Fair enough. I will spare the details on why they (hardware secrets) are focusing on an old technology to say that the other PSU is better. (no, honestly, not trying to sway you here, if you are happy with your research.. buy it).
Fair enough. I will spare the details on why they (hardware secrets) are focusing on an old technology to say that the other PSU is better. (no, honestly, not trying to sway you here, if you are happy with your research.. buy it).
Those are the details that I don't find with the 10 minutes I'm willing to read reviews before I buy a power supply. If you want to explain it to me I'd love to hear it and be a more informed consumer.
Well everything came and unfortunately I think my GPU is DOA. It's a GV-R795WF3-3GD
The system works great with my old Geforce 460. However, I can't post when I try to use the Radeon HD7950.
I hooked up my old pc speaker, and the beep code with the Radeon connected is: long, short, short, short
The Radeon's fans spin up, but the monitor never gets signal and obviously I'm not posting. A successful post would be a single short beep.
I tried: Using a different power cable for the two PCI-X power inputs on the video card. No luck. I tried it in two different PCIX16 slots, no luck.
I snooped around in BIOS when I had the 460 connected, but I don't see any settings that look like they would cause issue here. The voltages from the PSU are all very accurate and don't seem to fluctuate much at all.
Any thoughts? @Thrax? I'll owe you another beer if you can tell me how to fix this without returning it.
0
Straight_ManGeeky, in my own wayNaples, FLIcrontian
Try this:
"B. Connecting the Graphics Cards Step 1: Observe the steps in "1-5 Installing an Expansion Card" and install CrossFireX/SLI graphics cards on the PCI Express x16 slots. (To set up a 2-Way configuration, we recommend installing the graphics cards on the PCIEX16_1 and PCIEX16_2 slots. ) Step 2: Insert the CrossFireX (Note) /SLI bridge connectors in the CrossFireX/SLI gold edge connectors on top of the cards. Step 3: Plug the display cable into the graphics card on the PCIEX16_1 slot."
Verbatim from the motherboard manual online, page 19. Also note: Bridge connectors may or may not be needed.
note 2: The manual does not list the 7950 as a card valid for motherboard, listing of cards supported ends with 6900 series.
Cannot find a beep code reference, suggest you talk to Gigabyte for meaning of beep code, but it could be trying to tell you that the video card is missing or incompatible. Sorry.
The reason they don't list beyond the 6900 series is probably because the manual was written over a year ago. The beep code long ago meant vga problems (one long, three short). I don't know what it means now, the manual doesn't mention it.
I just popped the 7950 in to my old system, and it works fine. Meanwhile the hard drive I had plugged in to the new computer seems to be fried.
I am going to swap my old power supply in to the new computer and see if that is the culprit.
BIOS on the new motherboard is up to date, btw.
0
Straight_ManGeeky, in my own wayNaples, FLIcrontian
One BIOS mfr uses long, short, short, short to mean RAM problems. This LOOKS like not video now, so.... Have you tried resetting BIOS?
Here is what happens. It works, it doesn't work. It works, it doesn't work. Slowly I realize every time I add a device, it won't post. I unplug a few hard drives. It posts fine. I shut it off, I plug a case fan in to the motherboard. It will not post. I take the case fan out. It posts.
I can consistently get the computer to not post by simply plugging in a case fan to a 4 prong motherboard connecter instead of a 3. The minute I put it in a 3 prong, it 100% boots every time. It's like I'm the brink of overloading my 750W power supply even though I have 2 ssds, 4 fans, cpu, gpu only.
How can I tell if it is a grounding issue vs a bad power supply? The motherboard is ATX, and all the risers are in the right place.
I hope this isn't ass-ish of me, but I'm not going to do that. I can't spend that much more time on diagnosing this because I have to work this weekend, which I can do with 1-2 hard drives and a shortage of case fans. I'd rather order a second power supply and install it to (most likely) rule out the power supply being the problem. Short of doing that, where do you think a grounding issue be with a case so I can just physically inspect? As far as I can tell the motherboard and heatsink are all properly installed. There are no open circuits touching metal.
The fact that I can kill this system completely by simply adding a fan or drive makes me thing the PSU is garbage, but at the same time I can run a burn in test of sorts and chug on 100% CPU usage and everything is fine. I know there are different rails for each voltage, but all the same I'm pretty lost.
