Mobo slots not aligning with case

[ruff_hi]

Hi All. My new IBP build arrived yesterday and it wouldn't display anything to my monitor. After reviewing all of the cables, et al ... I noticed that the graphics card was stressed so that it would fit into the holes in the case ... i pulled the graphics card, swapped my monitor to the mobo outlet and it now works.

Is there a known clash between my mobo, video card and case re lining up the expansion slots?

Case: Corsair Obsidian Series 550D Gaming Case - Black
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-2500 Processor (4x 3.30GHz/6MB L3 Cache)
Processor Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series H60 Liquid CPU Cooling System
ARC Dual Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)
Memory: 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti - 1GB - EVGA Superclocked - Core: 981MHz - Single Card
Motherboard: [SLI] ASUS P8Z77-V LK -- 2x PCI-E 3.0 x16, 4x USB 3.0
Primary Hard Drive: 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive

Oh - I purchased 16Gb of RAM and will be swapping out the 4Gb that came with the pc.

 

[Robi_g]

I wouldn't say so, I thought it was all standardised so things like this didn't happen.
could it be a dead GPU?

 

[geekapproved]

Stressed so it would fit?

What do you mean? Did you build it?

Why do you need watercooling for a non-overclockable cpu?

 

[ruff_hi]

Stressed so it would fit? What do you mean?

The mobo expansion slot was about 3-4 mm above the case outlet ... the graphic card had a distinct downward slop to it so that it would stick out the back as required with the mobo connector inserted in the expansion slot.

Did you build it?

no - not me. ibuypower

Why do you need watercooling for a non-overclockable cpu?

Good question - I don't have a good answer. I am aiming for a cool, quiet kit so maybe that is my answer. Yes - that is my answer!

 

[geekapproved]

Likely it got moved around in shipping. You can loosen all the mobos screws slightly and move the mobo as far left (toward the i/o shield) as possible, then tighten the screws again (lightly).

Then re-insert the graphics card all the way in the slot. I have experienced bent cards/mobos that require a slight bending of the video card tab (where the screw goes in).

Make sure the 6 pin power cable is attached to the video card or it will not work.

 

[ruff_hi]

Likely it got moved around in shipping. You can loosen all the mobos screws slightly and move the mobo as far left (toward the i/o shield) as possible, then tighten the screws again (lightly).

I can do that ... the loosening of the mobo screws ... but moving to the left won't help it. The mobo is too high (to close to the top of the case).

Not sure why I didn't post this to start with ... here is a picture ... sure - it isn't that good a picture but I think you can clearly see that the bottom of the graphics card isn't parallel with the other expansion slots. The left side of the graphics card has been pulled down to fit into the case slot.

 

[foscooter]

Sounds like a huge FAIL!

If this is a pre-built boxed rig, RETURN IT!

They can't sell it like that! Something is gonna break, and it could be the PCI-e slot.

** Added 05/24/12 **

From the picture, it looks like the PCI slots are straight, just the card is crooked. So the slots don't line up with the case holes (that is weird). Somehow the mobotherboard is not positioned correctly in the case.

Or the graphics cards "tab" is bent, which is why is don't work. But, how would that happen?

Can you try in in another slot just to see if its the card, that slot, or the case/mobo alighnment? Looks like the white of black ones are PCI-e. The card should work in another slot, but you may have to tweak the BIOS settings, as the first/only card should be in the top slot to get x16 speed, but x8 will do.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Take those screws out and see how it sits, then if possible fasten the screws in more appropriate holes,
I would also return it to Ibp, and if you paid extra for cable management, you were ripped off further
That card does not look happy flexed like that at all,
Moto

 

[geekapproved]

Looks like the standoffs they used are too high and/or the gpu is not pushed all the way down on the right side into the slot.

As far as the alignment of the card, try the loosing thing I mentioned and see if you can pull the board down a bit, instead of to the left like I said. Either that or the damn pci-e slot is crooked.

 

[ruff_hi]

Update: Last night I reseated the GPU, connected display and the PC powered up as it should. It doesn't look as stressed as it use to and the GPU slot lines up nicely with the case - I guess the guy putting it in wasn't very careful.

I also removed the PU and flipped it over - it now pulls air from under the case instead of from inside the case. I talked to IBuyPower about the PU ... they deliberately mount it upside down (ie pulling air from within the case) as they have had a number of carpet related issues. It seems that people have been putting their PCs (with PUs pulling air from the intake on the bottom of the case) down on the carpeted floor and then get all shirty when the PU overheats.

I am currently working on the crap cable job ... isolating 1 cable at a time and utilizing the case set up to clean it all up. The back of the mobo isn't that pretty at the moment but the front is starting to look really clean and tidy.

 

[foscooter]

This really sucks that a pre-built system it this hacked up.

Great to hear you got it yourself. Lesson learned? Build your own.

Cheers.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Glad its resolved man, let me know if you need any Cable management pointers
Moto

 

[ruff_hi]

Glad its resolved man, let me know if you need any Cable management pointers
Moto

I'll be back later with pics of my revised cable set up so that you can tell me where I went wrong .

 

[Motopsychojdn]

No probs, I'm off to my nightshift soon but I'll post back in the Am
Moto

 

[geekapproved]

I usually recommend cyberpower, I'll be sure not to recommend ibuypower EVER. Thanks for the info.

 

[ruff_hi]

I'm back ... with some updated pics of my own rewiring as well as some close up pics of the stressed GPU.

I'm trying to post little pics that are linked to bigger versions ...









Some comments on the last one ...
- the yellow insert is a pic that I took when I first got the PC
- the purple blow out shows the end of the GPU against a thingo on the mobo
- the other picture of the GPU is from today - after I reseated it
- the green blow out shows the end of the GPU against the same thingo on the mobo

You can clearly see that the old GPU position was much higher than the new position ... 3, maybe 4 mm. And parallax error is actually working the other way ... the angle on the old picture would lower the apparent position of the GPU against the thingo ... so it is actually higher than it appears.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

We can tidy that up a bit for you,
will post when I get to main Pc
Moto