XFX GeForce 8800GT (YHF4) & Shuttle SP35P2 - BSODs & General Crashing

[augurer]

XFX Ticket #: 161937

System Specs:
Shuttle SP35P2V2
BIOS: Unknown (where can I get this info?)
CPU: C2D E8400 3.0 GHz
RAM: DDR2 PC2-6400
PS: PC70I0005 (400W)
Video Card: XFX GeForce 8800GT Alpha Dog (YHF4)
Operating System: Windows XP Media Center Edition (SP2)
System Idle Temp: 38C
GPU Idle Core Temp: 53C
GPU Temp @ Restarts/Crashes: ~77C
Video Driver: nVidia 175.16

I recently upgraded the PNY GeForce 8500 GT in my SP35P2 to the YHF4, and for the first couple days the system ran like a charm. A few days ago, however, the troubles began:

After a several hours of idling, I discovered the system had powered down. It took a few tries to get it to send a signal to the monitor, but I got it up and running. I started up Neverwinter Nights 2, and about 15 minutes into playing I noticed the system would "freeze" for a second or two. It did this two or three times, and then NWN2 crashed. I repeated this a few times, before rebooting the machine.

Upon reboot, I again started NWN2 and got about 5 minutes of play time, before it froze for a second, and then a BSOD flew by and the machine restarted. I had this happen two more times, before I returned to my GeForce 8500 for the rest of the evening.

Yesterday, I installed the XFX card again, and this time I couldn't even browse the web. IEXPLORE.EXE was crashing both when opening new windows, and when navigating to web pages. I even encountered a BSOD while just using IE6, but the BSODs flash too quickly to read. The IE6 crashes referenced GDI32.dll in their stack traces.

I've tried disconnecting the DVD drive, in order to decrease the general power consumption of the system, and that hasn't made any difference.

[XFX Tech]

400W is pretty low for your system specs which may explain the crashing in games but I am not sure it would effect 2D stability unless the power draw from the card while in games degraded the power supply. Do you have another system with a larger power supply you can try the card in?

[Miker]

I would suggest 650w+, if it is causing the problem or not, 400w is not big enough.

[augurer]

I believe the largest/strongest power supply I can fit in the SP35P2V2 is 450W. Unless someone knows of a larger one that will fit? My current PS is a PC70I0005.

I have a 550W Antec Power Supply from my tower PC, but the motherboard in that machine is AGP 8X, not PCI-e.

Is there a way I can get my Antec PS to turn on without being connected to a motherboard? If so, I could use the 550W to power just the 8800GT and see if that helps.

I've read on the sudhian forums though of people with SP35P2s using 8800GT cards.

Is there a way to test the quality of my 400W power supply, without a voltage meter?

[XFX Tech]

Even with a multimeter you can't test what a power supply will do under load. You can set the PSU to the side and just connect the cables. The PSU in the system is very short so I doubt you can mount a full size PSU in there unless you use a low profile CPU cooler or something.

[coxmaster]

650W is WAY more power than that system would need. I've seen people running more than that on a good 400W. It all just depends on how much power your PSU is actually putting out, and what rails it is putting the power on.

[augurer]

Okay, well I jury rigged my 550 Antec and the card seems to be chugging away just fine. So, what can I do for a permanent solution? Either the 400W I have is faulty, or 400W isn't enough.

I suppose I need to contact Shuttle and see what they can do for me.

[XFX Tech]

That would be my next step. If they can get you up to 500W you should be fine. If you can find a 450W with 26A 12V or more you would probably be fine as well.

[augurer]

I spoke to a representative from Shuttle, and Shuttle's 450W power supply (PC71I0005) apparently doesn't work for the SP35P2. Other 8800GT cards (http://global.shuttle.com/support_list03.jsp?PI=1045#) are supported on the SP35P2, but not the XFX.

Looks like I'll have to order one of the other cards and see if it works.

[Miker]

They just didn't bother to list the XFX, so many other 8800s work I would have to say the XFX should.

[augurer]

Okay, so I was busy making my jury rigged Antec Neo HE 550 a more permanent solution to my problem while I contacted mwave.com about alternative solutions, and I think I may have discovered the initial issue.

When I set up the Antec PS originally, I brought over the power cable as well as the unit itself. In my desire for a cleaner working environment, I switched back to the original power cable that's connected to my power strip. Not 10 minutes after I changed the power cable, I get a BSOD while browsing the web.