If I can't figure it out in the next 30 minutes I'll buy another power supply, the one @Ryder told me to get, and just work with limited devices for the next few days.
The XFX I got, I humbly believe, is a POS. I'm sure a fluke, but had I heard from @Ryder just 30 minutes earlier the other day I would have gotten the PC Power and Cooling anyway. Also, a tiny part of me is grumbly for not getting the shitty Rosewill, but I know long term that would have been risky.
I'll post back here Wednesday or Thursday with results.
The XFX is absolutely the problem. I decied to follow shwaip's advice and rebuild it because I can't leave things alone. I couldn't find anything whatsoever that indicated the case wasn't grounded with the components properly.
So I decided I would plug one tiny thing at a time until it failed, starting with a minimum set of cpu fan, power switch, keyboard, video card. Even with that minimal set it wouldn't post. So my crazy theory about tipping over by plugging in a single fan is bogus. At this point I started to get sad, but kept trying nonsensesical things.
When all of the sudden .. something worked, and it now works consistently!
I stopped using the PCI-X power cables for the video card. Instead I'm using the molex adapters that came with the card.
Now everything works like a dream.
So obviously this XFX PRO750W just does not play well with my setup. It could be a fluke. It doesn't matter, I am returning it for the PSU @Ryder suggested. Until then I finally got a ghetto work around, and now I can concentrate.
The XFX is absolutely NOT the problem. I replaced it with the PC Power and Cooling psu, and same odd hard to describe problems. Weird things happen when it doesn't boot. Some case fans turn on, others don't. All fans plugged in to the motherboard.
On the XFX, I seem to only be able to get the thing to work right using molex adapter cables and putting the 5950 in the second pci-x 16 slot. With the PCP&C, I seem to only be able to get everything to work by putting the 5950 in the first pci-x slot without using adapters, and changing the plugs my case fans use.
It seems to work 100% of the time with my Nvidia 460, but I've thought that about other things and been wrong.
Let's add another layer of confusion:
When I don't get video, and instead I get the beeeeeeeep beep beep and black screens, the computer IS in fact booting. I can tell by the hdd light indicator. When the light stops, I login to Windows and it runs again for a bit until the Desktop is loaded. Wat?
The GPU works in my old computer.
I now thing all components are OK, but that this combination of specific motherboard, processor, and cpu is just not allowed according to the silicone gods.
I think you said you didn't want to do this (maybe that was just weekend limited), but have you tested this outside of the case to rule out a grounding issue?
Comments
Worst case: you save $50-100 on a psu and it takes your $2-2.5k system with it.
At 139.99, an even better PSU. (oh gee, I might be biased).
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/PC-Power-and-Cooling-Silencer-Mk-III-750-W-Power-Supply-Review/1722/13
=(
(no, honestly, not trying to sway you here, if you are happy with your research.. buy it).
It's a GV-R795WF3-3GD
The system works great with my old Geforce 460. However, I can't post when I try to use the Radeon HD7950.
I hooked up my old pc speaker, and the beep code with the Radeon connected is:
long, short, short, short
The Radeon's fans spin up, but the monitor never gets signal and obviously I'm not posting. A successful post would be a single short beep.
I tried:
Using a different power cable for the two PCI-X power inputs on the video card. No luck.
I tried it in two different PCIX16 slots, no luck.
I snooped around in BIOS when I had the 460 connected, but I don't see any settings that look like they would cause issue here. The voltages from the PSU are all very accurate and don't seem to fluctuate much at all.
Any thoughts? @Thrax? I'll owe you another beer if you can tell me how to fix this without returning it.
"B. Connecting the Graphics Cards
Step 1:
Observe the steps in "1-5 Installing an Expansion Card" and install CrossFireX/SLI graphics cards on the PCI Express x16
slots. (To set up a 2-Way configuration, we recommend installing the graphics cards on the PCIEX16_1 and PCIEX16_2
slots. )
Step 2:
Insert the CrossFireX
(Note)
/SLI bridge connectors in the CrossFireX/SLI gold edge connectors on top of the cards.
Step 3:
Plug the display cable into the graphics card on the PCIEX16_1 slot."
