graphics card /power supply problems

vinylmusic

I have recently bought an MSI Z77A-G43 motherboard,

Military Class III components: Top quality & stability
OC Genie II: Auto OC to boost performance in 1 sec
ClickBIOS II: Easy-to-use UEFI BIOS interface
THX TruStudio PRO: deliver the fullest audio experience
Support USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s

• Chipset: Intel Z77
• Memory slots: 4x DDR3, dual PC3-22400U (OC)
• Extension slots: 1x PCIe 3.0 x16, 1x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4), 2x PCIe 2.0 x1, 3x PCI
• External connectors: 1x VGA, 1x DVI-D, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x USB 3.0, 6x USB 2.0, 1x Gb LAN (RTL8111E), 6x jack, 1x PS/2 Combo
• Internal connectors: 2x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, 2x SATA 6Gb/s (Z77), 4x SATA II (Z77), 1x CPU fan 4-Pin, 2x fan 4-Pin, 2x fan 3-Pin, 1x serial, 1x parallel
• Audio: 7.1 (ALC892)
• RAID level: 0/1/5/10 (Z77)
• Multi-GPU: AMD 2-Way CrossFireX (x16/x4)
• power connections: 1x 24-Pin ATX, 1x 8-Pin ATX12V
• Special features: All solid capacitors, UEFI
• Attention! Usage of PCIe 3.0 requires an Ivy Bridge CPU!

A Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660

Lower GPU Temperature Ultra Durable VGA board provides dramatic cooling effect on lowering both GPU and memory temperature by doubling the copper inner layer of PCB.
Better Overclocking Capability Ultra Durable VGA board reduces voltage ripples in normal and transient state, thus effectively lowers noises and ensures higher overclocking capability.
Decrease Power Switching Loss Ultra Durable VGA board allows more bandwidth for electron passage and reduces circuit impedance. The less circuit impedance, the more stable flow of current and can effectively improve power efficiency.

WindForce 2X Anti-turbilence-Parallel inclined WINDFORCE™ 2X parallel-inclined fin design is equipped with 2 ultra quiet PWM fans and two copper heat pipes to enlarge air channel on the graphics card vents and creates a more effective airflow system in chassis.
PhysX Technology NVIDIA® PhysX™ is the next big thing in gaming!The best way to get real-time physics, such as explosions that cause dust and debris, characters with life-like motion or cloth that drapes and tears naturally is with an NVIDIA® PhysX™-ready GeForce® processor

Manufacturer: Gigabyte Interface: PCIe 3.0 (x16)
Chipset: GTX 660 Connectivity: 1 x DisplayPort
1 x Dual Link DVI-I
1 x DVI-D
1 x HDMI
Edition: Windforce 2X
Manufacturing process: 28 nm
Cores: 960
Streams: N/A Multi Monitor: 4 displays
Core Clock: 980 MHz HDCP Ready: Yes
Boost Clock: 1033 MHz Width: 2.5 Slot
Shader Clock: N/A
Memory: 2GB Low Profile Compatible: No
Memory Bit Rate: 192 Bit
Memory Type: GDDR5 Package Type: Retail
Memory Clock: 6008 MHz Maximum GPU Power:
Cooling: Dual Fan



An X-Viper 650W Power supply




The problem I am having ia the system boots up perfectly when graphics card is not installed yet whenever I insert the graphic card it fails to boot
Sometimes the fans move a little then stop when I press the front panel start button
then every time I try afterwards it fails altogether
If I take the graphic card out it works fine

All parts of computer are brand new except for
3 Hard drives (same problem without hard drives connected)
An Intel i7 processor
I've added a new 16GB memory kit to used 4gb kit


Any help would be apreciated

Big_Graeme

And you have connected up the power supply to the card? Its the two black six blocks at the back above the fan.

vinylmusic

Big_Graeme wrote: »

And you have connected up the power supply to the card? Its the two black six blocks at the back above the fan.

I'm not sure which you mean. There is only one block of six pins for powering the graphics card.
I used the blue 6pin plugs which insert into one the blue sockets on PSU marked PCIe

vinylmusic

Its been suggested to me that the PSU I have is not powerful enough to cope with Motherboard and graphics card

If this is so could anyone please tell me what is the minimum spec I would need for the setup I described earlier

Thanks

Big_Graeme

There should be two blocks of six pins on the card (or atleast there is on the ones I've seen), both need power.

That PSU should be well capable of handling what you are using it for unless that single 12v rail is not giving a steady output.

I'd be taking the kit back to where you bought it from and getting then to have a look.

RobTang

Big_Graeme wrote: »

There should be two blocks of six pins on the card (or atleast there is on the ones I've seen), both need power.

Only the high end cards have 2 power inputs.


Actually while it is true they need power both ATI and Nivida card will boot to windows without power and will tell you need to power it.


Personally I'd say the card is dead on arrival, 650w is more then enough to what you have.

Big_Graeme

RobTang wrote: »

Only the high end cards have 2 power inputs.

Ah I thought they were all the same.

RobTang wrote: »

Personally I'd say the card is dead on arrival, 650w is more then enough to what you have.

Reading up on the PSU I wouldn't be 100% confident without testing it, they don't seem to get a good write up.

Quiet_Spark

650W is the maximum that PSU can deliver, but even allowing for derating back to RMS that still gives you 500W before overheads.
Allowing for the alleged 80% efficiency, you have around 400W of real power to play with (which is right on the edge for that GPU).

You either have a duff video card (quite likely as the system should boot without the extra power), duff PSU, or the two simply aren't compatible.

To be honest, a £30 PSU tells me all I need to know in that department anyway.

freezspirit

Try an online psu calculator e,g http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp


it will give you a better idea if your psu is underpowered for your setup.

Big_Graeme

freezspirit wrote: »

Try an online psu calculator e,g http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp


it will give you a better idea if your psu is underpowered for your setup.

It will, it won't tell you if that PSU is not giving the output it says it should.

vinylmusic

Quiet_Spark wrote: »

650W is the maximum that PSU can deliver, but even allowing for derating back to RMS that still gives you 500W before overheads.
Allowing for the alleged 80% efficiency, you have around 400W of real power to play with (which is right on the edge for that GPU).

You either have a duff video card (quite likely as the system should boot without the extra power), duff PSU, or the two simply aren't compatible.

To be honest, a £30 PSU tells me all I need to know in that department anyway.

It actually cost £45. The graphic card was brand new from Aria.co.uk
I'm not sure where to go from here. Aria are not the nicest company around when it comes to returns, unless of course the've changed their hard attitude that I experienced when I used them a few years back