So, I switch back to the power cable I originally used with the Antec PS, and ran 3dmark06, without a problem. I have now swapped back to the Shuttle 400W PS (PC70I0005) using the power cable from the Antec, and ran 3dmark06 again without a problem.

I'm still not 100% certain this was the issue, but I've been running the 8800GT on the 400W PS for the past 30 minutes, and I haven't had an IE crash or BSOD.

It just really surprised me that the culprit to all my problems was a bad power cable.

[XFX Tech]

I would reconnect the power supply from the other system you have like you did before and really try to kick your system in the teeth. Run the Crysis time demo or something like that. See if the crashing comes back. If it doesn't and they say that 400W PSU has enough juice to run an 8800GT than I would ask for an RMA for the power supply since it isn't holding a load as claimed.

[XFX Tech]

That is a little odd but I suppose if it couldn't pull enough power through that cable than it would be possible. You would be the first I have ever seen though. =)

[XFXTechSupport]

If problems arise again there might be another solution for power that wouldn't require a whole new power supply, but rather a power supply for just the graphics card. An example is this Thermaltake one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153069

They typically fit in the same bays that a CD/DVD rom would fit in and provide dedicated power for your graphics card.

[augurer]

Thanks for the tip on the additional PSU. I didn't realize such products existed. I'm in the process of installing Crysis Demo now to benchmark it. If it succeeds with the current power cable, I'll try switching back to the old one and see what happens.

Edit:

So I swapped the power cable, and everything seems to be working the same. I'm pretty much at a loss as to why I was having problems before. Hopefully they don't return. Here are the results of both the GPU and CPU tests for my system:

GPU
================================================== ============
TimeDemo Play Started , (Total Frames: 2000, Recorded Time: 111.86s)
!TimeDemo Run 0 Finished.
Play Time: 40.78s, Average FPS: 49.04
Min FPS: 25.68 at frame 139, Max FPS: 65.69 at frame 986
Average Tri/Sec: 49793032, Tri/Frame: 1015363
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: 0.90
!TimeDemo Run 1 Finished.
Play Time: 36.35s, Average FPS: 55.03
Min FPS: 25.68 at frame 139, Max FPS: 69.54 at frame 88
Average Tri/Sec: 56480104, Tri/Frame: 1026425
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: 0.89
!TimeDemo Run 2 Finished.
Play Time: 36.28s, Average FPS: 55.13
Min FPS: 25.68 at frame 139, Max FPS: 69.54 at frame 88
Average Tri/Sec: 56656608, Tri/Frame: 1027624
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: 0.89
!TimeDemo Run 3 Finished.
Play Time: 36.29s, Average FPS: 55.11
Min FPS: 25.68 at frame 139, Max FPS: 69.54 at frame 88
Average Tri/Sec: 56627628, Tri/Frame: 1027453
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: 0.89
TimeDemo Play Ended, (4 Runs Performed)
================================================== ============
Press any key to continue . . .

CPU
================================================== ============
TimeDemo Play Started , (Total Frames: 1500, Recorded Time: 44.62s)
!TimeDemo Run 0 Finished.
Play Time: 33.79s, Average FPS: 44.39
Min FPS: 28.54 at frame 196, Max FPS: 60.33 at frame 368
Average Tri/Sec: 45387372, Tri/Frame: 1022573
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: 0.70
!TimeDemo Run 1 Finished.
Play Time: 30.74s, Average FPS: 48.79
Min FPS: 28.54 at frame 196, Max FPS: 60.33 at frame 368
Average Tri/Sec: 50063236, Tri/Frame: 1026025
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: 0.70
!TimeDemo Run 2 Finished.
Play Time: 30.53s, Average FPS: 49.13
Min FPS: 28.54 at frame 196, Max FPS: 60.33 at frame 368
Average Tri/Sec: 50384044, Tri/Frame: 1025559
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: 0.70
!TimeDemo Run 3 Finished.
Play Time: 30.75s, Average FPS: 48.79
Min FPS: 28.54 at frame 196, Max FPS: 60.33 at frame 368
Average Tri/Sec: 49927672, Tri/Frame: 1023398
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: 0.70
TimeDemo Play Ended, (4 Runs Performed)
================================================== ============
Press any key to continue . . .

[augurer]

Problem is back again. Switched back to the 8500GT for the moment. Going to try a 9600. If that doesn't work, I'll try a secondary power supply.