Verbatim from the motherboard manual online, page 19. Also note: Bridge connectors may or may not be needed.
note 2: The manual does not list the 7950 as a card valid for motherboard, listing of cards supported ends with 6900 series.
Cannot find a beep code reference, suggest you talk to Gigabyte for meaning of beep code, but it could be trying to tell you that the video card is missing or incompatible.
Sorry.
I just popped the 7950 in to my old system, and it works fine. Meanwhile the hard drive I had plugged in to the new computer seems to be fried.
I am going to swap my old power supply in to the new computer and see if that is the culprit.
BIOS on the new motherboard is up to date, btw.
Have you tried resetting BIOS?
Either way, if the GPU works in another system, your problem isn't the GPU.
Here is what happens. It works, it doesn't work. It works, it doesn't work. Slowly I realize every time I add a device, it won't post. I unplug a few hard drives. It posts fine. I shut it off, I plug a case fan in to the motherboard. It will not post. I take the case fan out. It posts.
Shitty power supply miright?
How can I tell if it is a grounding issue vs a bad power supply? The motherboard is ATX, and all the risers are in the right place.
Short of doing that, where do you think a grounding issue be with a case so I can just physically inspect? As far as I can tell the motherboard and heatsink are all properly installed. There are no open circuits touching metal.
The fact that I can kill this system completely by simply adding a fan or drive makes me thing the PSU is garbage, but at the same time I can run a burn in test of sorts and chug on 100% CPU usage and everything is fine. I know there are different rails for each voltage, but all the same I'm pretty lost.
If I can't figure it out in the next 30 minutes I'll buy another power supply, the one @Ryder told me to get, and just work with limited devices for the next few days.
random screw that fell behind the motherboard
metal filings from when they fabbed the case
i mean, it does sound very much like the PSU is the issue, but the choice is obviously yours.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AXX0MZM
The XFX I got, I humbly believe, is a POS. I'm sure a fluke, but had I heard from @Ryder just 30 minutes earlier the other day I would have gotten the PC Power and Cooling anyway. Also, a tiny part of me is grumbly for not getting the shitty Rosewill, but I know long term that would have been risky.
I'll post back here Wednesday or Thursday with results.
The XFX is absolutely the problem. I decied to follow shwaip's advice and rebuild it because I can't leave things alone. I couldn't find anything whatsoever that indicated the case wasn't grounded with the components properly.
So I decided I would plug one tiny thing at a time until it failed, starting with a minimum set of cpu fan, power switch, keyboard, video card. Even with that minimal set it wouldn't post. So my crazy theory about tipping over by plugging in a single fan is bogus. At this point I started to get sad, but kept trying nonsensesical things.
When all of the sudden .. something worked, and it now works consistently!
I stopped using the PCI-X power cables for the video card. Instead I'm using the molex adapters that came with the card.
Now everything works like a dream.
So obviously this XFX PRO750W just does not play well with my setup. It could be a fluke. It doesn't matter, I am returning it for the PSU @Ryder suggested. Until then I finally got a ghetto work around, and now I can concentrate.
End nerd update.
The XFX is absolutely NOT the problem. I replaced it with the PC Power and Cooling psu, and same odd hard to describe problems. Weird things happen when it doesn't boot. Some case fans turn on, others don't. All fans plugged in to the motherboard.
On the XFX, I seem to only be able to get the thing to work right using molex adapter cables and putting the 5950 in the second pci-x 16 slot. With the PCP&C, I seem to only be able to get everything to work by putting the 5950 in the first pci-x slot without using adapters, and changing the plugs my case fans use.
It seems to work 100% of the time with my Nvidia 460, but I've thought that about other things and been wrong.
Let's add another layer of confusion:
When I don't get video, and instead I get the beeeeeeeep beep beep and black screens, the computer IS in fact booting. I can tell by the hdd light indicator. When the light stops, I login to Windows and it runs again for a bit until the Desktop is loaded. Wat?
The GPU works in my old computer.
I now thing all components are OK, but that this combination of specific motherboard, processor, and cpu is just not allowed according to the silicone gods.
Anybody have any thoughts?
What I did do was rebuild the entire thing being extremely careful not to create situations that would cause grounding problems, and it didn't help.