GA EP45-UD3R, Cable Confusion

I do not have an "R" model, but I do have an "L" and a "P".

The cables from the case should be labeled. Look for the wires marked something like "Power LED". That goes on the Power LED header. Plug it in so the colored wire goes to pin 1.The front panel header should be self explanitory. Pins 1 & 3 are for the HD LED. Plug the case wires marked something like HDLED in so the colored wire goes to the positive post. Pins 2 & 4 should be empty.

Plug in the reset and power switches. Polarity doesn't matter. Over to the right, you have a line of 4 pins for the case speaker. Plug it in there. Polarity doesn't matter. Motherboards that have a builtin speaker usually do not have a header for the speaker. Also, some cases (Antec 900's, for example) do not come with a case speaker.

If a pin is bent a little, it can be carefully straightened. But the pins are brittle, and can break.

I have that motherboard and didn't have a problem.

You'll need to look in the case manual to make sure you have to correct cables (though these are usually labeled on the connector to the mobo) and look in the motherboard manual for the layout/diagram.

The relevant manual page is this one:

As mentioned, you needn't worry about polarity on the speaker and switch connections - they have none; as jsc said, the only ones that matter are the LEDs - and if you get them wrong, they simply won't light - they will not damage any circuitry... I have found that, on some GB MOBOs, the 'power' led doesn't behave correctly; if you find it flashing for no apparent reason (i.e., if the board isn't 'sleeping'), plug it into the other power LED header (in the middle of the board) instead - it will work as described...

ok, I think I have the f.panel cords in the right place, but im still confused. My power lights seem to turn on, but I have nothing plugged into the l.e.d header. I only have two power l.e.d cords and the header has three pins, so I instead plugged the two power l.e.d cords into the remaining two slots in the f.panel. Now, the whole f.panel is filled up like it seemingly should be, but I can't find any other cords that would fit into the l.e.d header. Another thing about these cords; with the case fans, the cord is a little three hole thing, connected to more wires that then branch off into two. One of these extra attachments allows pins to go in, and the other has pins itself. So far I am able to understand that they are extension cables for the fans, but I can't find anywhere on the motherboard to put them. On one fan I just took this extra cable off and plugged it into 'sys fan' connector and it works fine, but for my front fan, it can't reach like that, it needs that extra cord.
Any solutions?

If you'll post case manufacturer and model number (assuming they have the manual available on-line) I'll try to help...

cooler master cm 690 is my case, and the Gigabyte GA EP45-UD3R is the mobo

The power led header is to the immediate top left (above) the f.panel header. It's a 3 pin header.

The PWR_LED header is for an 'in-case' auxiliary power LED - you don't need to connect it to anything, if your 'regular' front panel LED is 'well behaved', and works as described in the manual... The extensions are here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
you might need a few, they're only 12", but they're cheap!

alright all of that has been resolved, but now I have found two new cable questions. I am using the xtremegamer sound card by sound blaster, and I'm not sure which cable plugs into it from my PS. My power supply is the antec earthwatts 650W. I don't think its that I'm missing a cable, I just can't figure out which of those cables plugs into where on the sound card. Also, which cable is supposed to plug into the hard drive. I know they are long and thin, but the motherboard came with two, I'm assuming one for the hard drive (mine is the WD Caviar Black 1TB) and one for a floppy. Which is the cord I use, where do I plug it in on the mobo and hard drive.

Hard drive power connector (from your power supply):


Hard drive data connector (both ends):


Floppy data cable (folded in half):


Sound card does not appear (nor would I expect it to) have a power connector - draws its power from the PCI bus directly:

Cannot find a manual, all doc's appear to be in the format of 'broken' help files - will not open on any of my six bootable operating systems, nor VirtualXp...

so I for my sound card to work, all it needs to do is fit on the motherboard, no cords, connectors or anything like that?

If you don't intend to use a digital connection to, say, a home-theater receiver, and don't need it hooked up to front panel jacks - no. Your case has a front panel (or, more correctly - top) set of audio jacks, and will likely have a cable with a pair of 10 pin connectors, both with one pin location 'filled in' so a pin can't go there; (by the way - that is the worst CoolerMaster Manual I've seen yet [and I have a Cosmos from them!] - they should be embarassed - it's no wonder you are having difficulties) one will likely be labelled 'AC97', and the other either 'HD', 'HDAud', "Azal', or 'Azalia' - this one (not the 'AC97' one) needs to be plugged into the header on your sound card labelled 'Front Panel Connector' in the previous post's picture - because of the 'filled in' pin location, you will only be able to plug it in one way - you can't make a mistake... This will allow headphones and microphone (or a headset) to be plugged into the top of the case; using the HD connector enables the card to turn off speakers automatically when headphones are plugged in...

