I recently bought a new PC with the following specs:
AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz quad core
8GB DDR3 RAM
500W PSU
I'm trying to install a GTX 570 and it just won't work, although it did in the antique dual core piece of crap I upgraded from. Here's what happened:
1. Installed the card, switched on the PC. No video output, card was very noisy.
2. Tightened the power connectors for the card, switched on PC. Card made no noise I could make out but still no output.
3. Remembered reading somewhere that some PCs need integrated graphics disabled for a discrete GPU to work. Disabled onboard graphics. Still no display. Removed card and now no output at all due to onboard graphics being disabled. Cried a bit. Reset CMOS. Back to square 1.
What's going wrong? There are two power connectors for the card but I only have enough MOLEX connectors for one of them on my mobo, however I only used one on the old PC and it still worked. I would really appreciate any advice!
Maybe you need both connections to be powered. You can get a molex adapter that gives you two connectors from one. They are usually very cheap from the online places. Even then, make sure that your power supply has the needed watts to run the card. What does the manufacturer say that your card requires?
Quote from: Staggerwing on March 28, 2015, 06:27:16 AM
Maybe you need both connections to be powered. You can get a molex adapter that gives you two connectors from one. They are usually very cheap from the online places. Even then, make sure that your power supply has the needed watts to run the card. What does the manufacturer say that your card requires?
I'll second that guess.
Well I'm at least 90% certain I only used one when it was in the last computer but it definitely won't hurt to try. Thanks guys!
Just remember if we're wrong or you blow something up it's probably Martok's fault. :P
I would look at the power requirements on the new card and also look at what your power supply can deliver. A split connector may not work if you can't get enough juice to the card.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on March 28, 2015, 08:45:17 AM
Well I'm at least 90% certain I only used one when it was in the last computer but it definitely won't hurt to try. Thanks guys!
I didn't realize this was not a new card. Also, just noticed in your OP that you have a 500w psu. That should run most non-bleeding-edge cards. You tried both power inputs on the card I take it? Did the fan spin?
Also, put the card back into the old computer and make sure it still works. It is always possible that it was damaged during the swap. The fact that it was noisy the first time in was seated and quiet the next is a little worrying. Do you have any other gfx cards you can try for diagnostics to rule out any issues with the mobo?
Thanks Staggerwing. Yeah I'll try all your suggestions, I'm just not looking forward to it after all the pissing about I did last night. I do have a different GPU to put in so I can always try that, and I can try putting the newer card back in the old PC too. It will be difficult to run the PC while looking inside though due to space constraints but I'll try.
I've been doing some reading up and every article I've read so far says that both connectors must be used. I've no idea how I got away with that with the old PC, but it does sound like a good place to start. Until I can get some more adapters I might be able to salvage some molex connectors from the DVD drive and maybe something else, like the front I/O panel or something.
If I can't get this working it will have been almost pointless buying a new PC at all!
Im thinking your PSU is to weak.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on March 28, 2015, 10:49:34 AM
Im thinking your PSU is to weak.
I have an nVidia GTX 240 which I'll try; it's a
tiny card and I don't think it even has a fan, so if it works then the PSU will immediately become the prime suspect.
got this right off the spec sheet:
Maximum GPU Temperature (in C)
97 C
Maximum Graphics Card Power (W)
219 W
Minimum System Power Requirement (W)4
550 W
Supplementary Power Connectors4
Two 6-pin
so depending on what kind of motherboard and odds and ends you have in your build you might not have enough juice.
last year when I built my current pc I knew I was skating by with a 750 watt psu.
Oh shit. Well it's going to be fun trying to get a PSU upgrade past my lady when I've only just bought a whole PC.
Thanks mate. Looks like I'm going to be stuck with the 240 until I can get a new PSU. :(
Does the 240 work OK, Huw?
It did the last time I used it Bob. I haven't tried it in the new pc but I'd be amazed if it doesn't work.
Gotchya. Does indeed seem to be a PSU issue then.
look at some newer cards. A number of them have had their psu requirements reduced but still giving more graphics power. Like a Nvidia GTX 750Ti only requires 300+ watt PSU. It might actually end up being a more cost effective upgrade than a new psu.
Tigerdirect is having a huge sale at the moment.
Good point, Bison.
I've been seriously considering this rig;
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/desktop-pc-monitors/desktop-pcs/gaming-pcs/acer-predator-g3-605-gaming-pc-10106225-pdt.html#longDesc
Looks not bad, and it includes a SSD as a second drive, although why its only 8GB seems a bit strange.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on March 28, 2015, 12:31:02 PM
Tigerdirect is having a huge sale at the moment.
