AMD64 system - no video

[Andrew Krieg]

I'm building an AMD64 system. So far I've hooked up:

Asus A8N-SLI Mobo
Athlon 3800+ CPU
Thermalright XP-120 heatsink
Antec NeoPower 480 power supply
2x512Mb DDR400 PC3200 DIMMs
eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCI Express video card

I thought I'd power it up and make sure everything so far was working
(check for BIOS prompt). It powers up fine. All the fans and lights
are working. There's a green light on the mobo. I'm not getting any
video signal out though. I didn't expect only DVI ports on the video
card, but I'm using one of the DVI->DB-15 adapters that came with it.

Any ideas on things to check for the missing video signal?

The only other strange thing I've seen is that the soft power switch on
the front of the case works fine for turning the system on, but won't
work for turning it off (even if held in continuously). Could the
problems be related?

 

[Wes Newell]

I'm building an AMD64 system. So far I've hooked up:
Antec NeoPower 480 power supply

The only other strange thing I've seen is that the soft power switch on
the front of the case works fine for turning the system on, but won't
work for turning it off (even if held in continuously). Could the
problems be related?

Try changing the PSU. I heard there' a problem with some Antec PSU's. Get
a cheap 600W. If that works contact Antec for a free fix. Here's a cheap
one that should work fine.

http://store.mrtechus.com/60ulapatxcop.html

 

[Strings]

DON'T DO IT that's bad advice. A 350w Enermax has more quality cleaner power
than a cheep 600w
Example: Enermax 350w has 26A on 12V+ that cheep 600w has 24A+ (buy cheap
buy twice)
Never use cheep power supplies they most all are JUNK and may do more harm
than good.
Poor power supplies are the number one cause of phantom problems.
1- Check the BIOS for power on and off settings
2- I would disconnect all but the mainboard then reseat all chips, Ram and
CPU reseat all PS connectors then boot.


http://www.silentpcreview.com/article28-page1.html
http://www.amdboard.com/psu.html
http://www4.tomshardware.com/column/20011012/index.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20041223/index.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20040122/index.html

 

[DougH]

I'm building an AMD64 system. So far I've hooked up:

Asus A8N-SLI Mobo
Athlon 3800+ CPU
Thermalright XP-120 heatsink
Antec NeoPower 480 power supply
2x512Mb DDR400 PC3200 DIMMs
eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCI Express video card

I thought I'd power it up and make sure everything so far was working
(check for BIOS prompt). It powers up fine. All the fans and lights
are working. There's a green light on the mobo. I'm not getting any
video signal out though. I didn't expect only DVI ports on the video
card, but I'm using one of the DVI->DB-15 adapters that came with it.

Any ideas on things to check for the missing video signal?

The only other strange thing I've seen is that the soft power switch on
the front of the case works fine for turning the system on, but won't
work for turning it off (even if held in continuously). Could the
problems be related?

I have the same motherboard. Did you check the position of the ASUS EZ
selector card? That's the little card between the video slots that tells
the motherboard if you have one or two video cards installed. The user
guide says that the card is in the single video default position. I checked
mine to be sure and it was installed with the dual video side plugged in. I
removed the EZ selector and reinstalled it on the other side. Works great.

 

[Derek Baker]

Try changing the PSU. I heard there' a problem with some Antec PSU's.
Link?

Get a cheap 600W. If that works contact Antec for a free fix. Here's a
cheap
one that should work fine.

http://store.mrtechus.com/60ulapatxcop.html

Don't buy cheap PSUs.

 

[Mike]

he suggested the cheapie to test
and if the test is successful to get the good PS fixed/replaced

 

[Andrew Krieg]

I have the same motherboard. Did you check the position of the ASUS EZ
selector card? That's the little card between the video slots that tells
the motherboard if you have one or two video cards installed. The user
guide says that the card is in the single video default position. I checked
mine to be sure and it was installed with the dual video side plugged in. I
removed the EZ selector and reinstalled it on the other side. Works great.

Yes, the single/dual card is set correctly. Does the video card need to
be wired for power any special way? I just have it getting power off
the main cord on the power supply, although the PS does have other ports
where more power cords can be plugged in. I read in a forum some
reference to having a separate power cord for the PCI Express video
card. Is this how you are set up? The fan is running on the video
card, so it is getting some power. The documentation with the video
card is sorely lacking in information.

