How much are you willing to spend right now, and what kind of performance would you like to get in games?
I replaced my burnt up 8900 ultra with a gtx 275…(got it for 200 bucks… at Best Buy)
All is good now…
Windows vista 32…
Sorry, Dell XPS 720 I-core2 6700 2.66 each…
3 gig mem…
hope this helps…
If you need to access your files just grab a 30-40 dollar GPU or something. Contact some people you know that have a custom built computer and ask if they have an old GPU they can give you.
Maybe some guy in the computer store has an old GPU they can give you or sell for a few bucks. Just make sure the thing fits on your motherboard.
I have a very old 6800GT in my room, I’ve used it on multiple occasions and it’s really useful. Never throw away old videocards that still fit in the motherboard you’re using.
Contact some people you know
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Hahahahaha! Yeah, that doesn’t happen…
I had the best computer of anyone I know (sad, really). And I need a permanent replacement. As cheap as I can get and still be better than the 8800 Ultra (I’m not broke but I still need to watch what I spend as much as possible).
Before you buy a new GPU have you got another working monitor, cable and GPU you can try? It could be a simple case of needing a new cable!
Do you have an interanal buzzer/speaker installed on the motherboard in order to hear error beeps codes? If not they’re only a few dollars from your local computer store. That can help you fault find too.
At the moment I would suggest a Nvidia GTX 460 1gb (gigabyte or MSI versions are good for overclocking) or the AMD 6870 which costs a little more but performs better.
I have a feeling the 69xx will be overkill for you if you were happy with the 8800’s in SLI.
EDIT - An internal motherboard speaker looks like this. As you can see they are cheap.
It has the motherboard speaker. No error beeps.
I said I ruled out the monitor already.
Okay, if you mind humouring me, could you remove all the ram from the motherboard and see if you hear 3 beeps from the internal speaker? This is just to double check your CPU or motherboard hasn’t died. It’s worth double checking that the part you are replacing is actually faulty!
If you do could you try each stick at a time in all slots? In my experience RAM is usually the first thing to go if anything does and at worst this test will just rule it out.
When the power switch is first turned on the motherboard first checks itself then the CPU, RAM, GPU and other peripherals in that order before you hear the single beep indicating a successful post. Just want to rule out faults with other components.
EDIT - Just seen you aren’t looking to spend too much on a replacement GPU. Perhaps a GTS250 or 4870 is in your price range. If you can stretch to it maybe a GTX 260 or 4890, that’s if you need to replace the GPU.
if you want better performance than the 8800 ultras don’t go with the 4870, and definitely do not go with nVidias 4xx lineup. Either get a gtx 275 if you can find it cheap, or go for the 5870/5890 for similar performance.
I meant to say 4850 instead of the 4870, just throwing out budget options.
By the way the 6870 goes for around $240 on newegg.com whereas the inferior 5850 goes for around $300 and the very slightly better 5870 goes for around $390. Benchmarks show the 6870 is an extremely good buy at the moment compared to the 58xx’s. It will take a while for the prices to drop too.
Also the GTX 460 1gb is a good card, the rest of the Nvidia GTX 4xx series either run too hot and power hungry or are underpowered.
I will definitely try that first.
I should be able to swing $300. But when I look at this page, I see they all have the same specs, but the price varies by $20. Are they manufactured to that wide a spectrum of quality? Or should I just buy the cheapest one and be done with it?
The 6850 is also a good option. You also pay for the support service when you buy a card. Just don’t buy any no name brand. Sapphire cards are good.
Yeah I would go for the Sapphire option (free hdmi cable!) if it were me but it doesn’t really matter provided they give a good guarantee.
Ok, I pulled out the RAM (two sticks) one at a time and no beeps. I disconnect one of the GPUs (left it seated on the motherboard because it is bolted in there and I forgot a screwdrivel :rolleyes: ) and get this shrill tone, so I shut it down, plug it back in and retry. Starts right up perfectly…
And I’m not seeing much of any dust in there. It’s amazingly clean inside my case right now.
Any ideas what the hell is going on, or what I do now?
