MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G won't detect on ASRock Z97 PRO 3

[BruinsFTW]

So heres a run down...I ordered a computer for a buddy of mine who lives out of state...Everything is very similar to a build I just did for someone else..

Like the title says...the 970 won't detect on the z97 pro 3 mobo..

Heres the specs of everything..

ASRock Z97 Pro 3 MOBO
MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G
i5 4690k w/ Hyper 212 EVO
HyperX FURY 16gb
Samsung 850 Evo SSD 500GB
Acer GN246HL Monitor
Seasonic S12II 620 Bronze 620w
Windows 7 64bit

So heres what I can say so far....Everything else seems to be going fine....it boots to desktop no problem...updated the Mobo to latest drivers, BIOS etc....Used the CD with the 970 to install that stuff....anything from MSI's site driver wise wont install because I believe it said proper hardware not detected...Would trying drivers from the Nvidia site help?..Tried the 8 pin adapter that came with it instead of 6+2 and other 6+2 without the 2 plugged in.....Also like I said, I live out of state so I havent gotten my hands on it myself...

I've browsed numerous forums, numerous threads here and tried to have him troubleshoot best way possible..

Reset the CMOS and all of that..

Unfortunately this is his first build so he doesn't have any parts to test anything or swap so that doesn't help..

The card does light up, and fans spin when he powers on..just no matter what we've tried it won't detect in BIOS or anywhere else..

Any other tips anyone can think of doing? Is it a bad PCI express slot? Bad card? He ordered everything through newegg so if we need to RMA something we can..

I just wanted to get some feedback first, or what anyone thinks should be RMA'd or to try anything else..

Appreciate any help here guys. I've browsed a ton of stuff and just think something is dead at this point...

Thanks

 

[Calvin7]

That power supply comes with these PCI Express Power Connectors:
PCI-Express Connector1 x 6-Pin, 1 x 6+2-Pin

No doubt plugging in the 8-Pin EPS 12V into a graphics card caused customer induced damage. It is likely the card is not detected because of the damage.

 

[BruinsFTW]

The 6+2's we used way before that, the PSU had 2x 6+2 and were used originally for all troubleshooting....That was one of the last resorts and last solutions to try the 8 pin adaptor....so I don't think thats what caused it but who knows...

Whats the best solution? RMA the card or board? The card lights up and fans go on....but board just doesn't detect it..