Radeon AIW 9700 Pro - DOA

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Nic

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Thought I'd see if anyone else has had a similar problem before I get it replaced. I just splashed out on a new graphics card (Sapphire Radeon All-in-Wonder 9700 Pro) so that I can use it as a Tivo, as well as to play games.

The card arrived yesterday, so I fitted it, but forgot to attach the extra power connector. My PC booted, but wouldn't POST, and instead beeped continuously whilst displaying a message informing me to connect the extra power connector to the card. After attaching the extra power connector, my PC fails to start, and all I see is the case fans spin a couple of times before the PC dies completely. The only way to get things to work again is by disconnecting the power at the wall socket.

It seems as if the graphics card is short circuiting my PSU (431w Enermax) and causing the protection circuits to kick in. I've tried fitting it to another PC with the same results. This is the first time I've ever had anything completely dead on arrival, and doesn't say much for quality control.

I'm open to suggestions, as its quite possible that I may have missed something when installing the card. Has anyone else had similar problems in the past?
 
It sounds like your guess is exactly what I would assume.

Since you have to physically unplug your PC, it is very apparent your PSU has shut itself down to protect itself.

Since the only new variable is the card, then seems the most likely assumption to me that your card is defective and somehow shorting your PSU out.
 
Me, too

I am having this exact same problem. I purchased a Radeon AIW 9700 Pro with all new parts for a sweet machine, and it does the same thing with my Antec SmartPower 400W power supply. If I unplug the power to the card, the fans go on, but as you said, if the card is plugged in, it fails, and must be unplugged before it will try to start up again.

PLEASE help! I NEED this machine, so if anyone has anything to offer, please let me know ASAP.
 
Perhaps there is something bigger here than just a small handfull of people with this problem. It might be worth investigating simliar problems... Perhaps even getting ahold of ATI finding if this is documented or not.
 
Here's something interesting, as it shows that others are having this exact same problem also. It appears that some PSUs aren't compatible.

Note that I have an Enermax 431w and also a Channel Well Technology 450w (Lareon says he has an Antec 400w), and neither of those work with this card. Seems to be a serious, and not uncommon, issue.

Maybe these PSUs protection circuits cut in too quickly, as the card must have a significant current draw at start up, that makes it look like a short to the PSU.

Here's the link ...

AWI 9700 Pro - Hardware Analysis Forum

PS: I have searched the ATI site but came up empty handed. Maybe I'll take another look later.
 
Perhaps it's an issue with the fault-sensing power supplies... The people who said that THEIR systems work fine aren't messing around with enermax or antec PSUs, which are the higher end ones with fault sensing implemented. I'm going to try to get into contact with ATI today to find out what I can.
 
Hmm. Try disconnecting all your devices but the video card and see if your computer stays on. I'm curious if it has something to do with amount of wattage the Radeon uses.
 
If the thing won't work in a system with one hard drive and two CDROM drives, and not much else installed (nForce2 + 450w PSU) then its not worth having.

I've removed the item and packed it ready for return so I'm not going to try any more s****tions other than those that might get it working.

Its not something that ATI will be able to fix easily as the design of the card needs to be modified - perhaps some sort of 'soft-start' circuit added.

I'm really surprised that something like this even made it past quality control during testing phase.

Maybe there is some other problem that only affects some of the cards produced, so I'll just have to wait till I get a response from tech support. :(

PS: Maybe nVidia's newer high power consumption cards (NV35/NV40) will also cause problems when released.
 
Yes, it still shuts off when you only plug in the mobo and the card...

I, also, am shipping the thing back. :: pleads for forgiveness :: I should never have left you, nVidia! Can you ever forgive me?!?

:: open new web browser to look at GeForce cards. ::
 
FYI - I'm using a True Blue 480 and not having any power problems.


But I'm getting (video device failures several times a night. I'm reading that it has alot to do with my E7205 mobo chipset. Any comments would greatly be appreciated.

PS- Did all Bios & ATI driver updates. I have noticed more stability by messing with the advanced display settings.
 
