Geforcefx5950Ultra has artifacts for the 2nd time need advice

[dave777xj]

Hi all,

A big motivating factor for writing this is because of how sickened I am after now for the second time I have had to return a geforcefx5950 to ebuyer. Basically when I bought the card initially from ebuyer I plugged it in to my new asus k8v se deluxe board & everything worked except the new card which had artifacts from the word go, so I sent it back and got a replacement. When I recieved the replacement graphics card I plugged it in and after getting artifacts again I checked and re-fitted all connections and the artifacts dissapeared. I have been running my system for approxamately 3 months and the artifacts are back.

What I was doing before the artifacts re-appeared was fitting a new 600watt PSU, the next thing I no im back to square one with a dodgy card. Initially I thought that the new 600 watt PSU was faulty so I re-fitted my old 400watt PSU but the artifacts were still there. At this point I was sickened & suspected another dodgy piece of material from ebuyer. To confirm the latter I decided to put the new 600watt PSU back in and try my old geforce 3ti in my asus k8v se deluxe motherboard. Now the artifacts have dissapeared. My conclusion was that it could not have been the new 600 watt PSU the card must have been ready to blow.

However my question is could putting in a 600watt PSU blow a geforcefx5950 graphics card? I no it may sound silly its just I want to be sure if ebuyer is at fault. I have to admit I think they are as I wore an anti static wrist strap at all times and made sure all connection molex cables, etc were plugged in correctly.

I also cant really afford to keep sending these goods back to ebuyer & may have to eventaully submit to a £300.00 loss so any advice would be appreciated. If anyone has any recommendations that they think I may not have considered please feel free to comment.

I have ordered from many companys & I cant understand how ebuyers geforceFX cards are so flimsy & breakable. One final reason why I think ebuyers stabdards are dropping is because my friend (who is a computer programmer) has had to send back ram 3 times to ebuyer & then finally get a refund.

My spec is below

Asus K8V/SE Deluxe S754 VIA k8t800 ATX Sound Gig lAN Firewire USB 2.0 FSB 800 Retail Box

1 x Kingston 1gb 400MHz DDR Non-ECC CL3 (3-3-3) DIMM (Kit 2)

AMD (Clawhammer) Athlon 64bit 3400+ 754pin/1Mb L2cache Retail Boxed

Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Zs Platinum Pro - Pci Soundcard With 7.1 Dts Support + External I/o Box

Casecom KG-666-B 400watt Atx Case In Black With USB/Audio/1394

XFX Geforce Fx5950 Ultra AGPx8 256MB TV-Out DVI VIVO Retail Box


any help is appreciated
David

 

[paparazi]

Sorry to say just keep sending it back, thats all you can do.
Maybe offer to spend a little more and get a better branded card, perhaps the Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra TDH MyVIVO

Martin

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[dakota81]

Maybe try underclocking the card for a while if you get it replaced again. I realise that isn't what you'd want to do after spending money on a top end card, but a working card is better than a damaged card anyway you look at it.

 

[dave777xj]

Hi, thanks for the advice ...... in reference to underclocking I may have to do that although I dont think it is nvidias card I think its either ebuyer incompetance or the couriers are not handling the hardware with care. Me and my m8 have bought systems from ebuyer & had nothing but hassle so if you buy dont always go for the big companies ....

Thanks for the info
David

P.S I will keep sending the card back although it is about 2 months old ..... I hope they will replace it. If they dont I aint letting it go as I no this aint my mistake I take care when fitting hardware that it takes me months to save for

 

[paparazi]

dave777xj
Ebuyer might be big but they are economy/budget specialists.
I'm guessing this 5950 U is relatively low quality?
Another thing is, are you getting a BRAND NEW replacement? I dought it! probably one they have tested for 5 minutes and stamped as OK! for replacement.
Look to pay the extra for a decent, branded, NEW replacement.
You have every right to demand this service as this is not your first return of the product.
Martin


We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[dakota81]

Well, I'd lean towards heat issues here; GeForce FX's eat enough wattage as it is, and we're talking about their top performance model. Whether it's a poor heatsink / fan combo used on the card, insufficient case cooling, or just too high of a room temperature - underclocking the card should help out.

 

[dave777xj]

Good advice,

Im going to send an enote to ebuyer asking them to make sure that I get a brand new replacement ....

Just to update the RMA has been accepted and I sent the card back today, Im hoping theres no hassle as after 1 and a half months I dont have the original packaging

David

 

[dave777xj]

In reference to the wattage I have just got my self a 600watt PSU , however heat issues may be a problem, I might fit one of the exaust fans that I have. The first ebuyer return could have been heat issues though as that was defunkt from the word go. One final thing ..... it is disturbing that they may be sending out used goods although I tend to believe that now as it is not just here that I have been informed of this kind of thing..... Its shocking considering poeple fork out all that money thinking they are getting 100% new goods..... I will never buy there again, I have also got my friends forewarned. I now shop at aut distributions, there barebone systems.... I was initially dubious but I havent had a bit of hassle. You see I went to ebuyer a retail seller thinking I was safer in respect to there goods but firms like AUT are providing a more efficient service and at hundreds of pounds of difference. An example of this is at ebuyer I paid approxamately $1200 for my system, .... the thing is I could have got more or less the same spec for 300.00 less.

 

[paparazi]

dave777xj
When you make the original purchase the goods sent by Ebuyer WILL BE almost definately NEW! but once you return the product it is considered second hand and therefore in their way of thinking a second hand replacement is deemed satisfactory.
This second hand replacement may be a factory refurbished unit OR a returned unit that they have tested as non faulty! but as with all products these faults may not be obvious with a 10/15minute test and so in effect some of their "tested" replacements may be infact faulty.
This is not intensional on their behalf but the nature of PC hardware dictates that they do recieve back an awful lot of goods from customers who either cannot install drivers properly or perhaps conflict with other hardware or software on their machines so when they do recieve returns as faulty they are often not.
Martin

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Participate and help others.