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GTX 550 ti + Corsair VX450 = Blackout in games ?

julianvernes

New Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2012
Messages
2 (0.00/day)
Location
Pune, India
Processor Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte EP45-UD3L
Cooling CM Hyper TX3 for CPU
Memory 4x2gb DDR2 800 mhz
Video Card(s) Sparkle 550 Ti 1GB
Storage Seagate 2x500GB SATA | Western Digital 1GB External USB
Display(s) Viewsonic VX1945 19" 1440x900 LCD
Case Cooler Master 430 w/Sidepanel
Audio Device(s) Internal
Power Supply Corsair VX450
Software Windows 7 64bit | Mac OS 10.7 Lion
My config:

Core2Quad Q6600 @ stock
Gigabyte EP45-UD3L
8GB DDR2 800mhz Ram
Sparkle 550 ti 1gb
Corsair VX450
2x500gb
1 USB 1tb external

Issue: Most graphic hungry games, at stock speeds of the gpu, run the game but the screen goes black for 1-2 seconds and comes back, and does so repeatedly with artifacts :(
GPU shows 90-100% load while this happens. I first found this issue in BF3 and mafia 2, didn't try others. My previous card XFX GTS250 ran without a problem. So, does 550 ti take more power ? If so is this issue happening because my psu can't handle it ? Then how much power should I need to run my components ? I thought a VX450 can nearly handle a 560 :confused:

I tried underclocking the card using MSI afterburner, to about 20% and everything runs fine...but that's not a permanent fix :ohwell:
 

95Viper

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 12, 2008
Messages
12,645 (2.24/day)
If, you are O/Cing your system... try it at default settings, instead.
How old is the PSU?
What is the ambient room temps and the video cards temps at idle and load?
Also, test your CPU temps, etc.
You could, also, have a bottleneck there. (Some of the other's here maybe able to address that area, if it is that.)

If that PSU ran that 250, I would believe, it should handle the 550ti.
As, I think (get in trouble when I do that), the 550ti has less power consumption due to design improvements.
Now, that card does require 24A@12V max. per Sparkle and your PSU is rated at 33A@12V on a single rail, which leaves about 9A or so for the rest of the system at maximum usage.

If, your temps are ok; you can try testing the 550ti in another system and/or get a beefier PSU to try in your system.
 

julianvernes

New Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2012
Messages
2 (0.00/day)
Location
Pune, India
Processor Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte EP45-UD3L
Cooling CM Hyper TX3 for CPU
Memory 4x2gb DDR2 800 mhz
Video Card(s) Sparkle 550 Ti 1GB
Storage Seagate 2x500GB SATA | Western Digital 1GB External USB
Display(s) Viewsonic VX1945 19" 1440x900 LCD
Case Cooler Master 430 w/Sidepanel
Audio Device(s) Internal
Power Supply Corsair VX450
Software Windows 7 64bit | Mac OS 10.7 Lion
Didn't O.c at all. The PSU is about 3yrs old.
The video card is 40 C idle and on load gets to 67-69C. CPU is 41C idle and on load 65C.
It's summer here so room temp is on the hotter side. Getting additional fans for the cabinet soon, as I just bought it recently.
 
Joined
May 25, 2011
Messages
374 (0.08/day)
Location
Netherlands
Processor Core i5 4690K @ 3.5 GHz \\ C2Q Q6600 @ 3.4 GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 SLI \\ Asus P5K Deluxe
Cooling Thermaltake Water 3.0 Performer \\ Xigmatek Dark Knight
Memory Crucial Ballistix Sport 2x 4GB \\ Corsair XMS2 2x 2 GB
Video Card(s) GIGABYTE GTX 970 G1 Gaming v1.1 (Hynix) \\ Sapphire HD 6850
Storage Kingston SV200, 3 TB Seagate 7200.14 \\ 2x 320 GB WD Blue
Display(s) LG 24MP56HQ
Case Corsair Carbide 200R Windowed \\ CM 690
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150 \\ Audigy 2 ZS
Power Supply Adata HM850 \\ Corsair HX520
Mouse Logitech G602, SteelSeries Sensei Raw Frostblue, Corsair M65
Keyboard Logitech Media Keyboard Elite
Software Windows 10 Pro x64 \\ Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Hi,

I guess the VRM on the GTX 550ti is overheating, and I don't see heatsinks on the VRM (at Sparkle's site), that may be the problem. Try to attach a case fans to blow at the VRMs on the card, or buy additional heatsinks like this to attach on those VRM on the card.

As for the Power Supply, I am using the same Corsair VX450 with my current setup for around 3 years too, even after I upgraded to my current HD 5850, no problem at all, and you already said that you have no problem with your other GTS 250 which is supposed to be more power hungry than your current GTX 550ti.
 
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