There should be a cable running from your CD/DVD drive to the MB for sound. It is usually a flat 4 pin connector with two wires only. Quite often the connector on the MB is marked as CD_IN.

Oh, and I thought of another thing; on my CoolerMaster, the HD I intended to use was the first connector on the cable, so I thought to cut off the other one to tidy up the case; do not do this! One of the grounds on the first (HD) plug is 'made' through a connection to another pin on the other plug; if you cut off the other plug without rewiring the first connector - it will not work!

Sorry!

Bill

brown63 -
One of the only things NewEgg has ever done to me to tick me off was - I bought three various DVD/CD drives from them in one shipment, two SATA, one IDE, and two of them 'retail' packages, not 'OEM's - and not one of the ^%$# things came with the audio cable! Wound up having to solder one up by cobbling an old POC laying in the 'scrap cables' box!

Yes, $2 cable can be very annoying when u do not have it!!

Ahh NewEgg, you guys are lucky in US, in NZ our pc componenets cost about 20 % more than yours, plus there are never the good deals u get as well,  

not to sound slightly ignorant, but I am still a bit confused. I will be using a 5.1 audio setup, and seldom, but still sometimes, will I use headphones. Knowing that, do you think you could be a little bit more clear on whether 'I' need to be plugging in any cables, and if so which ones and where. Another issue has arisen; I went to plug in my keyboard and mouse (wireless) into the usb slots. Neither the top or back usb slots were working. I think I have the top usb cable connected to its connector on the motherboard, and I'm not really sure if there is anything else I have to do with back motherboard usb's, other than giving the mobo itself power. What am I doing wrong?

For the audio - HD plug as in previous post - then you can plug the headphones into the top...

USB: The rear ones should work, period. The only thing you need to have done is load the motherboard drivers. The case top ones need, again, to be plugged in; as there are only two of them, they will be on a single cable, again, ten pins, again, with one pin 'filled in' (this time a corner one)to prevent plugging in incorrectly; this plug is actually pictured in your case manual on page 11, second drawing...

You need to plug it into one of these two headers:

doesn't matter which one, and you should not be able to get it in wrong...

brown63 -

Ahh, we have NewEgg, but you have New Zealand! I've traveled internationally extensively doing industrial systems, but, somehow, never got there... When I saw it (I think in 'Lord of the Rings') I was positively staggered by the beauty - you have, perhaps, the most gorgeous scenery on earth! And, if the women are anything like nearby Australia's, you pretty much live in heaven....

 

Bill

ok I now have the sound card figured out. Based on my keyboard and mouse testing, both usb's (the back and top) are still not working. What is a foolproof usb testing method, because I have the power connected to the motherboard and that alone should allow the back usb's to work. I have also plugged in the top on to the motherboard just where it should go, so maybe I need a new method of testing.
Once again, a new issue. I just connected my monitor, the asus vh-222h to my rig. My video card is the radeon sapphire 4870 1gb, and it supports vga, hdmi, and lastly, dvi. It came with both the vga and dvi cables. When I plugged it in, it keeps telling me no dvi signal. Just to be sure, lets go through the same connection walkthrough as we did with the soundcard, because after trying different cables, reconnecting power, I still can't get my DVI signal. This allowed me to rule out my monitor as the problem, and my next guess is my video card. Where did I go wrong?

Have you loaded the driver disk? The keyboard should actually work for the BIOS, even with the USB Keyboard support turned off in the BIOS...

Gotta pick up the video end tomorrow - late here, and I'm a manic depressive - have to sleep regularly and predictably, or insomnia leads to mania leads to more insomnia leads to more mania - and, pretty soon, I'm walking around the ceiling with a tinfoil hat on to keep the NSA from transmitting into my brain! I'm crazy enough under normal circumstances - trust me!

Good night, and see you tomorrow!

Bill

Um - OK - I'm back! (actually, I've been here a few hours - but was 'maintaining' a reference page...) Ah - have you got the video going, or do you still need a 'walk-through'? Any other questions - driver loading, BIOS init, anything?