It's worth seeing if a bios update is available for your mainboard before looking at other solutions. Just visit the support section of your mainboard manufacturer's website - use google if you can't find it.
 
i am having the same damn problem

I am having the same god [edit] problem and its pissing me off. very frustrating. i have abit nf7-s, zalman 400watt, and the aiw 9700. the fans spin a couple times then crap out when the card is connected.. but when the card isn't connected it runs fine, except i cant see [edit]. just tells me i dont have it plugged in right
called ati, the never heard of this problem he said. I need a fix.. please.. right now im gonna use a different power supply and try and regulate the agp slot power consumption
 
This is an update to the problems that myself, and others here, have experience regarding Radeon AIW 9700 Pro.

I just received my brand new Radeon 9800 Pro today, and it worked perfectly, without a hitch, first time.

This leads me to suspect that there are a lot of Radeon cards being sold without having been tested properly during manufacture. This is probably due to cost cutting, and to expected failure rates being low. This issue may only apply to the AWI 9700 series cards, but it is impossible to say with any certainty.

If you receive a card that doesn't work, and suffers the same issues as described in this thread, then the card is faulty and you should return it, possibly for a different model. My Radeon 9800 Pro works perfectly, and I am really going to enjoy using this card, as its very fast.

Hope others find this update useful.
 
I know these posts are a little dated but I am having the idenitical problem with an AIW 9800 pro ... any updates on the cause of the problem?

Thanks!
 
I had a defective card (poor quality control at the factory). My new Radeon AIW 9800SE works fine, as does my 9800 Pro in my games PC.
 
Latest Info:

Hi,
Alot of time has passed since my last reply but I see the thread is still active. For Christmas I bought myself Flight Simulator 2004. After several months of stability running Catalyst 3.8 the computer flipped out with Flight Simulator. It would lock up in the cockpit everytime. Making a long story short, the latest Catalyst 3.10 fixed the issue. But get this. When I installed the drivers it whacked out my bios updates. Since when does upgrading your video drivers take out the bios. The reason I know is that the Gigabyte 8INXP board had problems with the bios drivers a couple versions ago and would display a DVPRM (sister board power supply) error on boot-up. This started up after installing 3.10 and went away when I restored to the last check point. At this time I can play Flight Simulator and the system stays stable after it has been up a second time. But a cold boot is a nightmare where windows stays in the splash screen for 4-5 mins and craps out. I don't know what it's doing or why. Once she reboots she's fine. But I have to go through that for a week now. I'm going to look for a bios update after this reply. I'll update if it's worth it. To this day I still don't know if the issues are the mother board or ATI. But there is a track record of people loving the 9700's and still hating gigabyte...........
 
Hey that's really wierd u say that, I used to have a Gigabyte Radeon 9700PRO and it didn't work properly for 9months. The technical support from them was absolute b*ll*cks so I got a Hercules 9800PRO and oh GOD is it fast. The 9700's have had loads of problems and i happenned to hav got one and i see you lot hav had problems too.
If I were you I'd stay away from gigabyte and walk closer to the 9800's.

hehe:grinthumb
 
HI, im writing a very brief note about my problem cause i deleted my whole 5 paragraphs before:

i accidentaly bent about 10-20 pins on the back of my cpu(3.8ghz) when replacing a heatsink(didnt replace properly) and it's a hell of a lot lower than normal. Is this because of the bent pins? (i know it is but reassure me) Is there any way I can fix it or anything to speed it up again?



thanks
 
Originally posted by InsaneMonkeyBoy
HI, im writing a very brief note about my problem cause i deleted my whole 5 paragraphs before:

i accidentaly bent about 10-20 pins on the back of my cpu(3.8ghz) when replacing a heatsink(didnt replace properly) and it's a hell of a lot lower than normal. Is this because of the bent pins? (i know it is but reassure me) Is there any way I can fix it or anything to speed it up again?

thanks

So, how does one go about getting a 3.8GHz CPU? I haven't seen anywhere to buy them, and I imagine that means I certainly won't find a good deal either. :)
 
