[hks786]

I installed a Zalman fan to my graphics card because it's stock HSF and fan werent working at all and the card was overheating!

I put on the computer and I have display problems. The display is very pixelated in some parts and has pink vertical lines. I thought maybe the card was broken because of the overheating problem so I got a replacement of the same card...

I took the stock cooler off the card and put the huge Zalman cooler in. I turned the computer on and I got the same problem! What could it be? Power supply unit? motherboard? bad drivers? I dont know what to do...

EDIT:

The corruption isnt as bad as before. There isnt any verticle lines. Just some corruption around cursors, icons, taskbar, window title bars.

Also, I put the original fan of the 2nd graphics card and it moves at a slow speed like my old card! It overheats too. Just a coincidence? I think I have power supply issues. I recently replaced it with a fairly cheap one. (£25=~$45)

[///M3]

I had problems with a power supply last year. My system kept restarting, the monitor would flicker and pop and I could hear the fans speeding up and slowing down.

When you think about it, the power supply is the most important part in any computer build because it provides everything with power. A cheap PSU that's rated at 350-400W will generally put out around 200 if you're lucky. Get a good one by Fortron(FSP), Silverstone, Thermaltake or Sparkle. It might not be your problem but at least you'll have a nice PSU anyway!

BTW, what brand of card is it? And are you running Vista?

[hks786]

Originally Posted by ///M3

I had problems with a power supply last year. My system kept restarting, the monitor would flicker and pop and I could hear the fans speeding up and slowing down.

When you think about it, the power supply is the most important part in any computer build because it provides everything with power. A cheap PSU that's rated at 350-400W will generally put out around 200 if you're lucky. Get a good one by Fortron(FSP), Silverstone, Thermaltake or Sparkle. It might not be your problem but at least you'll have a nice PSU anyway!

BTW, what brand of card is it? And are you running Vista?

My comp is ancient. I'm just always busy to get it replaced. The card is an ATI Radeon 9800pro. The 1st one was a 9800pro but was Sapphire branded.

I think you are right about the PSU. It's the common factor. I have a cheap 400W PSU. I had a 350W PSU before and it just decided to stop working one day after I put the 1st graphics card in. Then I got a new one (my current one) and it is slightly more powerfull, but I think the card/fan setup is draining too much power. I even tried disconnecting the floppy drive and both DVD drives.

[E(@M#]

never short on the psu...one of the first things you shoud consider

[hks786]

Originally Posted by E(@M#

never short on the psu...one of the first things you shoud consider

I know. I cant believe I did that. I just wasnt thinking at the time. The PSU is the most important thing. No point going all out on everything apart from it. Should I try a new one or are the cards gone forever?

[m-technik]

Yep, its the psu. I threw in a pretty decent card in my older comp and i also got the same symptoms as you did, but after i swapped out the psu for a more powerful one the problems were fixed.