And my computer has rebooted twice since I made that post…
So you took the memory out then put it back in? Most memory doesn’t set its timings and voltage so you might want to go back in the BIOS and set the voltages and timings properly. The correct settings are usually found on the sticker on the side of the memory stick in the form of three or four numbers with a voltage behind it.
Whether this is actually your problem I’m just going to say it anyway.
When you’re at the memory screen you’re gonna see a list of settings you can change by entering a number.
The timings on the memory above are listed as 6-6-6-18 @ 1.8 volt
This means the first option you see in the memory screen must be set to “6”, the second to “6”, the third to “6” and the fourth option to “24”.
Leave the others at default. Don’t forget to change the voltage as well.
Did you pull all the RAM out and switch the power on at any point? It’s purely a test to see if the motherboard get’s past the BIOS and CPU test and squarks about lack of RAM. Clear the CMOS (refer to motherboard manual; downloads section here) and then place one stick in a slot, attempt boot, if nothing try the next slot and so on. Repeat with the second stick. The reason for this is it’s unlikely that both sticks of ram have gone or all ram channels have gone simultaneously so if you still don’t get a successful post then it’s most likely a GPU issue.
If one of the GPU’s is still plugged into the PCI slot but not powered it could cause issues in the boot process. Even more so if it’s in the default slot on the motherboard. I suggest completely removing the card you believe you know is faulty before trying the RAM test above. Yes that means you need to find a screwdriver 
!
You may have said so before but is there anyway you can borrow a known working GPU from someone? Doesn’t matter if it’s inferior we just want to see if it boots properly with a verified working card.
I also second what Jeannotvb said about verifying CAS timings.
EDIT 1 - Your computer’s rebooted twice of it’s own accord from windows or did you reboot it?
If you can get into windows try turning off automatic restart on system failure (right click “My computer” or Computer > properties > advanced > start up and recovery, untick the box that says automatically restart). Note the code down you receive when it BSOD’s and post it up here.
EDIT 2 - Just looking through the motherboard manual and noted section 3.3.2 regarding the dual/single gpu card configuration. You need to make sure that’s set correctly if you have a single card, it may even be the reason behind the beep. If you hear that beep again you need to note the sequence of beeps.
If you can boot now running memtest86+ for a while (1 hour at least) is a good idea. It’s on the ubuntu live cd if you have facility to burn it it’s a good tool to have.
I have tested for RAM problems before. It passed with flying colors (or RAM, whichever). I didn’t know about re-timing them though. I will look into that tomorrow.
It rebooted automatically while trying to play Minecraft, which in retrospect was a little hasty of me to play…
I will fully pull out each GPU when I get a chance to get in there fully with some more time on my hands. After what happened last night I just felt confused and defeated, and was also really tired from my evening workout, so delving further in just wasn’t happening…
That’s fair enough, looks like it is at least one of the GPU’s are at fault then. It’s worth making sure you have identified the fault correctly before you invest in an expensive card. It would be pretty annoying if you get the same symptoms after spending a load of money.
Once you have a BSOD code that should help verify further. You will need to turn SLI off in the Nvidia driver and switch that connector around I referred to in the manual but you probably already know that.
Let me know how it goes.
No, I didn’t know that about the cards. I know (little) about RAM troubles because I have had RAM problems before. This is my first SLI system though, so I’m at a loss for everything.
And damn fuck shit those are two huge cards I have in there… I’m going to need to clear some shelf space to store them while I am playing around with everything.
Lol, most mid to high range GPU’s are 10" or longer now. Once you are running on just the one card that appears to be working it’s probably a good idea to tax it a bit and see if it causes any problems.
Remember to switch automatic restart off in order to see those blue screen codes.
Hopefully removing the faulty card completely will sort it out. I’m not sure whether replacing the 8800 ultra with the same card is worth it over getting a completely new card or not. You could also consider grabbing a Nvidia GTX 460 1gb (the msi and gigabyte versions overclock well and can meet the 6850 and possibly 6870 territory) and keeping the working 8800 as a physX card if you have any games that use it that is.