Don't think they have any stores in the UK, although no doubt there will be something similar.
I'd think that is a hybrid drive where the boot runs off of the 8gb.
You buy online from them.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on March 28, 2015, 12:35:05 PM
You buy online from them.
Yeah, but shipping costs will probs push the price up a fair whack.
Good English deals here bob http://www.chillblast.com/Choose-a-desktop-by-Task/ I've never here of them but they give prices in the ol'english pound and the builds are better for same price as the acer you linked.
Hmm, some nice stuff there, Bison. Mind you, I'm not in the queue just yet. Its Mrs.B's turn for the next PC change, so I've passed the link on to her.
Quote from: Bison on March 28, 2015, 12:28:25 PM
look at some newer cards. A number of them have had their psu requirements reduced but still giving more graphics power. Like a Nvidia GTX 750Ti only requires 300+ watt PSU. It might actually end up being a more cost effective upgrade than a new psu.
Great little card and performance for the price and power requirements. I bought one myself last month, no complaints. The card was made with that sort of requirement in mind (people making home theatre pc's or BitCoin mining rigs), which had to be quieter and less power hungry, but still pack a punch.
Hopefully Hew you've found a spare card to use for the moment (at least until this gets resolved).
Quote from: bob48 on March 28, 2015, 01:05:59 PM
Hmm, some nice stuff there, Bison. Mind you, I'm not in the queue just yet. Its Mrs.B's turn for the next PC change, so I've passed the link on to her.
Mines from chill blast
It was and still is awesome
Bison has a great idea there with getting a newer card that requires less juice. He is wise.
Quote from: undercovergeek on March 28, 2015, 02:18:07 PM
Quote from: bob48 on March 28, 2015, 01:05:59 PM
Hmm, some nice stuff there, Bison. Mind you, I'm not in the queue just yet. Its Mrs.B's turn for the next PC change, so I've passed the link on to her.
Mines from chill blast
It was and still is awesome
Aye, we have been drooling over some of the rigs on there.
At your age drooling isnt uncommon.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on March 28, 2015, 05:08:16 PM
At your age drooling isnt uncommon.
he doesnt drool from where you think
Im sure he drools from everywhere I think.
..and some you wouldn't think.
I think....
Well the old GT240 works fine, so I guess I'll stick with it until I upgrade my PSU or possibly buy something like the 750Ti.
How come my old PC could run the 570 then? Is it because the CPU was so low-powered that less than the reference wattage was required?
what were the older pc's specs and its psu?
Did you put the 570 back into the old rig just to see if the card was still good?
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on March 29, 2015, 08:40:44 AM
what were the older pc's specs and its psu?
Pentium D Dual Core 1.8GHz
460W PSU
Quote from: Staggerwing on March 29, 2015, 08:45:10 AM
Did you put the 570 back into the old rig just to see if the card was still good?
Nah I can't be arsed switching the PCs around right now, it's the weekend, I just wanted to play some games! :( I might do it later in the week out of curiosity.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on March 29, 2015, 09:20:06 AM
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on March 29, 2015, 08:40:44 AM
what were the older pc's specs and its psu?
Pentium D Dual Core 1.8GHz
460W PSU
Quote from: Staggerwing on March 29, 2015, 08:45:10 AM
Did you put the 570 back into the old rig just to see if the card was still good?
Nah I can't be arsed switching the PCs around right now, it's the weekend, I just wanted to play some games! :( I might do it later in the week out of curiosity.
The GTX 570 specs say it needs a 550W PSU, so that old PSU you had appears to be the limiting factor. You can get a pretty decent brand name PSU 650 W or above for a good price online. You don't necessarily need a whole new rig, but if you upgrade one day, you can bring it over to the new case of course.
Good luck!
Quote from: Huw the Poo on March 29, 2015, 09:20:06 AM
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on March 29, 2015, 08:40:44 AM
what were the older pc's specs and its psu?
Pentium D Dual Core 1.8GHz
460W PSU
Quote from: Staggerwing on March 29, 2015, 08:45:10 AM
Did you put the 570 back into the old rig just to see if the card was still good?
Nah I can't be arsed switching the PCs around right now, it's the weekend, I just wanted to play some games! :( I might do it later in the week out of curiosity.
That's crazy because the new PSU has more umph. I'd be leaning toward a fried card.
