA Connectors

Thank you

 

Never heard of either EZ-media or CoolMax. I'd go with Antec. The smartpower and the Neo HE both seem good options. I'm no expert, but i would go with the SmartPower, just becasue of the extra watts and extra amps on the 12v (although still only 17a which is below the recommended 18 for a 6600GT).
If you are likely to want to upgrade your PC in the near future i would consider spending more money now on much better PSU, so that if you upgrade anything else in your system later you won't have to buy another PSU
you might find this useful: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp