Problems after installing a new XFX HD4850

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by Isaac, Aug 13, 2009.

  1. Isaac

    Isaac Geek Trainee

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    Hi,

    After getting a new XDX HD4850, and fitting it with no problems whatsoever, my computer seems to be alot slower than it used to be, i.e.: taking longer to load things etc. My computer also crashes alot and just restarts instantly and then when it starts up says that the system has recovered from a serious error.

    I have ruled out the following problems that could cause these types of issues:
    -Overheating
    -GFX card not compatible; the graphics card works wonders for gaming and can max out CoD4 and Crysis with 0 problems.

    The only thing I can think that is wrong is the main hard drive, ever since I fitted the new graphics card, I had to move the SATA cable from Chan1 to Chan4 because the GFX card physically took up too much room on my motherboard. Ever since this, it takes 30 seconds to copy 40mb of data, which used to be instant, also, when playing COD4 or other games sucgh as crysis, sometimes it can take 3 minutes to load a map, when other times it takes about 10 seconds..

    Any help is much appreciated, this has become ridicules and is starting to really bug me!

    Thanks!

    Computer Specs:

    Dual Core CPU 4600 MHZ
    2GB of RAM
    M-Audio Delta 2496 soundcard - Connected to a PCI Express slot
    XFX HD4850 GPU - Connected using a PCI Express 2.0 slot
    650w winpower PSU
    120GB MAXTOR Sata HD
     
  2. Isaac

    Isaac Geek Trainee

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    Might I also add that my system thinks my HD is a removable device :s it never used to do that before installing my new GPU.

    Could it be that maybe the channels on my motherboard are different types of SATA connections? and my HD might not be compatible with these?
     
  3. BoBBYI986

    BoBBYI986 Geek

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    start off with a reset cmos to try and clear up the hd being detected as removable device. try and benchmark your hard drive using HD Tune to see if you have any dodgy read and write speeds. run memtest86. could also be a power supply unit issue and disconnect your reset switch from the motherboard and also try repairing windows. incase you have issues within windows. could also be stability issues run prime 95.

    let us know how it goes.

    btw: what OS are you running and does windows assign some system ram to your graphics card?
     
  4. Isaac

    Isaac Geek Trainee

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    I am running Windows XP Pro SP3.

    I will give all your sugestions a go! Thanks!
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  5. BoBBYI986

    BoBBYI986 Geek

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    HD read speed drops dramatically. go into HD Tune settings and change the setting from fast to about 3 markers above accurate and reply with results.

    how long did you prime95 for? if you ran prime95 for a good few hours without any crashes you can rule out your cpu and ram. did you try repairing windows?

    your power supply unit is more than enough to power that system but ive never heard of winpower before, i just googled for it and it's dirt cheap brand.
    so your power supply unit could be the cause of all this. should always invest in good brand psu's such as ocz, corsair, enermax etc. your psu will be very underated and probs running about 300W. and the 4850 is a power demanding card and will require about 550w atleast.
     
  6. Isaac

    Isaac Geek Trainee

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    Here are my HD tune settings:

    [​IMG]

    I will let prime run for a good hour and see what happens.

    I doubt that my PSU is too blame since I can play Crysis/CoD4 for 3 hours without any problems, while my GPU is at around 70-90% activity. My computer can do that instant reboot thing at anytime, when I'm playing games, or when I'm just using it to browse the internet on just FireFox.
     
  7. BoBBYI986

    BoBBYI986 Geek

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    could well be a virus then. run an anti virus program, I would also repair windows. see how it goes.
     
  8. Isaac

    Isaac Geek Trainee

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    No viruses whatsoever, I've been running McAfee since I got my computer up and running. Possibly could be a software problem do you think?

    I had to move my Soundcard from one PCI slot to the next and uninstall my old GFX card to the new version. I had to reinstall my Sound Card too due to the PCI slots changing. Could something have messed up at this point?
     
  9. BoBBYI986

    BoBBYI986 Geek

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    could well be software problem. re-install graphics card drivers. the thing is if it was graphics card drivers the pc wouldn't shut off, the screen would just go black. but it's worth a shot anyway re-installing drivers. Also disconnect your reset switch from the motherboards control panel. as you say it restarts at anytime. If you do decide to repair windows you will need a service pack 3 disk, if you use an earlier version you will mess up your windows.

    btw: about Mcafee I've also got the same anti virus and gotta say it's a waste of space. my girlfriend ran a dodgy compiled .exe and mcafee just let it run. so if you've got any other versions of anti virus such as kaspersky give that as go.

    about the soundcard that wouldn't effect it only if it wasn't seated propely then it would short.
     
  10. Isaac

    Isaac Geek Trainee

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    Hey, I've tried all but no luck, my computer is still slow.

    I tried the CPU+RAM stress test for a good hour and the temp peaked at 54c and ran fine, no crashes there.

    I tried the HD test on my other HD with is an ATA, and it runs at a constant 71mb/s without going up or down, so why my HD can stoop as low as 1mb/s and as high as 100mb/s is very strange. Might it be a power issue? - I have got a spare power connector hanging about in my case that is not used, do you think switching them might make a difference? maybe the lead is dodgy!

    P.S: Thankyou so much for all your help, I have already learned lots!

    -

    EDIT:

    [​IMG]
    I got this error upon restarting windows because my computer was just unbearably slow. after this error my computer seems unusually fast once again, but for how long? I hope I get to the bottom of this because all this unsuitability and performance spikes are worrying me.
     
  11. BoBBYI986

    BoBBYI986 Geek

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    try this: run services.msc and disable "ATI Hotkey Poller Service"
     
  12. Isaac

    Isaac Geek Trainee

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    Thank you so much BoBBYI986, that seems to have sorted the problem! My computer is back to how it was before I bought my GFX card! -- I also cleaned my HD and removed a lot of useless and unnecessary programs which freed up 45gb, which has also boosted my computers performance!

    I am very grateful for all your help, and I have learned lots! =>
     

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