 

[Wes Newell]

DON'T DO IT that's bad advice. A 350w Enermax has more quality cleaner power
than a cheep 600w

That's just BS.

Example: Enermax 350w has 26A on 12V+ that cheep 600w has 24A+ (buy
cheap buy twice)

And you don't think 24A on the +12v rail is enough? Why didn't you
mention the other rails? Like 32A on 3.3v and 50A on 5v. Is that because
it's much higher than what the 350W Enermax puts out? You don't have to
answer that, I'm sure everyone knows it is. I hope you aren't suggesting
he buy a 350W PSU, but that could be how your post is taken.

Never use cheep power supplies they most all are JUNK and may do more
harm than good.

I've used literally hundreds with no ill effects. And I've also had
expensive ones bite the dust prematurely. The oldest I can think of is a
cheap 250W I put in a Novell server in about '95. Still going today. I
can't remeber any failures in my personal systems, except when a fan died
in one and I sliipped with a metal screwdriver (trying to start the
blades moving) while it was running and blew it up.

Poor power supplies are the number one cause of phantom problems.

Actually, I'd say users not setting up there system timings properly is
more common. But that's just been my experience. As for PSU's causing
problems, I''ve seen it, but not because of the brand, just people using
PSU's that weren't rated to carry the load of system. Brand name has
nothing to do with that.

 

[Strings]

Poor suggestion buying or using a unaproved PS even to test.
Go to the shop that sold you the original PS and ask to borrow a know
working unit (we do that for clients)
I have seen generic power supplies fry and take out the CPU and Mainboard so
don't take the chance and get a AMD certified unit to use as a tester. With
a 3800 AMD CPU stick with known certified power supplies.

Next time you BMW seems not to start and you suspect gas BUY a golf cart
pretending to be powerful car and if the gas works take your BMW for
service. (laugh)

AGAIN
1-check the BIOS for settings first
2- remove all Mainboard connections and unnecessary cards then boot
3- reseat your video card and all chips
4- try another video card
5- suspect a good power supply last

 

[Strings]

I bet with the strength you defend junk PS you use one ? and as they say
misery loves company.
I manage a shop and we would never sell generic power supplies to clients
we wish to keep, we had a 24% failure rate so when we went our to top brands
only policy now we spend almost no time diagnosing phantom problems caused
by 18$ power supplies. Your like a smoker pointing out the few people that
live long but forget the grave is full of a majority of those who did not
get so lucky. Poor power supplies are the number one cause of phantom
problems.
I recommend any good AMD certified supply over 400w Enermax, Antec, Delta,
Futron, others

Buy cheep buy twice (buy a cheep PS and you may buy even more when she
blows)
A fool and his money, (buy cheep PS and pray it does not fry your CPU)
Misery loves company ( I buy junk back me up and buy some junk as well)
Someone has to be at the bottom of quality and reliability (generic PS's)

These sites may help choosing a good reliable power supply

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article28-page1.html
http://www.amdboard.com/psu.html
http://www4.tomshardware.com/column/20011012/index.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20041223/index.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20040122/index.html

 

[Wes Newell]

I bet with the strength you defend junk PS you use one ? and as they say
misery loves company.

After fixing the top posting and removing old sig lines I guess I'll reply
now, but learn how to post properly please.

Now, if you'll read just above a ways, I already stated the answer to this
question. Yes, I use cheap PSU's and have been using them for the about
the last 15-20 years. And if they had caused any misery I wouldn't still
be using them.

I manage a shop and we would never sell generic power supplies to
clients we wish to keep, we had a 24% failure rate so when we went our
to top brands only policy now we spend almost no time diagnosing
phantom problems caused by 18$ power supplies. Your like a smoker
pointing out the few people that live long but forget the grave is full
of a majority of those who did not get so lucky. Poor power supplies are
the number one cause of phantom problems. I recommend any good AMD
certified supply over 400w Enermax, Antec, Delta, Futron, others

I've only had one bad experience with cheap PSU's. I bought a batch of 10
250W AT psu's for $2 each unseen. Out of the 10, 2 failed within 60days.
The others are still working afaik and this was a few years back. But
other than these extremely cheap (and they even looked it) psu's, all the
rest have had less than a 1% failure rate during the first year of use,
and probably no more than 5% during the first 5 years. These units were
installed in voice mail systems that ran 24/7, and many in much less than
ideal locations (take that to mean in closets without temp control). I
can't imagine a 24% failure rate unless like the batch I bought you got
the absolutely cheapest and worse units around.