The only reason I was asking about the vid card was because I haven't been able able to get any signal (DVI, VGA) on my monitor and I think it is a problem with my vid card. I ended up calling AMD for tech support, so I have my wiring figured out, but still no signal. If you have any suggestions as to how to fix this problem than please, I am awaiting an answer in a different thread of mine that addresses the problem specifically. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tom...
I am almost begging for help now, this one issue with the no signal has stalled me for a day and a half on my system build. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

Couple questions:
Is this the video card?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Do you have the pair of 2x6 graphics card power connectors at the rear hooked up to your power supply?

What is the make and model of your power supply?

To quote Douglas Adam's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", 'don't panic' - we'll get it fixed; above all, at these sorts of times, you need to remain calm - it helps your thinking and performance!

That would be a 'toxic' edition, which mine is not. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681... is my card.

I believe I have those hooked up. I have two PCI-E 2x6 power connectors hooked up to my vid card, from my psu, if thats what you mean.

My power supply is the Antec Earthwatts 650W

Ok - let me pull a pair of manuals, and get back...

Hmm - where to start? First thing - may just be DOA; I read reviews on NewEgg, and (unless I lost count) there were 6 DOAs in the first 50 reviews - mind you, those are probably not real odds, as everyone who had a failure will write a (scathing) review, but lots of people happy with their purchase won't bother - but still - 6!

Sapphire manual is more useless than the POC from CoolerMaster - doesn't even show the power connections, or instruct you to plug 'em in!! I don't get it - can't anyone include a decent manual with anything anymore? It's not like that's some 'cheapy' card! They tell you to 'see the on-line manual' installed with the driver - doesn't do you a lot of good if the freaking monitor won't show a signal!  

One thing came to mind: there are several different 'flavors' of DVI cables/connectors:

Carefully examine the connector and plug, at each end of your cable - card and monitor; be sure they match exactly; be sure they fully seat when plugged in; if there is any mismatch, you need a different cable...

ok this is lookin right My cable is a DVI-D single link, my monitor is a DVI-D dual link, and my vid card is a a DVI-I dual link. It is clear that none of three are compatible with any of the others. Now the question is, how do I fix this? Firstly, which of the five examples you have given do I want, or are best, if there is no difference, then which is cheaper? Secondly, how do I get all three of these to work with each other. Obviously I will need to pic up a new cable, and possibly an adapter to? Where are these found, and what is a normal price range.

P.S. Bilbat; I cannot thank you enough. You are a beacon of information in a cave of muddled cables, and first time builder's confusion. That post right there just lightened my spirits tenfold. Now lets try and get this last bit sorted out, and I will be ever grateful.

Very welcome - I had the very same problem here:

When I figured out the mounting stuff, I thought I needed two six foot cables, and two eight or nine foot cables - not knowing there were umpteen different kinds of cables, so, had to wait a week, or ten days, for the new stuff to ship, and the old stuff is collecting dust in a 'spare cable' bin, as I figure, eventually, I'm bound to need them for some damn thing I'll wind up buying  

Probably, the best thing is to print out the picture I gave you, compare your connectors, on both the video card and monitor ends, scribble down what type you need at each end, and then pull up a page of cables like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...
study them carefully until you find one that has the ends you need; I eventually decided to give up on DVI completely, and buy a bunch of DVI to VGA adapters and cables, when I learned that, although my monitor should do 75 Hz refresh on DVI, somehow, between the cards and the monitors, it was stuck forever at 60 Hz, unless I used VGA! I'm tellin' ya', it just never ends!

my god four monitors!! maybe one day..

These cables are relatively new territory for me, and I'm just wondering if you could recommend a few for me off newegg.ca . I want to view in DVI for sure, but as we have figured out, my vid card and monitor have different DVI pin configurations. If I get a DVI to VGA cable, does that mean I can choose the DVI that matches my monitor, plug the VGA end into my video card, plug the right DVI end into my monitor and then be viewing in DVI??

If that made no sense than answer me this; so my monitor is a DVI-D dual link, and my vid card is a DVI-I dual link. Could you provide a link for an adapter that will cover this?

aaa - I pretty much gotta! I do indutrial control design, so, most of the time, I have a logic controller's logic design package open on one screen, a sort of visually-based design program on another to do the touch screen (almost like a video game - but to control a machine or process plant) interface for the operator, a sheaf of AutoCAD drawings of the electrical systems on the third, and VisualStudio on the fourth, to do the 'glue logic' that connects 'em all to the company's offices through the MSOffice programs; I've learned over time, that it's infinitely more productive for me to have it all open and be able to cut and paste back and forth, rather than to have to keep alt-tabbing my way around between programs, and getting lost consistantly!


