Asus P5Q Series + eVGA 8600 GT = No Boot (ever)

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Has anyone experienced the following?

This week - I spent the better part of a day moving two brand new P5Q-E boards in and out due to no VGA detected.

The box would start, fans would come on...power is solid...but no BIOS...no post...no nothing. I checked RAM, optical drives...everything...until I finally managed to reset the CMOS and get one short 5 minute period of sounds from the internal speaker. One long and three short each time.

Asus manual for the P5Q-E states this signal means no VGA detected.

The video card in question is the eVGA 8600 GT (Not the GTS and not a card with a PCI-E power connector). This card is only about 9 months old. First I thought because this is a "Crossfire" labeled board that is may have issues with anything nVidia. Tried the blue slot first...then the middle black and finally the lower black - all leading to nothing.

Conversely - I have two brand new boxes just built with the P5Q board (just the plain P5Q) both using the eVGA 8600 GTS 256MB (with the 6 pin PCI-E connector) and they work fine. As a side note - during my day long ordeal this week - I did take this 8600 GT card and placed it into one of the new boxes with the plain P5Q - and it also did not boot. Sound familiar?

Of course - take the card over to my Intel DP35DP and it works fine. So I smell a real comparability problem with either this card and the motherboard series itself. A quick google search is starting to show others having the same issues....

Anyone have any idea just what the heck is going on here?

Cheers!

VP
 
Someone might be able to help you if you would list your 'complete' system specs.

Why don't you simply try a different video card in the system that won't boot? You tried the 8600GT in two other systems, but you didn't try a different video card in the system that won't boot up to BIOS? Also, try again resetting the CMOS jumper. be sure to unplug the PSU and remove the battery when you reset the jumper. Have your tried to flash the BIOS in the system that will not boot?
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff


I've seen this many times before and it's not usually a compatibility problem, it's usually a problem with the card. My OLD PCI-Express cards won't make good "contact" with the slots of some motherboards, but do make good contact with other motherboards. This only happens to cards after they get old, which would normally indicate oxidation on the connectors but I can't actually see any oxidation.

So its probably a problem with that one card.
 
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This whole thing might be a waste of time. From threads on the ASUS forums...it looks like this card is not PCIe 2.0 compliant - hence the reason it will not work. I am still trying to find out what PCIe standard the 8600GT conforms to...but from all the spec sheets and info I have gathered...it looks like it's PCIe 1.1 at best.

If that's the case - it's problem solved - unless ASUS was supposed to build it's P5Q series to be backwards compatible with a PCIe 1.1 compliant card.
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff


They're ALL supposed to be backward-compliant. Like I said, I've seen the problem with old (used) cards, the problem acts like a poor connection, and the only confusing part is that I can't "see" a film of oxide that would normally cause the poor connection.
 
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Well - what I have read - is that PCIe 2.0 compliant CARDS are/should be backwards compliant with PCIe 1.1 motherboards - but NOT the other way around.

This is a blatantly stated PCIe 2.0 motherboard attempting to host a powerless (no connector) and presumably PCIe 1.1 compliant card. I can;t find any details on wha level of compliance the eVGA 8600GT has....but judging by filtered price listings (like on Tiger Direct for example) where you can filter to view just PCI Express 2.0 cards - this 8600GT does not appear.

Also - the P45 chipset states it "supports" PCI Express 2.0 compliant cards. It doesn't say it's backwards compatible with anything nor does it state that a PCI Express 2.0 card is a requirement to use the product. But - due to it's age - most folks buying this new P5Q series probably would never try this card in that scenario simply because they would have a very recent card that is 2.0 compliant.

Jeez - even the eVGA 8600 GTS Superclocked (which I have two of) work perfectly in the P5Q series. So either this GT model must be just on the cusp on 2.0 compliancy OR due to the power requirements (ASUS make a huge deal out of describing the "green" 8 phase power and energy saving benefits of this board series) this motherboard requires a card the uses a PCIe power connector.

This GT does not and it's probably giving the P5Q fits at startup

JUst some additional info - during my time with P5Q-E and dead screen - I also placed an older nVidia Quadro 560 PCIe card into the mix and it also did not boot. This card also had no power connector.

So I am thinking that I am SOL with this card and may have to bite the bullet and buy something with a PCIe power connector to be able to use any of the newer P45 boards from ASUS.

Finally - the other side of this is that I cannot confirm any single person that is using this card successfully in any of the P5Q series boards. Until I can confirm that - I think this is a dead end.

Cheers!

VP
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
Yeh, I don't have an EVGA 8600 GT, but I do have a Gigabyte 8600 GT, and a Gigabyte 8500GT. Both of these work in ALL my motherboards.

I also have a PAIR of old Foxconn 7900GS cards. One of them works in ALL my motherboards, the other one only works in boards that have a "tight" slot. I had the same problem with a pair of EVGA 6600 GT's.

