Need assistance with build from last year

fleetstdemon

fleetstdemon

fleetstdemon

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Joined
16 Jan 2011
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45
Hi. Last year i decided to build my first proper gaming rig from scratch.
In the past i had only upgraded a component or two but i had a good general idea of how everything goes together.

I needed some help selecting the best components for my budget, which was just under £900, so i came here.
With some much appreciated aid from some people on here i ended up putting together a build consisting of the following:

VTX3D HD 7870 Black Boost Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM

Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050)

Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Case - Black

Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K28GX)

Thermaltake Smart Series 530w Modular '80Plus Bronze' Power Supply

Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GBs 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD

Thermalright HR-02 Macho CPU Cooler (Socket 775 1150 1155 1156 1366)

LiteOn IHAS124-04 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

During the build i ran into two issues:

1. The GPU doesn't work in the x16 slot. It seems to power up, the fan spins up but it will not display anything. It will only work in the slower slot.

2.I couldn't get the HDD to work at all.

Unfortunately while trying to sort out these issues something bad happened which resulted in me spending a long time in hospital.

While trying to troubleshoot the issues, and before falling ill, i installed a Seagate Baraccuda 500GB 5400rpm HDD which got the rig up and running although at far from its best
My rig was taken to my mum's home where it ended up being used as a second family PC. I just recently got it back.

I'm just wondering if i've maybe got some bad parts or there are some BIOS settings i need to adjust to get the GPU working in the correct slot and to get the original HDD working.
Although i know which part goes where, i have very limited knowledge of BIOS settings and options and i'm hoping i just need to configure it correctly.

Any help will be appreciated.
 
Sorry to hear that, hope your better now!

Regarding the GPU, does the on-board work at all? Have you managed to test the GPU in a different machine?

For your HDD, does BIOS detect it?
 
Thanks for the reply!

The onboard graphics work and the card works in the slower slot but when the GPU is in the x16 slot it doesn't show up under device manager.

I don't have another machine to test the GPU in and none of my friends are really into PC's. They all have laptops and smartphones for their facebook addictions :)

I don't know if the HDD shows up under BIOS. I'm trying to troubleshoot it now.

I came across an old email from Gigabyte. It was a response to a request for help i emailed them when i first came across the issue. It suggests going into the Bios and changing the PCI ROM Priority to Legacy.

I tried to do that but the steps they detailed for me to follow are not very clear.

For the HDD they asked if it worked, which i hope it does as it was brand new for this build, then suggested updating the BIOS to the latest version.

I had just got to updating the BIOS when i became ill.
At the time the latest one was f19 however i just checked and saw there had been a few updates since then, so i just installed the latest beta version.
I'm going to try the HDD after dinner.

1am and i'm just getting around to dinner!
 
Checked the HDD now that the latest BIOS is installed.

There appear to be two SATA 3 ports on the motherboard. I wasn't sure if there was a specific one i should use so i tried them both.

On the top one there didn't seem to be any recognition that the HDD was connected. It did not show up under device manager or the BIOS. There was no operation sounds of any kind from the drive.

Not sure if it's relevent but the 6GB/s cable i have is L-shaped at one end and straight at the other. To try the other port i had to change which end was connected to the mobo as the case was getting in the way.
When i started up the PC this time there was a high pitched whine coming from the drive. It was as if the platters were spinning but something was pressing on them.

That sound was the first indication that there was any power going to the drive. It failed to show up in either the Device Manager or the BIOS.

Any ideas?
 
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The onboard graphics work and the card works in the slower slot but when the GPU is in the x16 slot it doesn't show up under device manager.
Click to expand...

If I'm reading this correctly, when you are connecting the card to the top port, are you able to get into windows and use the PC?

There appear to be two SATA 3 ports on the motherboard. I wasn't sure if there was a specific one i should use so i tried them both.