Well, that depends - and that's the problem, it depends on what you've got - from looking at the pictures of the card, methinks you have a dualDVI-I, and a VGA (female?) I know you can go from DVI to VGA, cause I do it! And, thinking about it, I can't see why the whole thing would care what wires are where - it's just an adapter... But, why don't you paste me a link to your monitor, and maybe we'll get lucky - somebody has to have a manual somewhere in this mess that's worth half a &^%$!!

To be honest I'm not sure what the difference between vga male and female is, so you tell me. Here are the best views I could get of my monitor's and my vid card's vga's. I'm going to post the link of the photo just because it allows it to be bigger, and therefore you will be able to see the kind of vga on both more clearly. Vid card link- http://pan6.fotovista.com/dev/6/6/02548166/u_02548166.j...
Monitor link - http://pan.fotovista.com/dev/1/2/02602721/f_02602721_00...

And yes it is a dual link DVI-I on the card.
All I want is something that can allow me to view my monitor in DVI, and preferably something that I can find fast (in store preferable, but if it is that much more expensive) than off amazon.ca, newegg.ca etc. Not ebay. Something with fast shipping is what I'm trying to say. Please just be specific, I think this is all of the information needed, now lets get a specific product.

Finally found what I was looking for, after reading 'over it' three times: "The long flat pin on a DVI-I connector is wider than the same pin on a DVI-D connector, so it is not possible to connect a male DVI-I to a female DVI-D by removing the 4 analog pins. It is possible, however, to connect a male DVI-D cable to a female DVI-I connector. Many flat panel LCD monitors have only the DVI-D connection so that a DVI-D male to DVI-D male cable will suffice when connecting the monitor to a computer's DVI-I female connector." Both your VidCard and your monitor are female ports, a DVI-D male to DVI-D male cable, available anywhere there's computer junk (maybe even WalMart) should do it...

GREAT!! You deserve more praise, but I don't have the words for it! Just to clarify, the "male" translates into a single or dual link? I am going to hope dual because if not, and it is single, then I already have that cable and that sets us back to where we started..

male refers to the pins on the cable ends - they stick 'out'; you will want a dual-link cable, both your sockets are dual-link...

Umm - beddy-bye time for me again; like I say, I'm nuts to begin with, and cannot afford to get much crazier...

Talk atcha tomorrow!

Bill

yup sounds good, hopeful by the time we talk I will have purchased my DVI-D dual link, male, from computer boulevard. Just to be sure, this product will do the job?
http://www.cbit.ca/product.php?productid=53&cat=37&best...
I know I know, if I purchase it online I will save myself twenty bucks, but honestly for the sake of my mental stability, I cannot wait anymore. This way if its not the right one I can return it without shipment fees  

I can't see - the picture is too low quality; if you can, just load the monitor into the car, and take it along - if both ends of the cable will fit into the monitor, and it is dual link (has the full array of pins - drawings above), it should work...

AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Well I went and picked up a DVI dual link M/M 6ft cable, AND IT DIDN'T WORK. Now I am truly perplexed, what else is there left to do? Please advise..

EEEKK! Did it plug in? Or is the little 'tab' keeping it out? Just no signal? I'm beginning to wonder myself! Maybe VGA is the way to go - see if you can borrow one to test; I notice 'both ends' have HDMI? I don't have any experience with it (except to help people with the inevitable 'no sound' problems) - I've alway been put off by the price of the damn cables themselves...

I have already tried with a VGA cable, that is also a no go. Its plugged in pretty well I had thought. What 'tab' were you referring to. Is it the little sideways pin at the side? Cause thats not it either

Yeah, the only one that's not round; I think it's a bit wider on the 'I' type cables... I'm really beginning to think the vidcard may just be dead - there's pretty much no way to foul up a vga cable; do you know someone you can borrow one from (a vidcard, I mean), just for a couple hours of testing? Alternative, I guess, is to just try a 'blind' RMA... What's the monitor brand? I don't think I've ever seen DOA monitor, and GPUs are DOA all the time... Ye gods, it sure makes building a lot easier if you have a few systems around the house to 'steal' parts from...

K well I'll pull out a vid card from one of my other comps lying around. Its really old, but I know it works cause before this, that used to be the comp I used. I'll let you know the results

no luck. Turns out the only other comp I have uses onboard video. My monitor brand is asus (vh222h). You think I'll have to RMA my vid card?

