Vista - ok so this is bad.... me asking for ideas XD

ok so my friend got a ATI Sapphire HD2900XT off of craigslist and it has this problem..... when you plug it in and turn it on it this lines appear on the screen that shouldn't be there both vertical and horizontal, and at first we thought it was because there wasn't enough power for the card but that can't be the problem, so do you guys have any idea what it could be? i'm hoping its not the card gone bad.... but he got it for $20 but if we can make it work we would like to
Thanks,
Pizzaman

Hello thepizzaman,
Are you using the six and the eight pin power cables, or two six pin's, i know there were issues with people using the two six pin cables, (could not get hold of the eight pin), just a thought, cant think of anything else, and i wont insult you by asking if the drivers are up to date, lol.
Good luck and keep us posted.

haha i just have to six pins didn't have the eight.... haha and the thing is.... this is right when the computer turns on so i can't even install the drivers.... it goes black by the vista loading screen..... haha

My buddy did the same thing, after getting the correct power lead it worked really well. He's well pleased with it.

well right now i can't find one... haha
would you happend to know where he got it?

This is where he got his, but I'm sure you could get one closer to home if you google it. Hope this helps, let me know how the card turns out.


NEW 6 PIN TO 8 PIN ADAPTER FOR GRAPHICS CARDS, Cables Connectors items at low prices on eBay.co.uk

k i'll try to get one thanks haha....

i had a card artifact like this...... the HSF had actually moved on the die & cracked the TIM seal, you might try re seating & pasting the HSF..??


the 6pin - 8pin issue could be the problem i guess, but i thought the extra 2pins on a PCIE connection were only earths..??

That is correct. The 2 extra pins are additional ground connections.
PCI Express (PCIe) 8pin power Connector Pinout - AllPinouts
You can obtain adapters to convert 6-pin to 8-pin, such as this here:
6-Pin PCI Express to 8-Pin PCI Express 2 Adapter Cable - Sleeved Products Model: PCIE-PCIE2

well the artifacts on the screen are really odd..... its kinda like when a old Nintendo game would crash and lines would appear on the screen....... i don't know i think i'll try the cable thing first because i'm much to lazy to open up the card haha