Hi there, lately i bought a Gainward GF GTS450 to upgrade. According to my Motherboard specs it supports PCI-Express X16 (max. x4 mode). Now, the GTS450 is compatible with PCI-Express 1.0 and PCI-Express 2.0 so this is not a problem. BUT I'd like to check whether this GFX card is compatible, since the motherboard only allows max. x4 mode. In other words, does it require more than x4 mode to work properly? I'm asking this since i'm experiencing blue screen problems during booting (WinXp) after instaling drivers, so i'm eliminating problems which might be causing this. Thanks in advance
make sure to remove old drivers if you are using existing windows install. might have to boot into safe mode to use generic VGA drivers.
As regards the power cord, yes it requires additional power and it's definitely connected. I choose Last Known Good Configuration in order to be able to use my PC. I removed previous drivers using a driver sweeper but gives me blue screen just the same. Thanks for your replies
might not be compatible with my motherboard .. ASUS P5VD1-X (The strange thing is that I tried to change my PSU and I had no output signal instead of booting normally + blue screen.)
If your using the double molex to single 6pin adapter that came with the card, your PSU may still not be powering the card properly. You have to read the label on your PSU to ensure its putting out the correct amps on the 12v rail. I have the same card, and I believe it requires 24A minimum on the 12v supply. I have older PSU's that will have a plug that fits into the card, but is only supplying 15 Amps or so.. hence it appear to to fit, and one would assume it should work, but it won't. Double check your PSU. I think most of the newer cards are backwards compatible... so if your plugging it into a PCIe 4X slot, then although the card can do more, it will only run at 4X.
I'm thinking that the culprit here is the fact that the card is PCI-Express 2.0 x16. x16 requires more bandwidth than other cards.. The GTS250 might work.. not sure though http://www.nvidia.com/content/HelpMeChoose/fx2/HelpMeChoose.asp?lang=en-us What you said is entirely true in fact i'm keeping an 800W PSU instead of the 450W one. Thanks for your help mate Still thinking about the gts250.. i have to forget about the gts450 it seems (tried it with the 800W PSU -no output)
Having a lower rated PCI-Express slot will not prevent the card from working. And even then 4x still won't limit most cards too badly. It's a limit of the bandwidth, not the card itself. And most cards barely touch the limit of the bandwidth at 4x. It could be that the 800W PSU you tried was junk. Unless you paid upward of $150+ for it, it most likely was. Wattage rating doesn't matter one bit. It's the amperage on the 12v that matters. Brand is extremely important for PSUs
