Video issues, is my graphics card or power supply going?

[Marine001]

Hello, I'm having an issue with my video settings and I need some advice. The computer has been working great, randomly I turned on my computer and the system no longer detected the video drivers. I only have a choice between two resolutions, 800x600 and 1024x768. Also, when windows 7 is loading, I get the green loading bar at the bottom of the screen (like vista) rather than the windows 7 emblem that swoops in.

I have tried the following steps.
Running a registry cleaner
Reinstalled the video drivers
Reformating the computer
Reformat the computer using a spare WD raptor hard drive

I have a feeling my graphics card is on it's way or the psu is failing and it cannot produce enough power. Most of my components have been replaced over the years but the power supply is at least 5 years old. But honestly any advice would be great before I buy new parts.

I have an older e8400 dual core system, gigabyte motherboard, 8gb memory, corsair 450w psu, evga gtx460 1gb superclocked, vertex4 ssd, asus vs248h-p monitor.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

[strat1219]

Had you made any hardware changes recently?

The PSUs wattage is a little low, and if it is 5+ years old, it could very well be that.

If you have another system available, I would first try the video card in that and see if it has any issue there.

If the card works and you know someone with a higher wattage power supply that you could borrow for testing purposes, that would be my second step.

[Marine001]

Thanks for the reply, the 450w is low (and old), I have been thinking of upgrading for awhile. I think I will buy a new 750w as with all my OCing and computer components the 450w has surely been maxed.

Unfortunately, I do not have another system to test with as this is my best computer. I'll ask a friend if I can install my card in their computer and see if it will work.

[hostage67]

Try using different drivers, maybe you didn't install the correct drivers for the video card, thus the reason it wouldn't recognize the drivers. That issue sounds very software related to me, not hardware, but I suppose anything is possible. The 450w is certainly low, especially considering the energy consumption of your video card. But I don't see low power causing it to fail to recognize your drivers.

[Marine001]

I've tried the newest drivers from the Nvidia website, still not solution. It sounds software related to me to but I have reformatted without luck and formatted on another hard drive still with no luck.

I'm going to buy a 750w power supply regardless, I should have one for the size/power of my system. I doube that is the issue but I can support a new card if I need one.

[OS-Wiz]

Need Operating System (OS) please. If you're running Win 7 x64 then the current WHQL drivers are 301.42.
And yes, you are asking a lot of your PSU.
Its best to create a sig with your system specs so questions like mine can be avoided.

[Nagoshi]

Try swapping your RAM in other slots, try re-seating your video card in the PCI-E port, and try a different PCI-E port.

[hostage67]

Originally Posted by Marine001

I've tried the newest drivers from the Nvidia website, still not solution. It sounds software related to me to but I have reformatted without luck and formatted on another hard drive still with no luck.

I'm going to buy a 750w power supply regardless, I should have one for the size/power of my system. I doube that is the issue but I can support a new card if I need one.

Actually what I had in mind wasn't trying the latest drivers, but actually trying older drivers that were designed for the 460. The current drivers are designed for the 680, with the 460 simply being an after thought.

[Marine001]

So an update on my progress. Last night I purchased an OCZ ZS 750w for $55 and replaced the Corsair 450w. Well I am happy to have the power, sadly it did not correct the problem. I will try some older drivers this afternoon after work.

So now it is time for a new graphics card. I found the GTX480 on Newegg for $209. Does anyone have a recommendation on a mid-high end card?

To the best of my recollection, here is my system.

Intel E8400 Dual Core 3.0ghz (OC 3.75ghz)
Antec Large fan cpu cooler (forget the model)
Gigabyte 775 Motherboard (1 PCI-E slot)
8gb Kingston HyperX Memory DDR2 1066
EVGA GTX460 1gb Superclocked (830/950)
OCZ Vertex 4 128gb SSD (Windows 7 Home x64)
WD V-Raptor 300gb (Extra Storage)
ASUS Xonar DX
LG DVDRW x 2
OCZ ZS-750w Power Supply

For the exception of the board and processor which was purchased in 2006/2007, all of these hardware components have been upgraded within the last 10 months. My last upgrade was the Vertex 4 in May.

[Nagoshi]

Did you try my suggestions? reseating/swapping parts around different slots? Could be a not completely seated video card.

[Marine001]

Yes, when I installed the new power supply I removed everything and did a clean install.

[hostage67]

The 7850 at nearly $200 is kinda hard to beat. The massive price drops on the AMD cards probably make it a best buy right now. The Nvidia cards are better, but you do pay for that performance difference.

[DC]

Originally Posted by hostage67

The 7950 at nearly $200 is kinda hard to beat. The massive price drops on the AMD cards probably make it a best buy right now. The Nvidia cards are better, but you do pay for that performance difference.

7850 you mean.

If you mean 7950 - definitely tell us where you found that!!

[Marine001]

So I spent more time trouble shooting and found that the HDMI port on the graphics card is defective. I tested the monitor hdmi port with a dvd player just to rule it out and it worked fine. I plugged the graphics card in using DVI and it looks great! For now the card is working... for how long who knows. Thanks again to everyone who gave advice it was much appreciated.