New graphics card won't get past the Motherboard Splash screen. Keyboard doesn't work so can't get into BIOS.

Louis_36

Commendable
Dec 1, 2016
8
0
1,510
Hi, I recently bought a EVGA GTX 1070 FTW and I'm stuck at the splash screen upon start-up. Yes I've connected my monitor directly to the gpu using the vga plug. My keys don't work so I'm unable to change any settings or go to Gigabyte's BIOS. It sits at this screen for about 3-4 minutes then the screen shuts off, but the keyboard is still lit.

I plugged my psu's 2 6+2 pci express plugs ( they say VGA 1 and 2 on them?) into the gpu. Should I use the 2 8 pin connectors that came with the graphics card?

Here is my system

Windows 7 Ultimate

Gigabyte SKT 1155 Z77-D3H Motherboard

DELL 23 INCH MONITOR

INTEL CORE i5-3570 3.4 GHZ

Memory: 8GB 2X4GB Corsair

PSU 480W BE QUIET STRAIGHT POWER E9

HD 3TB SEAGATE SATA3

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 ADVANCED

I can provide photos if it helps.
My theory is that my 480w psu isn't powerful enough to get past the BIOS screen. Am I going to need to upgrade my PSU? What are the two 8 pin connectors that came with the card for?

I'm using my system fine on the integrated graphics.
 

Louis_36

Commendable
Dec 1, 2016
8
0
1,510


I tried with my PSU's 2 6+2's, card lights up, and the fans turn but nothing beyond the Motherboard BIOS. I'm kicking myself for forgetting I only had 480w haha oh well.
 

Dark Lord of Tech

Retired Moderator
4uNEnHn.jpg
 

Louis_36

Commendable
Dec 1, 2016
8
0
1,510


You're right sorry. I used the DVI-D
 


Lol, I thought you plugged it into the motherboard. Have you updated the motherboard BIOS recently? Sometimes old boards have issues with new GPUs. That said, it must be the PSU. If you can, try unplugging some components such as extra drives, etc, in order to lower the total power consumption of your system. This will help the PSU if you are somehow reaching its total output ceiling.
 

Louis_36

Commendable
Dec 1, 2016
8
0
1,510


I always see "where did you plug the monitor" as being the top response so I tried to pre-empt.

If I want to update the BIOS am I looking at the chipset here: http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4329&dl=1#dl ? It seems it hasn't been updated since 2014. I've disconnected 1 of 5 fans as well as the mouse, and it still doesn't progress past the start-up splash screen.
 
You need to disconnect devices that draw over 10W of power, if you happen to have one. Fans, mouse and keyboards don't draw that much. Try unplugging all the drives and see what happens.

Have you ever updated the BIOS since you got your motherboard? Maybe you don't have the latest version which indeed is almost 3 years old.

Most likely it's the PSU. Your specific card requires a 500W minimum PSU so it's close. However that minimum specification is for worst case scenarios and for systems that have a lot of devices drawing power. You don't seem to have such a system. Also insufficient power usually causes other issues such as crashes, restarts, etc and not what you are currently experiencing. Also during start up the GPU doesn't draw its max power. Only in gaming and stress testing situations you'll see max power draw. So something else may be happening here.

Have you tried using another PCIe slot? You should also make sure that your GPU is working properly, try installing it to another system that is able to support it, power-wise, if you have that option.

EDIT: Your PSU happens to have 4 12V rails with Max. combined 12V power at 456W. That max number is indeed low and the 4 12v rail thing makes the situation even worse. So the PSU is the most likely suspect but you should make sure that your GPU is working properly before you get a new PSU.
 

Louis_36

Commendable
Dec 1, 2016
8
0
1,510


Surely if the card was brand new and out of the box, the issues are on my end?
 


The PSU should be responsible for that issue and even if you somehow managed to make your system boot properly and log into windows you would likely face stability issues later during gaming. Overloading a PSU is not a good thing for system stability and reduces the PSU's reliability and overall lifetime..

There is no denying the fact that you need a new PSU one way or another but right now you can't be absolutely certain that your GPU is fine. It may be brand new but getting a bad new PC part isn't as rare as you may think. The only strange thing about your case is that during the boot process the GPU doesn't draw a lot of power from the PSU and and I've seen a lot of cases where more under-powered PSUs than what you currently have, are able to boot PCs successfully but when you try to load them during gaming they crash or restart the system.

So get a new good 550W+ PSU, because you currently need it, and it will most likely solve your issues but you should keep in the back of your head that there is a small chance that it may not.
 

Louis_36

Commendable
Dec 1, 2016
8
0
1,510



I could take the GPU to a friend's house and plug it in there but it's a bit of a hassle. Thanks for the advice, ordering a 600w PSU, will report back with results.
 

Louis_36

Commendable
Dec 1, 2016
8
0
1,510
Sorry for the delay everyone, but as of about 5 minutes ago my entire system works and with your help as well as a random Indian guy from youtube, I am now gaming with a GTX 1070.

So I got a new PSU (an EVGA 600w thingy), scared my self silly trying to reconnect everything and fired the rig up with the new gpu. Exact same result, motherboard splash screen then no progression. So i started looking more into updating the BIOS and that turned out to be the solution.

What put me off doing this earlier was that the process seemed complicated, and if anything drastic were to happen I might lose access to computer, never mind the new GPU. In the end i bit the bullet with help from a fine fellow from youtube (whose video I cant find now but i'll try and remember), who showed how easy it was to make a flash drive and all that.

Turns out Gigabyte's update completely refreshed my computers ability to deal with the card and I'm back on the road. Thanks all!