[fangs2000]

Hey all,

I decided to upgrade the cooler on my PCI-E ATi X1950 pro (sapphire) graphics card with a zalman cooler.

Installation went fine but when i put it into the PC and turned it on, the screen is a mess. I can see the POST information but there is blue stripy bars and rows of letters (for example, pppppppppppppppppp) in random places. The PC can stay in windows for a few minuites before I lose the picture and have to flick the power switch on the PSU to turn the computer off.

Also, seems odd but the PC does not fully POST when it is lying on it's side. I don't think this was the case before the fan change.

This is a bit disturbing. I have checked the card out and everything seems fine visually.

What I want to check is the gold contacts (that plug into the motherboard). The one closest to the output is only 1/2 a contact. It looks like a square where the others rectangle. It LOOKS like it is intentional but I want to check if others have have that, and if not it means i am missing 1/2 a contact, which could cause the problem.

I have thought about overheating, but the fact i get this screen mess AS SOON as I get a picture may rule that out. The fan is spinning fine.

Thanks for any help you may provide