Cluster Truck...

[FuzzySquirrel]

So.. I got this beautiful ATi HD 4870 1GB....buuuuut. Everytime I try plugging the monitor in nothing happens. the fan is spinning and Windows 7 Recognizes the Card in the Device Manager. I think it may be my Power Supply (Eagle Tech 550w) Or the DVI > VGA connector. Any Ideas?

[AquaticPenguin]

So.. I got this beautiful ATi HD 4870 1GB....buuuuut. Everytime I try plugging the monitor in nothing happens. the fan is spinning and Windows 7 Recognizes the Card in the Device Manager. I think it may be my Power Supply (Eagle Tech 550w) Or the DVI > VGA connector. Any Ideas?

A test you can try is to try it on someone's DVI monitor, thereby eliminating the chance of it being the DIV -> VGA connector.

can you give any more details?
I looked up the power supply and it doesn't have a lot of amps on the 12V rail- Also the power supply states that it has 1 x 6pin pci-e connector, but looking up the HD4870 it says that it requires 2 x 6pin pci-e, so maybe you haven't/can't plug in both of the connectors. Either way I would suggest that the power supply you have is a little weak on the power front, and also a bit weak on the quality front as well.

The main points you want to check for power supplies are
- Power output, See how much power is recommended on a system for your card, the 4870 will probably need at least 500W, although this also depends on the quality of the power supply.
- Amps on the 12V rail, modular power supplies spread these across multiple rails for more stability, for a non-SLI gaming rig you probably want a powerful single rail though.
- Connectors, check how many connectors your graphics card needs.
- Quality, there are some well known brands which are very good quality (Corsair being one of them). Bad quality cheapo power supplies can damage components, or will just die quicker. Good power supplies last longer.
- Size, check it actually fits in your case- almost made this blunder myself where the power supply fitted but the thick heavy cables had to be carefully arranged to fit in the case without thwarting the cooling.


If you work out that it is the power supply you may need to splash out a bit. A power supply I can reccommend is this, or one in the same series. I run a thirsty gtx260 on one of these, it's incredible quality, glances off stormy weather where the power is a bit instable, and has plenty of juice if I feel like a bit of an upgrade

~Penguin

[VoXiNaTiOn]

AquaticPenguin hit the nail straight on the head, I'd point the problem at your PSU. You only get stung by a cheap PSU once, if that thing blows say goodbye to most of your components.

I'll echo the recommendation for the TX-650W, have it myself and it feels solid and powers an overclocked rig with a power hungry graphics card (GTX280) with no problems. Corsair have good support as well, so in the rare event anything does go wrong, they can help you out.

[FuzzySquirrel]

AquaticPenguin hit the nail straight on the head, I'd point the problem at your PSU. You only get stung by a cheap PSU once, if that thing blows say goodbye to most of your components.

I'll echo the recommendation for the TX-650W, have it myself and it feels solid and powers an overclocked rig with a power hungry graphics card (GTX280) with no problems. Corsair have good support as well, so in the rare event anything does go wrong, they can help you out.

Yea. I know its not the card because windows knew it was there no problem, but everytime I'd hook my monitor up it'd go black. I'll stop being a cheapskate and buy a Cosair

[FuzzySquirrel]

what about this actually
Newegg.com - OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

My clan mate has a more powerful rig than mine and he says he runs fine with a 550w, and OCZ seems to be known. + is modular

[AquaticPenguin]

what about this actually
Newegg.com - OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

My clan mate has a more powerful rig than mine and he says he runs fine with a 550w, and OCZ seems to be known. + is modular

Yeah OCZ are another reliable brand, it's a modular power supply but it's got plenty of delicious amps - I'd say go for it, good value, good quality, you can't go wrong

[FuzzySquirrel]

Alright. I got the TX650 like Vox Suggested, and still have the same problem...Any Idea?

[VoXiNaTiOn]

Ok, so you are currently using onboard graphics, yes?

Go into your BIOS and look for the setting regarding onboard graphics, you should have an option to disable them and use the PCI-E adapter.

Do that, turn off the PC, hook up the 4870 and the monitor to it, try again.



Even though it didn't solve the problem, the TX650 was still a good buy, will last you a few builds hopefully and is good quality .

[FuzzySquirrel]

I dont see a "Disable" setting, but I've set it to boot the PCI-e first and I've tried disabling it via device manager and still have had no luck.

[FuzzySquirrel]

I was wondering if you have or know anyone who has experience installing a PCI Express video card in a Dell Inspiron 531 desktop. It has an Nvidia GeForce 6150se 64 Mb built on the motherboard. I just bought a Radeon x1050 to replace the GeForce, but I haven't had a lot of luck with it. I've done this kind of thing before, but I'm having challenges this time.

The very limited Dell BIOS only has an option for "Init First Display" and not a "disable crummy onboard video" option. I changed the Init First Display from onboard to PCI-E, installed the card, connected VGA and got no video. I did get a new 10 second delay before the POST beep though. So, then I connected via DVI and rebooted, kind of hoping that the card's default output was on DVI (I'm not really experienced with DVI, so maybe that was just wishful thinking). Anyway, no video out on DVI either, and Windows Vista doesn't detect the card.

I've just about run out of ideas. I updated the BIOS because there was a newer rev out, but that didn't add any useful video-card-related options.

Any thoughts on this? Dell sells this card (though I bought it at Compusa) so one would assume it works with their machines. Hmmmm.

The only thing I can think of it to take it to work and test it on a machine there and see if I get any video..

I have an OLD 531s mobo im using....sadly this looks to be my problem...So I guess I'm buying a new mobo. (least I have a nice PSU )

[FuzzySquirrel]

Triple post woohoo. Can anyone recommend a good cheap(ish) AM2 mobo that supports DDR2 667. I was looking at an Openbox Biostar Tforce. Thoughts?

[FuzzySquirrel]

Alright. Back to Square....One.

New Motherboard (Check)
New Power Supply (Check)

Working Graphics Card (......)

So. I went to launch Crysis the other day. Took a while, then boom, A palate of Colors that I didnt want to see, there was reds and purples, even a few pinks. It was horrible. Then I rebooted, Same issue. Alright, Its hot I thought. Waited 30 minutes, Came back. Worked for ~10 minutes, Started PR. Boom Colors all about. So. I listened to a Clanmate who has a 4870 1GB Like myself. Update the Bios he said, so i did, now the card wont display anything. I've Flashed the Bios, Reinstalled Windows, Even blew any possible particles out of the PCIe slot. Still wont work. I've checked the Bios, its set to look for PEG (PCI-E Graphics) First, and use that if its found. Still wont work. So. Is it Dead, or am I missing something? I also tried to contact H.I.S's Support, only to wait 5 minutes, and get a "No one is available" (Great...)

[VoXiNaTiOn]

Sounds like a bad flash, so you can either enjoy an 800 shader paperweight (Doubtful HIS will replace it for you unfortunately) or you can try to re-flash it.



How to recover ATI Radeon HD 4870 from bad BIOS flash - techPowerUp! Forums


I'm not 100% thats for a 1GB card, or if the BIOS's even differ based on the amount of vRAM the card has, although as the cards essentially already dead, I'd say it's worth a shot.

[FuzzySquirrel]

I'm just gonna RMA this piece of ****, Sell it while its still in the new box, and buy a nVidia card...

[VoXiNaTiOn]

Hopefully HIS will be kind and replace it for you.

[FuzzySquirrel]

It'll be the Third time.. 2 times with its previous owner, and once with me.

[VoXiNaTiOn]

In which case push for a replacement card and not just a repair.