Buy cheep buy twice (buy a cheep PS and you may buy even more when she
blows)

I've never seen a PSU blow anything other than itself. Not imposssible for
the protection circuit to fail though, even on expensive models.

A fool and his money, (buy cheep PS and pray it does not fry your CPU)

Someone challenged me that the cheap PSU I bought over a year ago now
would be dead within a year. Want to bet if it's still running? Was that
you? Keep buying those expensive PSU's. You're making someone lot's of
money.

 

[dawg]

Your video card should be the only componenent on it's power line.

 

[rstlne]

I bet with the strength you defend junk PS you use one ? and as they say
misery loves company.
I manage a shop and we would never sell generic power supplies to clients
we wish to keep, we had a 24% failure rate so when we went our to top brands
only policy now we spend almost no time diagnosing phantom problems caused
by 18$ power supplies. Your like a smoker pointing out the few people that
live long but forget the grave is full of a majority of those who did not
get so lucky. Poor power supplies are the number one cause of phantom
problems.
I recommend any good AMD certified supply over 400w Enermax, Antec, Delta,
Futron, others

Buy cheep buy twice (buy a cheep PS and you may buy even more when she
blows)
A fool and his money, (buy cheep PS and pray it does not fry your CPU)
Misery loves company ( I buy junk back me up and buy some junk as well)
Someone has to be at the bottom of quality and reliability (generic PS's)

These sites may help choosing a good reliable power supply

Wes is correct in what he says to be honest. If you were to open up Generic
Rated supplies, you would find that many of them are using the same kit
that's in the cheaper supplys. You said in another post that you have seen
PSU's take out CPU's. A supply should NEVER burn out the cpu, Why.. The CPU
supply voltage comes from the motherboard. Your correct in saying he should
buy a good supply, Your wrong in saying that a cheap supply is going to do
more harm than good.
I would still suggest the nice supply, But I have replaced good/quality
supplys with cheap ones before too, and some of those cheap ones are still
running in my house today.

 

[Andrew Krieg]

I'm building an AMD64 system. So far I've hooked up:

Asus A8N-SLI Mobo
Athlon 3800+ CPU
Thermalright XP-120 heatsink
Antec NeoPower 480 power supply
2x512Mb DDR400 PC3200 DIMMs
eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCI Express video card

I thought I'd power it up and make sure everything so far was working
(check for BIOS prompt). It powers up fine. All the fans and lights
are working. There's a green light on the mobo. I'm not getting any
video signal out though. I didn't expect only DVI ports on the video
card, but I'm using one of the DVI->DB-15 adapters that came with it.

Any ideas on things to check for the missing video signal?

The only other strange thing I've seen is that the soft power switch on
the front of the case works fine for turning the system on, but won't
work for turning it off (even if held in continuously). Could the
problems be related?

Just to follow up, I didn't have the 2nd power supply cord (for the CPU)
hooked up. I did that, and isolated the video card to a separate power
cord and everything worked great!

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Strings]

Fantastic,
Great to hear and glad to see you did not rush out to buy an cheep $18 PS on
bad advice.
Antec is a great PS I suspected it was not that dispite a loud lobby for the
Junk PS Association.

 

[Timbertea]

I'm building an AMD64 system. So far I've hooked up:

Asus A8N-SLI Mobo
Athlon 3800+ CPU
Thermalright XP-120 heatsink
Antec NeoPower 480 power supply
2x512Mb DDR400 PC3200 DIMMs
eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCI Express video card

I thought I'd power it up and make sure everything so far was working
(check for BIOS prompt). It powers up fine. All the fans and lights
are working. There's a green light on the mobo. I'm not getting any
video signal out though. I didn't expect only DVI ports on the video
card, but I'm using one of the DVI->DB-15 adapters that came with it.

Any ideas on things to check for the missing video signal?

Many video cards will output on a particular DVI if they are running in
single head mode. Try moving the adaptor to the other plug and then
hooking up your monitor to that. That is the absolute first thing I
would check.

 

[DougH]

Just to follow up, I didn't have the 2nd power supply cord (for the CPU)
hooked up. I did that, and isolated the video card to a separate power
cord and everything worked great!

Thanks for the suggestions.

Glad to hear it. Yes I had a power line running to the connector by the
video. I wanted to be sure it got all the power it might need. I think it
said in the user guide to give the video it's own power when two video cards
are installed. Looks like that info is wrong. Have fun.