sparkle Geforce nvidia 8400 PCI card Issue

**Ruiner** · 01-04-2009

The other day i got a sparkle Geforce nvidia 8400 PCI card. Every once and awhile it will freeze and crash the game or fill up with odd texures or go green. But on other games like The sims 2 or doom 3 it runs them fine and can be ran at High and Ultra with no issue. The games that froze were command and conquer 3 and stalker, does anyone have any idea why this would happen to only some games and not all of them

Here are my pc specs ( Yes i know it blows but it works)

Windows Xp PRO Service Pack 3
AMD Athlon(tm) XP 3000+ (2164.8 MHz)
RAM 768 MB
Power supply 250 watt

Ok so today I installed a 580watt power suppy. And the issue as gotten worse now no game will run without crashing. Does anyone have any idea?

**Alchy** · 01-04-2009

My quick guess would be the PSU. Buy a decent one.

**Ruiner** · 01-04-2009

But any idea why the others would run. But those two wont?

**Alchy** · 01-04-2009

Because those two stress the system in way other games don't? Either way you're luck that a 250W PSU has worked so far for you. Did it come with your PC's case?

I'm assuming that you've got all your drivers up to date and otherwise have a decent working XP configuration.

**Ruiner** · 01-04-2009

Yea came with the pc. I also have all the current drivers I even reinstalled windows after the first crash. It continued after that so i wasn't sure what it was. I just didn't want to by a PSU for nothing if it was something else. Because I had a Geforce 5500FX before and no issue at all.

**Alchy** · 01-04-2009

Right now I'm pretty confident it's a PSU issue. Cheap bundled PSU, no issue before your upgrade, reinstall of windows since... it's basically a hardware issue. A generic 250W PSU was pushing it back in 2002; irrespective of whether it's actually the source of your problems, you want to spend good money on a decent PSU before that one blows.

**skavenger216** · 01-04-2009

Im gonna have to agree with Alchy here, it seems that the more graphically intensive titles are pulling more juice than your PSU can provide. Try to find one with a minimum or 400-450W, especially with that vid card.

**z_killemall** · 01-04-2009

A 250W PSU is not enough for that computer, a new 500 or 550W PSU should be ok for it.

I know there're some really cheap Corsair PSUs with great quality, maybe you should get something like that. However, always remember to avoid brands you haven't heard of, in this stuff it can cost you the whole computer...

**retro** · 01-13-2009

250 watt is awful - you're lucky your PC ran OK for so long, even with only an Athlon XP!

Even a cheap 400/500W PSU for around £20 / $30 would suffice.

I'm surprised Sims 2 and Doom 3 ran decently on such a low spec, especially with less than 1Gb RAM and that PSU!

By the way, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has a recommended spec of a Core 2 Duo / X2 with 1.5Gb RAM and at least a 256Mb 7900 / X1950. It was known to be a pretty demanding game spec-wise. You should always look at the higher of the specifications printed on the back of a game before buying ;-)

**Ruiner** · 01-16-2009

bump

**Paulo** · 01-17-2009

What gfx card have you got? I would check out the ram possibly or make sure that if the gfx card requires a power connector its connected properly.

**Ruiner** · 01-17-2009

sparkle Geforce nvidia 8400 PCI card, and it does but nothing on the motherbroad or the new power suppy that will fit in there

**Paulo** · 01-17-2009

Picture? If it does need another power connector then make sure that the old cable isnt connected to the old powersupply still.

**Ruiner** · 01-17-2009

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814187042

Thats my link right to the card i got.

**Twimfy** · 01-17-2009

It may be down to the fact that it's a PCI card. Higher spec games are going to be pushing the card to the limits and the small bus capacity of a PCI slot will suffer under the strain.

Although its a Geforce 8400 I think it's aimed at users wanting the maximum out of the previous gen of games but not the current gen.

If you're on a budget it may be worth your while to return the card and spread the money you have on an AGP motherboard suitable for your system and a budget AGP card with similar spec.

Also, if it's an old system, make sure the PCI slot and the edge connector of the card are clean, while you're in there check your ram sticks too. If that fails, consider a complete re-install of windows, it can be a pain in the ass but surprisingly successful.

**Alchy** · 01-17-2009

I can't see a power connector on it - only a connector for a fan, in case you want to replace the passive heatsink with something better.

I'd agree with Twimfy, anyway - I can't believe they still put reasonably modern chipsets in PCI graphics cards in this day and age, I thought they'd have knocked that on the head ages ago. Get an AGP/PCI-E card.

By the way, it's not a good idea to add stuff to the original post if you're bumping your thread. It's only really blind chance that I was re-checking your first post and spotted what you'd added. If all games are crashing your machine now I'd point to driver issues.

**Paulo** · 01-17-2009

Originally Posted by Alchy

By the way, it's not a good idea to add stuff to the original post if you're bumping your thread. It's only really blind chance that I was re-checking your first post and spotted what you'd added. If all games are crashing your machine now I'd point to driver issues.

Looking at the posts on newegg...

Cons: Drivers that come with it are NOT to be used (as I think others had mentioned)

Cons: 3d would not work at all on my older (2006) mobo. There is a power port on the card but no cable. Even with power added to the mobo it didn't work. On newer dell pc it worked fine. No printed documentation. Some weird display artifacts at times.

**z_killemall** · 01-17-2009

Originally Posted by Alchy

I'd agree with Twimfy, anyway - I can't believe they still put reasonably modern chipsets in PCI graphics cards in this day and age, I thought they'd have knocked that on the head ages ago. Get an AGP/PCI-E card.

So it actually is a PCI card? I thought the last PCI video cards made were the lower-end models of Geforce FX and Geforce 6 series...

The last PCI card I had was a Geforce 2 MX440 and it already had some serious speed issues because of PCI's tiny bus. Even when it is a budget-aimed graphics card, the 8400 is not designed for such a small bus and it probably won't work perfectly on it. If your computer has PCI-e or AGP cards you can get a better card for that price, PCI cards are usually more expensive since the few manufacturers that still make these cards make them in small quantities, which raises production costs a lot.

**Alchy** · 01-17-2009

There is a power port on the card but no cable. Even with power added to the mobo it didn't work.

The only power connector I can see on it is the tiny one for the fan. I'm not surprised that connecting this to the motherboard's power connector didn't make it work...

**madhatter256** · 01-17-2009

Yeh. Unless the video card has a surface mounted power connector I do not see one from newegg's picture. There is a fan connector, but that is only for a fan. It could be an overheating issue as the games you play do require a lot of graphics processing and having just that passive heatsink on there is not going to be enough. Improve the airflow in that case.

As for the PSU, that 580watt... what brand is it and how much did you pay for it? 580watt is an odd number and screams a low-quality brand, which can be worse than your 250watt.

Here is what I suggest..

-Open up the side panel of you case and just leave it off for now.
-Reconnect your 250watt PSU.
-Turn you on your computer and download the latest video card drivers from www.nvidia.com Restart the computer afterwards, etc.
-When its back up in Windows, try playing some of the games, including those that worked and didn't work before that are graphics intensive.

Let us know what happens.