5870 Cold boot problem

[duderx]

Hello.
I recently upgraded my Nvidia 8600GT to a Sapphire 5870. I'm experiencing a cold boot issue where it takes a few tries to get the video working. With the new card, my computer takes 4 or 5 tries to boot up...usually the fan on the card starts running very fast and loud and I get no video. After a hard reboot a few times, it eventually starts up and runs fine, with the fan running normally and quiet. I'm still running Windows XP too, not sure if that could be related since it doesn't even show me the bios screen until after the 4th or 5th try.

I'm not really hardware savvy, but I believe I set up the new card correctly...I followed everything in the manual (except I downloaded the 10.2 drivers prior to swapping cards, so I had the latest drivers when I installed it). I basically swapped cards and plugged in the 2 6pin connectors. I'm not sure if there is anything else I need to do because my old card did not require additional power connections. Is it possible this problem could be caused by a configuration issue? Bios settings maybe? I have an Asus P5N-E SLI motherboard and a 750W power supply with a minimal amount of components (1 SATA drive, 1 DVD player). I upgraded my bios to the latest after reading about an update for AMD cards but that didn't help.

Any comments would be appreciated, thanks. I'd like to cover all bases before I contact Sapphire tech support.

edit: fixed power supply wattage

 

[Mousemonkey]

I have an Asus P5N-E SLI motherboard and a 7450W power supply with a minimal amount of components (1 SATA drive, 1 DVD player).

A 7.5KW PSU!! (I know it's a typo, but still :lol: )

 

[EXT64]

Hmm, if you are comfortable messing with the BIOS, I'd suggest updating to the newest for your board. It seems ATI changed some of the detection code and some boards have trouble with the new cards. Also, drivers have no effect on POST/BIOS stuff, so don't worry about them.

 

[duderx]

Yeah, I grabbed the latest bios update from the manufacturer as it mentioned a fix for a long delay in bios loading when using newer AMD cards, but that didn't help.

Thanks for the suggestion though

 

[vvhocare5]

You need to run through the basics on this.

During POST, the system doesnt quite know whats out there yet and how to talk to the device. So it runs in a compatibility mode until those drivers are loaded. Bad drivers would cause a crash on boot.

You plugged the card into the Blue slot - closest to the CPU? If yes remove it and reinsert it.
You could try plugging it into the other PCIE slot and see what it does.

Does the BIOS have an option for PCI graphics? Usually it is AUTO or External PCIE. Try both options.
You may want to try reloading BIOS defaults - you will have to reset the other options you may have changed.

Double check the power connections are good and you are not sharing the power lines with other devices.

This looks like an older system? Do you trust the PSU and memory.

Can you try starting up with one stick of RAM?

 

[duderx]

You need to run through the basics on this.

During POST, the system doesnt quite know whats out there yet and how to talk to the device. So it runs in a compatibility mode until those drivers are loaded. Bad drivers would cause a crash on boot.

You plugged the card into the Blue slot - closest to the CPU? If yes remove it and reinsert it.
You could try plugging it into the other PCIE slot and see what it does.

Does the BIOS have an option for PCI graphics? Usually it is AUTO or External PCIE. Try both options.
You may want to try reloading BIOS defaults - you will have to reset the other options you may have changed.

Double check the power connections are good and you are not sharing the power lines with other devices.

This looks like an older system? Do you trust the PSU and memory.

Can you try starting up with one stick of RAM?

Hmm, now that you mention it, when I first installed the card, I had no boot issues...it didn't start until after I had installed drivers and I used the latest rather than the ones it shipped with. I was under the impression the drivers didn't matter until windows started, good to know. I'll try using the drivers it shipped with.

I have tried removing and re-installing the card. Only in the blue slot though. I'll try the black slot.

I can't recall if there are PCI settings in the bios screen, I'll check that too.

The 2 power connections are each separate lines and not connected to anything else.

