Need advice. I built a system based in part on the Jan 2012 Tom's article for best price/performance. Link for the article here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/332702-31-2012-price-performance-build
However, I'm running into a big problem which is really ruining my week. I have a 19 inch VGA plug-n-play monitor that was good enough for my old system. I'd like to keep it. I can't see the point in buying a new monitor when I'm so happy with my old one.
However, it seems the BIOS for the MSI H67A-G43 (B3) motherboard doesn't want to play nice with my plugs, and it seems to be a problem at the BIOS level. The pitifully inadequate manual didn't name the BIOS manufacturer, but I'm guessing from the support page that it's some type of AMI BIOS. And based on my problems, the AMI BIOS may be too nifty to be usable.
The problem is, when I start the system (with no disk drive), the MSI logo comes up but it's in the bottom right of the screen and clipped off, as if the monitor is in 800x600 and the VGA port is outputting in 1200xwhatever. Now, my monitor (an old Pixie from Fry's) worked fine in 1200 or 1024 or 1920 in my old system with a Radeon 9600.
I tried using the onboard VGA output from the MSI motherboard, and I tried using the output from the new HIS Radeon 6870 card. Both of them give the problem described above.
I'm starting to think the problem isn't fixable with this motherboard and this bios. Am I being too hasty? If so, can you recommend a different ATX motherboard with a BIOS that's not too cool for my monitor? I want at least 4 DIMM slots, at least one PCIEx16 2.0 (better, two), and at least one or more SATA 6.0.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/332702-31-2012-price-performance-build
However, I'm running into a big problem which is really ruining my week. I have a 19 inch VGA plug-n-play monitor that was good enough for my old system. I'd like to keep it. I can't see the point in buying a new monitor when I'm so happy with my old one.
However, it seems the BIOS for the MSI H67A-G43 (B3) motherboard doesn't want to play nice with my plugs, and it seems to be a problem at the BIOS level. The pitifully inadequate manual didn't name the BIOS manufacturer, but I'm guessing from the support page that it's some type of AMI BIOS. And based on my problems, the AMI BIOS may be too nifty to be usable.
The problem is, when I start the system (with no disk drive), the MSI logo comes up but it's in the bottom right of the screen and clipped off, as if the monitor is in 800x600 and the VGA port is outputting in 1200xwhatever. Now, my monitor (an old Pixie from Fry's) worked fine in 1200 or 1024 or 1920 in my old system with a Radeon 9600.
I tried using the onboard VGA output from the MSI motherboard, and I tried using the output from the new HIS Radeon 6870 card. Both of them give the problem described above.
I'm starting to think the problem isn't fixable with this motherboard and this bios. Am I being too hasty? If so, can you recommend a different ATX motherboard with a BIOS that's not too cool for my monitor? I want at least 4 DIMM slots, at least one PCIEx16 2.0 (better, two), and at least one or more SATA 6.0.