No signal from graphics card, but onboard working fine

Xander314

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Recently, I turned on my PC to find no signal to either of the monitors attached to my ASUS/nVidia 9600GT. However, there was still a signal from the integrated graphics (I have an ASUS P5N-MX which has the nVidia 610i/7050 chipset).

The default video adapter is set to PCI-E in the BIOS. I have also tried clearing the CMOS. I swapped with my brother's almost identical 9600GT. Both cards worked in his PC, and neither in mine so it seems the graphics card isn't the problem.

I guess that means its either the motherboard or the power supply. Oh, and whenever the computer is turned on it fails POST, asking me to "press F1 to continue" etc, etc. The graphics card did not show up under display adapters in device manager.

Does anyone have any ideas for a fix? Or should I just replace the motherboard? I'm looking at a few cheap refurbished boards on eBay which will save me replacing any other hardware in the case.

Also, the boards on eBay are all missing I/O shields. Is there any problem (aside from dust getting in) with not having an I/O shield? I've read conflicting information about static discharge...

Thanks in advance,
Xander
 
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what is your PSU, though its sorta doubtful, the 9600GT doesn't have huge power requirements. i had the 1Gb version and one time forgot to plug in the 6 pin power connector and it still worked w/o a load.

but are we talking about a 350 watt diablotek?
 

Xander314

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I (unfortunately) bought the computer from an online PC builder, so I'm not entirely clear about the power supply. It claims its total output is 550W. It appears to be made by HEC (High Quality Evolution Commitment), with serial code 550VP-2DE.

The sticker on the side of the PSU had the following information.
AC Input - AC230V~ 50Hz 5A

DC output / Max A
+3.3V / 24 A \
+5V / 15A / -> combined power output 120W
+12V1 / 28A \
+12V2 / 20A / -> combined power output 480W
-12V / 0.3A
+5Vsb / 2.5A

Total power output = 550W

I would have thought it should be sufficient.

Oh, one other thing. The RAM I'm using could be slightly problematic. It caused intermittent crashes on my brother's PC so I swapped my RAM with his, as his appeared to work fine in my PC. It's Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800Mhz 2x2Gb. I don't suppose that should affect the graphics subsystem though.
 

Xander314

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Forgive the bad formatting - it won't let me edit the post. The combined power outputs were given for each of the two voltage/current pairs above them.
 
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sorry i missed that. if your brother is kind enough to swap PSUs and it still doesn't work, then you are looking specifically at the motherboard.

btw, i rarely install IO plates, never caused me a problem. and if you do need another mobo, you might want to consider using the opportunity to get a sandy bridge pentium, H61 mobo and some ddr3 ram for about $160. unless you got a Q6600, then even an i3 would almost just be a "sidegrade". (i3s beat a core2quad but not by that much)
 

Xander314

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I currently have a Q9550, which I why I want to cling on to my current setup as long as possible. I do some 3D drawing with Blender and compile a lot of software from source for Linux so i want a decent processor (i.e. more than i3).

If I did upgrade, I'd rather spend a bit more than you suggest and get an i5/i7 and one of the better chipsets. Given I have the Q9550, though, is it worth an upgrade? The alternative is to keep saving for a new PC and for now get an ASUS P5QPL-VM EPU for £26 refurbished. As far as I can see, that motherboard is comparable or slightly better than my P5N-MX. (Obviously, the Intel onboard graphics are worse, but I shan't be using them anyway.)
 
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the Q9550 does have some life in it. to confirm that it is the mobo by doing a PSU swap, you might want to look at a 775 board with a P35/P45 or X38/X48 chipset to overclock that quad. chipsets with integrated graphics aren't overclock friendly.

but really, you ought to go economical as far as getting a replacement 775. saving up to upgrade to an I5-2400 with a H67 mobo will give you the difference between night and day. an I7 would be nice but unless your using a lot of hyper threading; the four cores of a I5 should be plenty.

with ivy bridge around the corner an I5-3450, the 2400 equivalent, with an H77 mobo, or the sandy bridge H67, might be really good for your needs.
 

Xander314

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Yes, I have been considering overclocking - I'm thinking about replacing my stock HSF with something else during this upgrade, maybe a Noctua if I can justify the £50-60 pricetag.

As for a motherboard, it's a bit of a problem. The only socket 775 boards I can find at the moment have G41 chipsets (which have integrated graphics). Any suggestions as to where I might find P or X chipset boards?
 
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a recommended cpu cooler is the cooler master hyper 212+ if you can find them on your side of the pond.

and yeah it does seem like the only 775 mobo are the G41s :( if you can find one reasonably priced go for that. you could get lucky on a P/X chipset but they are rather highly valued.
 

Xander314

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I'm looking at the P5QPL-VM EPU and the P5G41T-M LX since they are the same price refurbished on eBay. One is DDR2 (up to 800Mhz or 1066 O.C.) and one is DDR3 (up to 1066Mhz or 1333 O.C.). Will the extra cost of buying DDR3 RAM be worth the speed improvement over my existing Corsair XMS2 DDR2 @ 800Mhz, or should I just go with the DDR2 board to save ~£40?
 
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stay with the ddr2 for now. the ddr3 would swap with an upgrade, but at that juncture you can get dd3 1600 instead of the 1333 you'd have to purchase.
 

Xander314

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I ordered the P5QPL-VM EPU in the end and it arrived today. Now I'm just waiting on my cooler and thermal paste...

Thanks for all your help - I'll let you know if it works out for me in the end :)
 
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you can "breadboard" it with the stock heatsink; put the board on non conductive material such as cardboard and put it together outside the case. that way if you have problems you wouldn't have gone through the work of putting it in the case.

 
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oh, sorry i though EVERYONE keeps some TP in the desk drawer. :)
 

Xander314

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Thanks for all your help... The paste arrived, I've replaced the motherboard and now everything's working as it should. And I have some thermal paste in the draw for next time ;)
 

drakner1

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Hi I know this is a little late, but I think I know the solution. I had exactly the same problem. I read on another thread the guy removing a stick of ram and it worked. For whatever reason the cpu/onboard graphics card was only able to run on a certain amount of ram. I removed 1 stick of ram and first boot it worked. (My graphics card died and I switched to the onboard and that is when I started having the same problem as you, it sounded like the computer was working fine, but nothing would appear on the monitor).