I'm pretty sure the PSU and memory are ok, although I'm not sure how to test the PSU...is there an app I can download that will test it? I can try running with 1 stick of memory...it is an older system...not sure how old...at least a year. Not that it means anything, but when the card did start up, it ran Mass Effect 2 just fine with max settings...running the same game on my 8600GT I have to turn the settings down and it looks bad.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[coldmast]

I've been experiencing similar issues, I believe it has to do with a faulty Sapphire 5870 (could be an internal cap... er... or something).

Computer turns on, quickly fan spin up. Mobo fancy Q-LED lights cycle, stops at PCI-E LED... and nothing, no complaints (errors) coming from the PC speaker. Power cycle (with front power switch) then the computer post fine and starts up normally.

What I really don't understand is why the computer runs fine after a power cycle.

I've extensively tested the other system components and I believe it is not the ram, which I've ran memtest86+ for several passes. Though I've heard of cold boot problems arising from inaccurate memory voltages and timings. I've tried resetting and upgrading the BIOS. I've reseated the crap out of the components.

The compy is:

Proc: i7 860
Mobo: P7H57D-V EVO
Ram: Corsair Dominator 8GB CL8 Kit (QVL w/ 4 dims)
GC: Sapphire Radeon HD5870 Game Edition (free Dirt 2, which runs fine on Ultra settings)
PSU: Corsair HX 750W (more the enough power)
HDD: 4x WD 1TB 64MB Black in RAID 10 (Intel onboard raid controller)
BDRE drive: LG 10x super multi

I've also tried the system with a HIS Radeon 5670, instead of the Sapphire Radeon HD5870: and no problems whatsoever, though I didn't bother setting up the 5670 drivers on the computer.

Already in the process of RMA for the 5870, though I was wondering if anyone else had any comments.

 

[duderx]

I ended up RMA'ing my 5870 card. The new one I got back had it even worse...it wouldn't boot at all no matter the number of power cycles. I ended up buying a new rig and the same 5870 that didn't work in my old rig works flawlessly in my new rig. I'm guessing it was a power issue as my new rig has an 850W psu compared to the 750W psu in my old rig. Not much help I'm sure, but wanted to point out that it may not be the 5870 card.

 

[Guest]

I ended up RMA'ing my 5870 card. The new one I got back had it even worse...it wouldn't boot at all no matter the number of power cycles. I ended up buying a new rig and the same 5870 that didn't work in my old rig works flawlessly in my new rig. I'm guessing it was a power issue as my new rig has an 850W psu compared to the 750W psu in my old rig. Not much help I'm sure, but wanted to point out that it may not be the 5870 card.

It is a problem of your old mobo "ASUS P5NE-SLI" with ATI 5850 and 5870.... I have the same problem, same mobo (bios updated), at cold boot i have "1 Long beep, 3 short beeps" or no post at all, and all my fans at full speed , then I push the reset button and it boot correctly, fans at normal speed, everything working.

 

[whytechno3]

I ended up RMA'ing my 5870 card. The new one I got back had it even worse...it wouldn't boot at all no matter the number of power cycles. I ended up buying a new rig and the same 5870 that didn't work in my old rig works flawlessly in my new rig. I'm guessing it was a power issue as my new rig has an 850W psu compared to the 750W psu in my old rig. Not much help I'm sure, but wanted to point out that it may not be the 5870 card.

It is a problem of your old mobo "ASUS P5NE-SLI" with ATI 5850 and 5870.... I have the same problem, same mobo (bios updated), at cold boot i have "1 Long beep, 3 short beeps" or no post at all, and all my fans at full speed , then I push the reset button and it boot correctly, fans at normal speed, everything working.

This is the answer, my Asus P5NE-SLI has the same issue when I upgraded to a Sapphire HD5870, bootup fan full blast and video beep code. All you have to do is hit the reset button right after you turn on the PC and the video card & PC will boot as normal. There's no newer Bios for this MB from Asus that will fix this, so you will have to live with it.