Well - did a quick scan of Asus monitors over at NewEgg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...
First thing to note is that thirteen out of sixteen averaged (or medianed, or whatever the heck NE does to consolidate ratings - whatever, I'm sure it's 'weighted' to look good) 5 'eggs' out of five possible - says right of the box they're OK; next, scanned the first 50 reviews in a few of the better represented (larger samples) products; did not see a single DOA - a few 'stuck' pixels (normal with any monitor), a few 'the stand is flimsy's (it's low priced!), and even a "why did they put the stickers there?" - but not a single major complaint - which is VERY good. Reading reviews on a vendor site has to be taken with a grain of salt as, if someone gets stuck, hates the product, or gets a DOA - they will certainly post a scathing note - but if it's fine, they often won't bother - means reviews are prone to 'lean bad'.

So, of the two, I think the vidcard is more likely the culprit - but - there is one other avenue to explore; it's late, and it's Sunday - so you aren't going to do anything major to fix it in the next bit anyways - why don't we look into that USB matter you were also concerned with? My thinking here is, if something's wrong enough with the motherboard (or the PSU) to actually 'kill' the USB power, the same 'fault' could be the cause of it not 'lighting up' the monitor. Tell me, why are you thinking you have no USB power? Do you have some USB device that should show some LEDs, and is not? Another question (and you may already have answered this - it's late, and it's Sunday   ) - do you have a case speaker plugged into the front panel header?

You were right, its late, sunday, and I had to go to bed lol so sorry for the delay.

I think you are right on the vid card, but lets explore this next avenue as much as possible because a DOA could really mean trouble for me.

I haven't an idea as to why the USB's aren't working. I have put in a few devices, and none of them respond. A wireless mouse receiver which should light up, and a keyboard which should light up (CAPS lock, etc.).
Yes, the case speaker is plugged in and working. I know this because I had to decipher a couple of its codes in the beginning to figure out what was wrong. I don't think there is a problem with the mobo or psu cause it gives a normal one beep, as it should, when it starts up

I don't know if we can learn anything of note - I only have one system using a USB KB/mouse (I have fifteen year old, very expensive, no-longer made PS2 'MicroTypes', which only 'eat' 6 1/2" x 10 1/2" of deskspace, everywhere else...); my KB never lights up during any use by the BIOS (and, enabling or disabling "USB Keyboard Support" doesn't make any difference - still works in the BIOS) and doesn't show lights until the 'welcome' screen of the respective OSs' loading process (when the USB drivers load, I'm sure); my mouse receiver doesn't have any lights, and the mouse itself will light for various diagnostics, even if it's a hundred yards from the receiver - well out of range... I also looked at a number of my other USB devices; all have either an LED that shows 'activity', not 'power', or no indicators at all...

My guess is - no problem there, probably time for a vidcard RMA...

Sorry, I know that's frustrating, but??

Bill

alright i think im going to look into buying a new vid card. If it works, then I know its my vid cards problem and il return it saying I wasn't satisfied with it or something like that. Then I will RMA my current video card. If this new one still doesn't work, well we'll have to figure something out when it comes to that point. I will post the update when it happens.

I think you can safely stay within that family of cards - they get great reviews - just that particular one seems to be plagued with problems; in addition, lots seem to have a low opinion of the VaporX cooling business, saying the fans still howl like banshees (and, when you're dumping that much heat, you can't really expect otherwise); the only things in my rig that I watercool are the CPU, and the vidcards, and my mouth hung open when I realized how much the (now nonexistent) GPU fans contributed to the noise level - and I've got a pair of lowly 3850s!

Hey, whereabouts you at in Canada? Used to have a pretty devoted customer up there, in Stratford (where the big yearly theater festival is) Ontario... Loved visiting - biggest mistake I ever made in my life was turning 'em down when they wanted to get me through immigration, and finance a home for me - and I was seeing a woman who, (I later realized) loved me dearly - Canadians are probably the friendliest people on the planet!

Yes I have heard that region in ontario is quite beautiful. I'll message you my area (a bit paranoid on these things I suppose but safety never hurts).

I just thought of another thing, on my vid card there are three led lights on its little circuit board. Only one of them is on, and there doesn't seem to be a name for it. If it helps, it is the one furthest away from the fan. Is this a problem? My plan on buying, then returning won't work and this RMA is looking imminent so I just want to be sure.