New 7970 GHz Edition gets power, no output?

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I'm reposting this over here because I could not figure out how to move a thread (my guess is that I can't) and I realized that I posted it in the wrong section. That's what I get for posting from my tiny phone screen, I suppose! Anyway, here it goes.

Howdy, all. First off, the main components of my current rig-

XFX PRO850W XXX Edition PSU
MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3) Motherboard
Intel Core i5 2500K CPU
2 x 4GB G. SKILL Sniper Series DDR3 1600 RAM
Auzentech X-Raider sound card
2 x Radeon HD6950 2GB (one HIS and one MSI unlocked and OC to 6970) in CrossfireX

I've been running my rig this way for quite a long time with no issues other than quite warm GPU temps, even in my Antec LanBoy Air case with plenty of fans. I decided to drop the 6950s because of the heat (also, one of the cards is acting up and crashing around 70 degrees Celsius) and rather than dealing with CrossfireX again, I decided that one 7970 would do the trick for me as I prefer a single card anyway and was just trying out CrossFireX to see what all the hype was about. I've gotten lots of mixed opinions about performance of 2x6970s vs 1x7970 but I decided to take a chance. Anyway, here is my issue. I pop the two 6970s out of my working rig and put the 7970 (it's a GIGABYTE 7970Ghz) in. Now the system powers on with no system beeps or anything, the card spins up, fans turn on, but I don't get any video output to any of my four monitors (all of which were hooked up to my previous cards and are supported by this new one as well, two Mini DisplayPort, one HDMI, one dual link DVI). Not only is there no output, but despite the lack of beeping, I'm pretty sure the computer doesn't actually start at all because A: if I press the power button, the computer immediately turns off, no matter how long it has been on (no waiting for it to shut down an already booted Windows, etc) and B: my peripherals (mouse, keyboard) don't light up (the keyboard is backlit and lights up normally when I turn the computer on). Could I have a DOA card? I've already tried both PCIe slots on my motherboard with the new card (both of which I know work because of my prior setup) and have already checked both of the PCIe slots with EACH of my prior CrossfireX'd cards in a single card setup, and in all cases, the computer powers up normally. I've also tried all combinations of the PCIe power connectors from my PSU (again, all of which I know work because of my previous setup and trial and error). Even tried one of the adapters to turn old 4-pin molex connectors into a PCIe plug and no luck. Any help on this situation before I go through the lengthy RMA process for the 7970 would be greatly appreciated. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Other details:
1x ASUS DVD Burner drive
3x Western Digital Caviar Black HDDs in assorted sizes
1x 128gb OCZ Agility 4 SSD for OS
3x ASUS monitors and 1x 32" LG TV
Logitech G700 mouse
Logitech G110 keyboard
Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Not that any of that matters, just covering my bases and being as informative and descriptive as possible. Thanks again in advance for any help!
 
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avjguy2362

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Jun 21, 2012
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First, I would try one monitor only to the first DVI port. You can ran 2 monitors as standard, but to use all four monitors you will need 2 active adapters on your DP's ( Accell active adapters are about $30 to $40 each depending on connector type( Amazon)). Even Sapphires Flex cards will only run 3 monitors and need 2 active adapters to run all 5.
 
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nic4242

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Dec 10, 2011
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Unplug the 7970, try the single DVI from the motherboard to one monitor, see if you can boot up.

Assuming that works, plug in the 7970 (check your motherboard documentation to see which slot to use, just to be on the safe side), make certain you plug in 2x8 pin power, switch the DVI from the motherboard connector to the 7970. Boot up.

If that fails, I'd say your card is probably dead. But if it isn't: Once you get one monitor up and running, you can fiddle with the settings and the wiring one step at a time and determine where anything fails to identify a (rather unlikely, but still) possible faulty cable or monitor.

If you can't get the 7970 to work, plug in one of the old cards, and again, give it just one monitor to run, at least to start with. There's a slight chace you broke somethihng on the motherboard when you removed the old cards, but if you can get one of the old cards to work (i.e. boot to desktop), the fault is definitely with the new one.

Edit to add: check all the connections to (especially) your boot drive and everything else, of course.

Good luck
 
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@avjguy2362- I have tried each individual port on the card, one at a time, including the first DVI port. Both of my Mini DisplayPort monitors are using active adapters, as I already had to use them for my prior setup.

@nic4242- I have reinstalled the old cards to make use of my rig in the mean time of testing this new card, so all of my ports definitely still work and nothing is broken. I've also checked the motherboard documentation to see which is the main PCI-e slot to use, and then also tried the other just to be sure. My old cards (either both in together, or one single card, I've done it both ways just to make sure) run perfectly fine with either one or all of my monitors plugged in. The computer also boots with a monitor plugged into the DVI on the motherboard and no discrete GPU attached. To make absolutely certain, I'm going to take the card to a friend's house after work tonight to try it in his machine and if that fails, that'll put this to rest and I'll RMA the card.

Thank you both for the advice, much appreciated!
 
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All right, so-

For those of you who will stumble upon this topic, in case I can be helpful to anyone else, the simple answer was another BIOS update for my MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3) motherboard. The LiveUpdate software included with the motherboard took me to version N.70, which I suppose wasn't supporting the card, and upon further research, discovered that the newer BIOS did. Problem is, I'm also running a Sandy Bridge processor, and they don't recommend updating unless you have Ivy Bridge. I took the initiative and did it anyway, lo and behold, my computer stopped functioning. It would boot to the splash screen and then reboot, over and over, the farthest I was able to get to was the BIOS menu, which displayed a version number meaning my BIOS flash was, indeed, successful. Tried plugging my new card in out of morbid curiosity (I had tried booting the computer without it, because it used to boot fine that way before, and at this point was just curious after already having ordered an Ivy Bridge processor, i5 3570K) and for whatever odd reason, the computer would boot fine with the Sandy Bridge processor still in.

Like I said, short answer was a BIOS upgrade that got me all set. Just make sure you read all disclaimers and instructions for flashing the BIOS of your motherboard so you don't end up in the same trap I did, despite having flashed BIOS several times before on other boards. Good luck, everyone!
 
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