Well....I bought a new PSU in the end, 650W. Mostly to power my GT 570 but also partially because the old PSU was loud. The new one (a gold-rated XFX) has a hybrid fan mode so it's silent except under load. My PC is on whenever I'm indoors so this is much better for the ears!
After much struggling, cursing and swearing I finally got the bloody thing installed, but my 570 still does not send output to my monitor! :tickedoff:
The fan spins so I'm convinced the card is powered, and this time I'm using both power connectors. I just don't understand what's going on here. Having said that, I did have trouble booting the PC at all for a while; UEFI complicated things a bit. Now that I definitely have it working with UEFI enabled and the old GT 240 running, I will try just swapping the cards and doing nothing else. That should work, but after spending half a day at this I'm too exhausted to bother right now. I'm just glad the PC still works at all!
Damn! Then it can only be one thing.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aarcentral.com%2Fpics%2Faliens.jpg&hash=5487c06bf9a2904e4bf9e6776816d78b8030cf01)
Dead video card (may have become that when not getting enough current)
.. or the PCI-E slot on the motherboard is defective.
Keep in mind that the power requirements of video cards may list Wattage, but it's more specific than that. Your 12v rails that plug into it specifically require a minimum amount of sustainable Amps.
Some power supplies may have a high-rated total amount of wattage (which is just a summary of the total), but that's divided up between multiple separate voltage "rails" (a line with multiple plugs sharing the same output). Some PSUs have multiple 12v rails with lower supported Amps apiece, which can skew the overall Wattage rating of the PSU higher. But each rail with a PCI-E power plugs needs to provide at least as many Amps as the video card requires, and preferably more. That is what matters.
Well it's a pretty bloody expensive PSU and made by a company who support gamers, plus it was recommended by a friend who's hardcore into high-end gaming. I'm sure the PSU is perfectly capable. The fact that the fan on the card works fine gives me hope. On Saturday I will try swapping it around again, now that I have a known good configuration. I won't panic until then. ;)
Oh...if it was the PCI-E slot surely my GT 240 wouldn't work either?
Quote from: Huw the Poo on April 30, 2015, 12:33:18 PM
Well it's a pretty bloody expensive PSU and made by a company who support gamers, plus it was recommended by a friend who's hardcore into high-end gaming. I'm sure the PSU is perfectly capable. The fact that the fan on the card works fine gives me hope. On Saturday I will try swapping it around again, now that I have a known good configuration. I won't panic until then. ;)
Oh...if it was the PCI-E slot surely my GT 240 wouldn't work either?
Unless each card uses different signals on the PCI-E slot?
I'd try the GPU in a different PC (that also has a good PSU) if possible. Maybe a friends??
Quote from: Huw the Poo on April 30, 2015, 12:33:18 PM
Well it's a pretty bloody expensive PSU and made by a company who support gamers, plus it was recommended by a friend who's hardcore into high-end gaming. I'm sure the PSU is perfectly capable. The fact that the fan on the card works fine gives me hope. On Saturday I will try swapping it around again, now that I have a known good configuration. I won't panic until then. ;)
May be fine, I don't know the specs and Amp requirments so thought I'd clarify that Wattage isn't really the specific one to look at.
Quote
Oh...if it was the PCI-E slot surely my GT 240 wouldn't work either?
Probably not. But the 240 may not use all the piplines available on the slot.
In the end, the most likely case is that your video card is the problem. The most expensive part, go figure.
For a while I couldn't even get the PC to boot thanks to UEFI and the fact that my hard drive had spent some time disconnected. By the time I'd sorted that out I had the 240 plugged back in, and Linux is a bit weird when it comes to loading drivers; the 240 wouldn't work on first boot either, it only worked subsequent times. Basically, what I'm hoping is that since I haven't tried the 570 in a known good configuration yet, the straight swap will work on Saturday. Maybe I won't get an output to begin with, but after letting Linux load and then restarting the machine, all will be well.
Fingers crossed!!!
Well, I tried absolutely everything, but nothing worked. The colleague who generously gave me the 570 has offered to take it back to test in his own machine, which I will probably do next week.
The good news is that I've since swapped to a more binary-blob-friendly distro (Linux Mint) and it seems to be handling the integrated Radeon HD8570D much better than the last distro did. Performance seems to be equivalent to the GT240. Of course, all else being equal the 8570D should destroy the GT240, but Linux Radeon drivers have a reputation for being awful.
Still, at least I have a very quiet PC for now, with no dedicated GPU at all! I'll see what my colleague says about the 570.