New Build/Saphire 6850 Question

[RSN2004]

I just put together my first system using a Saphire HD 6850 as my GPU (I had to scale down to the 6850 because the Gigabyte 6870 didn't fit my case - damn that's a big card).

Having checked and rechecked everything multiple times, I attempted my first boot. Everything appears to be working perfectly through a basic visual check, MB LEDs are on, fans running, CPU fan running HD is spinning even the GPU's fan is going. Just one problem - no bios screen.

I have an HDMI cable running to my monitor, could that be the issue? Is the 6850 not passing a video signal through the HDMI port? Do I have to run it via on of the DVI ports or the DisplayPort?

This is a bit frustrating because everything appears to be functioning. I've run through the troubleshooting checklist, but frankly I can't figure what could be the issue. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[g048989h]

I just put together my first system using a Saphire HD 6850 as my GPU (I had to scale down to the 6850 because the Gigabyte 6870 didn't fit my case - damn that's a big card).

Having checked and rechecked everything multiple times, I attempted my first boot. Everything appears to be working perfectly through a basic visual check, MB LEDs are on, fans running, CPU fan running HD is spinning even the GPU's fan is going. Just one problem - no bios screen.

I have an HDMI cable running to my monitor, could that be the issue? Is the 6850 not passing a video signal through the HDMI port? Do I have to run it via on of the DVI ports or the DisplayPort?

This is a bit frustrating because everything appears to be functioning. I've run through the troubleshooting checklist, but frankly I can't figure what could be the issue. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

I would ty it with a dvi or double check your MB video is turned off. If no go on DVI disable on board through bios and recheck it. Tell us what you have after you try that,

 

[RSN2004]

Sorry, should have included the build in the original post - no vid on the MB.

i5 2500k
ASUS P8P67 Pro
Saphire Radeon HD 6850
2x2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1333
WD Caviar Black 1TB
Corsair TX650 V2 PSU

Hope that helps...thanks

 

[RSN2004]

And just to add - until I can get to the store tomorrow, HDMI is my only option to hook into my monitor. I may be just SOL until then.

 

[g048989h]

So no video at all, nothing has even come up on the screen? You have pcie power plugged into the card? Were you able to load the drivers? Or just no video ever on this build

 

[boiler1990]

Sometimes HDMI requires separate drivers, and can't run on the basic W7 driver. HDMI is tricky...

 

[RSN2004]

No video at all on this build. Power is hooked up to the GPU and its fan is running. This is a blank slate - no OS at all. Haven't gotten to the bios screen yet.

 

[g048989h]

Start with DVI and then once you get it running you can fool with the hdmi. Never run hdmi but BTFU says it's tricky. Bet it runs fine on DVI
Good luck

 

[RSN2004]

Tried DVI cable and still no dice. The system boots up, fans start up, HD spins etc. but nothing is showing up on the monitor. The only thing I can figure is that the GPU is DOA despite its fan spinning.

 

[g048989h]

Have you tried another monitor?

 

[RSN2004]

New GPU did the trick. After fighting for more than an hour to get to a Micro Center that is only 20 minutes away, I traded out the 6850. Threw it in and now working through installing W7 right now.

Thanks for the help!

 

[boiler1990]

Great news. GPU issues are sometimes hard to diagnose because most of the symptoms are the same, and not being able to get to the BIOS is a pain :/

 

[RSN2004]

Great news. GPU issues are sometimes hard to diagnose because most of the symptoms are the same, and not being able to get to the BIOS is a pain :/

Yeah, figuring this out was a bit of a hassle, almost as much as this well-documented issue with installing W7 64. It kept hanging up at 'Setup is Starting Windows' but thanks to a couple of forum searches I was able to figure out that my USB peripherals were the issue. Unplugging the keyboard and mouse after every restart was a PITA, but I got W7 installed. I thought all was fine and dandy until I started installing drivers and W7 kept hanging at the startup screen with my keyboard and mouse plugged in.

I am going to play around in the BIOS settings a bit tonight to see if I can get W7 to behave. I guess this is just part of the "fun" in building your own rig.