New build but no display. Need help!

spengos · 31 Jul 2010 at 15:39

I'm trying to build my new system but having switched it on there's nothing being displayed or no output of any kind on the monitor.

My new components are:

XFX ATI Radeon HD 5850 1024MB GDDR5
Asus Crosshair IV Formula AMD 890FX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition 3.40GHz (Socket AM3)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache

I have my old system plus a second monitor so I'm able to do some testing.

I know for certain it's not a monitor issue as my main monitor and test one both work fine on my old system.

So, on to the system itself. I've tried putting my old gfx card(8800GTX) in to my new system but that doesn't work either. I tried putting the 5850 into my old system but it doesn't work. But this is probably due to it not being compatible.

Having put my entire new system together I've now stripped in right back to just the motherboard, cpu and ram in the case with the gfx card.

Because I can't test the 5858 in another system I don't know if my problem is the gfx card or the motherboard.

Anybody got any ideas? Anyone familiar with the Asus Crosshair IV and know if I'm missing anything? Could it be a power issue?

stulid · 31 Jul 2010 at 15:40

you using the top pci-e 16X slot?

any lights on the motherboard? do the fans spin up? even for a second?

spengos · 31 Jul 2010 at 15:51

Yep using the top/first PCI slot.

All lights appear on motherboard, everything powers up and starts up. CPU fan, case fans, even the gfx card fan. Everything seems to run as normal, just no display. Quite frustrating.

stulid · 31 Jul 2010 at 15:52

are both pci-e power cables connected to the 5850?

have you tried both dvi outputs on the card

spengos · 31 Jul 2010 at 15:58

Yep, my psu comes with 2 pci cables. They're both 8 pin to 6 pin and plugin to 2 special sockets on the psu. I've got both plugged into card.

I've tried both dvi outputs too. Nothing

honosuseri · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:03

Does the system have a speaker in the case (or is it connected properly). The machine will beep, these post codes help identify problems including the gfx card.

Why is the new ati card not compatible with the old system? If it's a power issue swap the psu over.

stulid · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:07

you have the addition 8pin ATX plugged into the motherboard?

spengos · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:08

The case I bought(Antec 300) doesn't appear to have a speaker. I did some searching online and its not just my case they all have it missing. very strange thing to leave out by the manufactures. I was thinking if stretching the speaker wires over from my old system and plug them into the new one to see if that worked.

I don't think my old motherboard (Asus PSN-E SLI) supports PCI-e 2.0 gfx cards. I could be wrong though.

Swapping the psu's is a good idea. I will try that now.

stulid · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:10

pci 2.0 card and 1.1 motherboard are backwards compatible.

spengos · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:11

stulid said:
you have the addition 8pin ATX plugged into the motherboard?

Erm.. what do you mean?

I only have the long 24 plug from the psu to the motherboard. Do I need something else?

honosuseri · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:14

there is either a 4pin or 8 pin additional power connector for modern mobos. If you dont have one on the psu that could be a problem

stulid · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:16

its next to the big black heatsink and the mouse/keyboard PS/2 ports, might even have a plastic cover hiding four of the pins.

honosuseri · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:17

If you are using the OCZ modular PSU it will have the required connectors. Grab the userguide for the mobo or download it and it will show you where the extra power connectors are on the mobo layout schematic

spengos · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:27

Ok, I've added the extra 8 pin ATX power cable(oops!) and things are progressing but still not there. Since I added the extra cable there's a bit more noise going on, plus now I've got some status lights on the mobo. There's a light for each of the major components, CPU, DRAM, VGA, HDD. The VGA light stays lit so I'm guessing thats the problem. Going to try my 8800GTX in there quick and see what happens.

honosuseri · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:29

It's also worth checking you have the polarity of the motherboard headers the right way round, as some mobos can be fussy about them.

A simple test is just to plug in the power pin header, leave the others reset etc etc and see what happens.

We are getting there it seems ;p

spengos · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:41

The 8800GTX worked, so it looks like I have a faulty 5850.

honosuseri · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:46

Is the pci-ex power connector part of the "hardwired" cables or part of the modular leads?

honosuseri · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:47

scrap that just remembered its modular......dont worry

stulid · 31 Jul 2010 at 16:56

try the 5850 in the old pc, and then you have a positive answer

spengos · 31 Jul 2010 at 17:06

stulid said:
try the 5850 in the old pc, and then you have a positive answer

I tried it earlier and just got a VGA error bleep from the mobo. At the time I assumed it wasn't compatible but now it makes sense.

I'm almost certain it's a faulty card now. Such a shame. Hard to believe a brand new £200 card would be dead on arrival. Don't they test these things... :mad:

I've just created an RMA. Hopefully I'll have a new card to try early next week.

Thanks very much for your help guys. Its really appreciated.