Oops

:eek: Can't believe someone up here didn't flame me for stupidity....... The 8INXP by Gigabyte is one of their boards that has dual bios. Whenever the ATI display driver would crap out, the second bios would automatically boot as I had in the options. Problem is I never flashed that backup bios with the lastest. So it would really screw up the PC trying to boot with the old bios which I could never get to work with ATI. Things seem alittle better since I cleaned up my registry and turned off my fast writes in the ATI config. But I haven't used any of the capture features of the card which really so it's colors. I'll update when I get a chance. Headed to Mexico for a couple weeks to do some work for GM in Silao.
 
So, how does one go about getting a 3.8GHz CPU?

AAAAAAAh! Plz plz plz dont go into that. If you want to see the argument I had with other people go to my thread in CPu, CHipsets and mobos. It's called 'CPU damaged?'.
I simply overclocked a 3.06 to 3.733 (3.8) ok? I've got a damn good heatsink and fan to support it.


PS: Lol, I never meant to reply into this forum I just accidently went back into the previous forum (this one) without realising and sent it into this one. :confused: :D
 
FIXED!!!! well, sorta

I've recently finished building a system with a Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro2 mobo and i just got an AIW 9700 Pro and i had the exact same problem described here.

I did some searching and found a temporary fix for it, i just can't for the life of me remember where i saw it.

What you have to do is unplug the power cable from the card, power up the system, and then connect the power cable to the card. You have to do this before the computer starts beeping of course.

I've been using the system this way for about 2 weeks now and it's working great. It just means that you have to this everytime you need to turn off the system to do anything with it. Restarting the system is fine, but if you press the reset button, forget it. You'd have to unplug it again and start over. :rolleyes:

Apart from that little glitch, the card is beautiful. The media features are excellent, with MMC 8.8 that is, and the 3D quality is fantastic as well. And talk about stability... this system has been running straight for the past week or so. :cool:

I'm going to register the card on ATi's site later and then give them a call and see what they have to say about it. I'm sure they must have run into this problem by now.


Oh yeah, forgot to mention... the PSU i'm using is the original TruPower 380w that came in my Antec Sonata case. ;)
 
Well, I just got off the phone with ATi... they're a bunch of *****s.

They told me "oh, well, that card doesn't really like that PSU so you'll need to buy a new one. Either an Enermax or a Thermaltake..."

Ya, whatever :rolleyes:


I'll just stick with my fix for now :cool:
 
Originally posted by bajan
Well, I just got off the phone with ATi... they're a bunch of *****s.

They told me "oh, well, that card doesn't really like that PSU so you'll need to buy a new one. Either an Enermax or a Thermaltake..."

Ya, whatever :rolleyes:


I'll just stick with my fix for now :cool:
I wouldn't be so quick to call ATI engineers *****s. The symptoms you report do suggest that there is an issue regarding startup current, which your PSU may not be able to supply at a stable voltage to all your devices at startup. Removing your graphics card from the loop reduces the demands on the PSU, and may be the reason why this works for you.

There are a lot of unknowns here, and although the symptoms you experience appear identical to what other here have experienced, it would not be fair to say that the cause is identical (though it might be). Antec do make high quality PSUs, but the Trupower 380w has only 18A available on the +12v rail, which is quite low by todays standards. The Enermax 350w PSU typically has around 26A on the +12v rail, and the 460w version has 33A.

My particular 9700 card turned out to be defective, and I am now running a 9800 card without any issue. I hope you find a solution to your issue, as it must be a real pain having to disconnect your card when starting your PC. I don't think I could put up with that for long. Good luck, and please post back if you discover anything else that may be of interest to others here.
 
Originally posted by Nic
I hope you find a solution to your issue, as it must be a real pain having to disconnect your card when starting your PC. I don't think I could put up with that for long. Good luck, and please post back if you discover anything else that may be of interest to others here.


You bet it is. I just ordered an Enermax EG465P-VE (FCA) 465W psu which i should get sometime next week. We'll see how that goes and then i'll post the results :D
 
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