Maximum PC

I recieved my Asus radeon9800xt for x-mas. I used to use the smartdoctor II program all the time... But it often would close out of my games and display a warning message that said "Your VGA Card is not functioning properly...." thats about it lol. Well, I disabled the option to close out of 3d games when a warning pops up, and i've had a few game problems here and there.

Well, today I've been running 3dMark03. I ran it a couple times, then I decided to turn back on the option to close out of 3d programs when a warning pops up, just to see if it still did it. Well, it did it. a few times. but the warning message is now something about the VGA 1.5V rails being unstable, and it goes on to say that my motherboard isn't supplying enough power to my card... My mobo is a Gigabyte GA-8sg800 with an SIS 648 chipset.. I have that Asus card, a 2.8p4, 1 gig of kingston valueram and a 580 watt Demon psu... any ideas? I've had this mobo too long to RMA it. Time to upgrade?

dont need to start another topic...........

Go buy another MB if you want.....

I have no experience with Intel so blah...
other might suggest ABit or asus MBs
IC-7


Give some price range, features you need or want......

Could also be the PSU. Sure its a 580 watt, but it may not be putting out a qualtiy 580 watts.

If you have another PSU laying around, try using that.

Look at the power supply as a key suspect here. I skipped the rail error while I was looking at your specs, and the PS hit me as being a bit off. Then re-reading...I see that it IS a rail problem that has popped a warning on ya.

A general rule of thumb here: a 580W PS shouldn't cost under $70. I'd rather have $70 380W than one like that. In Power supplies, it's not going against the grain to look at price and weight to judge it's performance. It's the only part graded in that scale though. Currect me if I'm wrong here, but it's this one right? 580W at what temp? Who knows...they don't list it. Anyway, they have a one year warranty, so if you fit in that time frame...RMA it.

They have other PS's based on great suppliers (Enermax), but this one screams out "OEM". I wouldn't upgrade the hardware. I'd get a good PS...one that's been proven in the battlegrounds. If you're worried about money, Antec has some really great values for PS's. Just bling it up yourself if you must...but you can't polish a turd

Look for a minimum of a 3 year warranty if you are back in the market.