Potential issue with MSI P67A-GD65 - advice needed please

Reed · 27 Dec 2016 at 14:30

Hey guys, I got an RX 480 for Christmas however I am having some issues in that the computer wont seem to boot with the card in. It powers on however there is no display.

I believe the issue relates to the mobo I am using and the BIOS I have installed (its like 5 years old). I have been reading around in terms of updating the BIOS but I have the B1 version of this particular mobo and there seems to be a flurry of information relating to issues when updating the bios, see; https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=159379.0 and https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=253425.0

Has anyone had a similar experience or have any advice re the safest way to proceed?

My set-up is as follows:

i5-2500K @ stock
MSI P67A-GD65
Gigabyte 580GTX SOC
Corsair TX750 PSU
12GB DDR3

pastymuncher · 27 Dec 2016 at 18:57

There is no safe way to proceed with a MSI motherboard and flashing the bios. There are three ways to update the bios of a MSI board:-
1. Live Update - The highest chance of bricking the board.
2. The flashing tool in the bios - Can also brick boards.
3. Sign up to their forums and download the flashing tool from there (possibly a DOS tool) - Still can brick the board.

I have never understood why MSI have never got their act together when it comes to flashing the bios. When Z77 was the current chipset we had many posts about bricked boards from bios flashes even when they have followed the instructions to the letter. Other manufacturers have got it right so why not them? It's one of the reasons why I avoid their boards. At the end of the day there is no guaranteed safe method and you have to take a chance and hope that it all goes well or stick with the bios that it's on. The problem then being that you can't use your card.

pacegod · 27 Dec 2016 at 21:19

Do not put version 4.0 or higher bios on your MB or you will brick it. My brother flashed his P67A with the 4.0 and its now dead. Only replacing the bios chips will fix it.

Reed · 28 Dec 2016 at 12:18

pacegod said:
Do not put version 4.0 or higher bios on your MB or you will brick it. My brother flashed his P67A with the 4.0 and its now dead. Only replacing the bios chips will fix it.

Thanks for the warning

Is it not safe to try even with a backup of my current bios?

I can't see any 1155 socket mobo's on ocuk so the alternative would be a full upgrade which I wanted to avoid just after Christmas.

pastymuncher · 28 Dec 2016 at 19:01

No because it wil brick the board and once that happens that's your lot with MSI's boards. The only boards you are going to be able to buy now is whatever comes up second hand on the likes of ebay. The prices have gone through the roof and most are more expensive than a brand new low-mid range Z170 board.

Reed · 28 Dec 2016 at 20:25

pastymuncher said:
No because it wil brick the board and once that happens that's your lot with MSI's boards. The only boards you are going to be able to buy now is whatever comes up second hand on the likes of ebay. The prices have gone through the roof and most are more expensive than a brand new low-mid range Z170 board.

I have managed to locate another potential 1155 board however it's another MSI board

Would prefer that it were a different board maker but beggers cant be choosers.

You make it sound like this is a common issue with MSI boards however the only reason I believe it was a problem with this particular board is because there was a previous recall and a new revision was released. As I don't have the revised board then I can't update to the latest bios (given it's 6 years old I can't complain much, just unlucky).

At least I believe that's the core of the issue unless you believe MSI boards have systemic issues?

pastymuncher · 29 Dec 2016 at 13:20

It is a continued problem with MSI boards. They have always had more problems when updating the bios than any other manufacturer and for some reason they are unable or unwilling to do anything about it. Their forums are full of tales of woe about bricked boards even when using the recommended methods. We were having abaout a thread or two a week on here when Z77 was the current chipset because Z77 boards needed a update to use the latest gpu's from both AMD and Nvidia even though Z77 was the latest chipset. I have never had a bios flash go wrong from any other manufacturer and I keep my boards bios up to date. It's completely unacceptable and they need to get it sorted.