On the top one there didn't seem to be any recognition that the HDD was connected. It did not show up under device manager or the BIOS. There was no operation sounds of any kind from the drive.
Click to expand...

How is the HDD being powered, are you using an extender or modular PSU cables? Does the power cable you are connecting to the HDD work on another device?

In regards to the port, it will work on any port, but will be limited to the speed of the drive. i.e.If the drive is SATA II, a SATA III port will run at SATA II speeds.

It may be that the drive is DOA (dead on arrival). They normally comes with long warranties, so if using another power cable doesn't work, I'd get it RMA'd.
 
Hi

I had a similar problem with my vtx3d 280x 3gb. Have you made sure that you have plugged all of the power cables into the card, if some of them are plugged it the fan will still spin but not output an image? I have no idea about the problem with your HDD but it may be worth while trying all of the different slots on the motherboard.

Hope this helps
 
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freddie64 said:
That sounds like an esata cable (should only be used with external drives).

Try using a normal sata cable with L shaped plugs at both ends, (can be sata 2 or sata 3).
Click to expand...

You sure he is not referring to the plug being L shaped? 90 degrees SATA connector?
 
snips86x said:
You sure he is not referring to the plug being L shaped? 90 degrees SATA connector?
Click to expand...

I'm assuming that it this, if it is it shouldn't matter, i would suggest trying every SATA port that's on your motherboard. I can't imagine that his motherboard comes with an eSATA cable its normally something you buy in addition.

Regarding the graphics card issue, i would check to see if you've plugged in the power connectors, maybe take a photo of it to let us see?
 
fleetstdemon:
The onboard graphics work and the card works in the slower slot but when the GPU is in the x16 slot it doesn't show up under device manager.

snips86x:
If I'm reading this correctly, when you are connecting the card to the top port, are you able to get into windows and use the PC?

fleetstdemon:
No. I am using an HDMI Cable from the card to the monitor. The monitor doesn't detect the card at all and goes into standby. I have to use the on board graphics to use the PC when the card is in the top slot.

fleetstdemon:
There appear to be two SATA 3 ports on the motherboard. I wasn't sure if there was a specific one i should use so i tried them both.
On the top one there didn't seem to be any recognition that the HDD was connected. It did not show up under device manager or the BIOS. There was no operation sounds of any kind from the drive.

snips86x :
How is the HDD being powered, are you using an extender or modular PSU cables? Does the power cable you are connecting to the HDD work on another device?

fleetstdemon:
I'm using a modular PSU. The cable works on my other HDD. The cable thats connected to my working drive has a few other plugs along its length. I tried connecting both drives to that cable. The drive thats working was fine but all i got from the other drive was a high pitch whine for a few seconds during POST.

snips86x:
In regards to the port, it will work on any port, but will be limited to the speed of the drive. i.e.If the drive is SATA II, a SATA III port will run at SATA II speeds.

It may be that the drive is DOA (dead on arrival). They normally comes with long warranties, so if using another power cable doesn't work, I'd get it RMA'd.

fleetstdemon:
So i should still be able to get the HDD and the mobo RMA'd even though i got them around 10 months ago?


William-Mathew:
Hi
I had a similar problem with my vtx3d 280x 3gb. Have you made sure that you have plugged all of the power cables into the card, if some of them are plugged it the fan will still spin but not output an image? I have no idea about the problem with your HDD but it may be worth while trying all of the different slots on the motherboard.

Hope this helps

fleetstdemon:
Yeah, the card is properly connected to the power as it works fine in the x4 slot.

I haven't tried all the ports on the mobo for the non working drive, just the SATA 3 ports. I have the spare drive connected to one of the SATA 2 ports and it works fine.


snips86x:
You sure he is not referring to the plug being L shaped? 90 degrees SATA connector?

fleetstdemon:
Thats what i meant.


freddie64:
Doh! Of course that is what he means.

fleetstdemon:
Wasn't it obvious? :p
 
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