Motherboard/AMD gfx card compatibility

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commodorejim

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Jan 14, 2016
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I recently bought a Sapphire Tech. AMD R9380 but found that my power supply was inadequate. So I bought a 700W PSU and fit this to my desktop. The PSU is working fine but after fitting the gfx card and trying to install the driver for it, Windows didn't recognize it.

On inspecting the card when the machine boots up, I noticed that the fan is spinning up, then stopping, then spinning up, then stopping, again and again. In another post which I'd marked as solved (because the particular question I'd asked *was* solved), I'd raised the question of whether the motherboard in my PC (an Asus HM81-K micro ATX board) was compatible with the card, having been told by a local IT outfit that it wasn't compatible (although they were vague on why this was the case). However, I've been assured that all I needed was a suitable PSU to power the card and everything would be fine.

Does the spinning up and stopping fan on the AMD card signify a power supply problem? Or is there another compatibility issue of which I'm not aware?
 
Solution
Petrossa
Hi there
No, coolers normally ship with your CPU. You should be able to carry your current cooler across while you shop for a new one.
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Petrossa

Petrossa

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Jan 30, 2014
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I would agree that the GPU is compatible with that board and they should work together without issue.
Since you now also have a compatible PSU, I would suggest testing that graphics card in another system, if possible. It is possible that you've received a dud as that behaviour you are experiencing is not normal.
 
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commodorejim

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Jan 14, 2016
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Thanks for your reply. I'll try to test the card in another machine later today.

On closer inspection of the card this morning, I can see that only one of the fans on the card (the one nearest the blackplate) is spinning up and down. The other fan isn't spinning up at all. On a whim, I also decided to put the old graphics card, an NVidia GT640, back in the desktop. The fans powers up fine but I cannot get any display at all on the monitor, which just says "No Signal".

Can a PCI-E slot fail? Is there any way to check a PCI slot's health? I only have the one PCI-E slot on the board as it's a m-ATX board.
 
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commodorejim

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Jan 14, 2016
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Yes, it starts up fine with on-board graphics. In fact I'm using it right now. This is a weird one. When the AMD card is in the slot, the device show up as an unknown VGA controller. Any attempt to install the driver is met with a "Windows encountered a problem installing the device" error.
 
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commodorejim

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That was my first course of action! I rarely use the discs provided and usually try to get the most current drivers from the manufacturer's website.

Thanks for your suggestions and help. I'm really starting to think that the PCI slot is defective in some way. I'll know more when I test the card out in another machine so I'll post back and let you know how things turn out. Looks like a new motherboard might be on the cards...
 
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commodorejim

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Jan 14, 2016
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I'm now 99% certain the PCI slot is dead (or at very least, not at all well). The PCI link speed in the BIOS shows up as not present, which surely means the slot is malfunctioning in some way. The power is still coming through it,since the old nVidia card's fan is spinning full speed when it's plugged in. But with that card plugged in, I can't get any signal at all on the monitor. Nor can I get any signal with the AMD card plugged in. Only when the slot is empty and the on-board video chip takes over can I get a signal. Once I have the replacement motherboard and tower ordered (I'm going full ATX rather than buying a replacement m-ATX board for the existing tower), I'll mark this off as solved.

Thanks for your suggestions Petrossa, I appreciate the help :)
 
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commodorejim

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Jan 14, 2016
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Hi Petrossa, I've confirmed that the PCI slot on my motherboard is faulty. Just tried out the AMD card in another machine and it worked perfectly.

I've decided to buy a new motherboard, an Asus Z97-P S1150, along with a new mid-sized tower. Clearly I'll have to take my CPU, memory, and storage devices from the old motherboard/tower to house them in the new configuration. I'm a bit uncertain regarding the CPU cooling situation though. This might seem like a daft question, but do motherboards typically come with a CPU cooler, e.g. heatsink, or will I need to buy one separately? I've never tried an upgrade like this before so I'm cautious about proceeding.
 
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