What I did with the 6600GT that didn't work in some boards was that I put it into a board it did work in, and left it there. I still have the "doesn't work in some boards" 7900GS. The "works in all motherboards" 7900GS went into a system already, since the problematic one didn't work in that system.

And that gets back to what I said earlier. Some of my older cards act like they have an oxide film on the connectors, even though I can't "see" the oxide.
 
I have an EVGA 8600 GT. I currently use it in my ASUS G35 MB. That is a 1.1 PCIE innterface. I have instaled the card in numerous other MBs and have no problem like OP is referring to. I'm sure the EVGA 8600Gt will work just fine in my ASUS Maximus X38 PCIE 2.0 board.
 
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Not sure what this attempts to prove...never said XFX 8600GT or any other kind of 8600GT - just an eVGA 8600GT. Again - I cannot find a single person using this exact card in a P5Q series motherboard with any success. I can find a bunch of people who are having the same issue as me tho.


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Sure - this card works great in any P35 scenario - because the P35 chipset is not PCIe 2.0 certified. But until you can take that exact card and place it into a P45 based ASUS - ideally any one of the P5Q series - and have it work and confirm it - I am convinced that this card is a dead end at this time.
 
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Well - the motherboards went back right away - so no problem there. As far as the eVGA 8600GT - I am waiting for word back from eVGA...and if they can't figure out what's up - I may try to RMA it

But the fact that it works fine on my other rigs will be a bone of contention in trying to convince eVGA there is a problem. They may just tell me to pack sand and not bother with the new mobo purchase

We shall see.
 

electrorocket

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Sep 8, 2008
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Hi. I got the same problem. eVGA 8600 GT 256MB on an ASUS P5Q. An X800 works fine on it with the 6-pin power cord. I wonder if this card isn't getting enough juice? I ga new PSU, and still the same problem. A silverstone strider 750. 4 18A rails. 8 pin MB power attached. Raptor Memory, and it switched it out too with some other. Anyone figure out a solution to this yet? It's good to know I'm not alone.
 

brodi6

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Sep 16, 2008
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Same here! Sounds like it might be time to get on the ol' NewEgg for an RMA. RMA'ing is sooooo much fun. Seriously though, help us find a solution so we don't have to RMA.
 

electrorocket

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Sep 8, 2008
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I talked to EVGA. They say they know there's a problem, but don't have a fix. Time for us to reach ASUS now. I tried every BIOS. Does the video card have a bios that can be changed?
 

brodi6

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Sep 16, 2008
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Okay, so I bought my eVGA 8600 GT from newegg.com and the card has a 30 day non-refundable replacement policy. What am I supposed to to now? I'm thinking of calling eVGA and demanding they replace the card with the next step up if they aren't going to refund my money.
 

stevebiko

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Sep 23, 2008
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Just my two cents but yesterday I installed a new HSF and when I tried to start up it wouldnt post, i fiddled with cables until I got it to post and I realized that the power cord that plugs into second card on my EVGA 9800 GX2 was sort of loose. The light on the card also showed a red around the cord when i fiddled with it it went green, then I could post.

Could be the same thing for your EVGA card. Ensure the power connections are solid and try fiddling with them or holding them in tight and booting.
 

Niels E

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Oct 21, 2008
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Hi, I have this problem on an Asus P5K SE with an Asus 8600 GTS fanless. The machine works fine once it's booted, which I can do by forcibly bending the graphics card as I power on.

I can't figure out which components are pci 1.1 or 2.0. Should I buy a new motherboard or a new graphics card?

Thanks!
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff


Read my posts above. You're pushing on the card and getting a "good enough" connection, but if you don't push on it the connection isn't "good enough". This is the perfect example of the problem I discussed earlier in this thread. If you can afford it, get a new card.
 

Niels E

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Oct 21, 2008
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Sure, I know about oxidation and poor connections. But cleaning the pcb connector thoroughly made zero difference. I've already bought a new PSU, but that wasn't the problem. I wouldn't want to also buy a new graphics card if the motherboard is the problem. Or the RAM.
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff


Read my posts above. You're pushing on the card and getting a "good enough" connection, but if you don't push on it the connection isn't "good enough". This is the perfect example of the problem I discussed earlier in this thread. If you can afford it, get a new card.

Seriously, I really have gone through three graphics cards that would work on some motherboards and not others when they got old. NONE of them had visable oxidization. ALL of them were "half of an SLI or Crossfire pair". ALL of them had the problem with "matching" card did not. The fact that your card works when you push on it should be the ONLY thing you need to know to diagnose the problem.
 

HMS57

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Jan 29, 2009
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EVGA 8600GT + P5Q = Black screen - Well here is another. I carefully built up a new ASUS P5Q mobo / E8400 / 8GBs CORSAIR 1066 QVL SRAM and temporarily a XFX 6600LE GPU from my retired lab computer. Dual booted XP Pro and Windows-7 (64 beta), loaded all my apps and not a single hitch, Both O/Ss are fast and stable. The last step was to pull the EVGA GeForce 8600GT GPU from the previous office now lab machine because I needed the dual DVIs for my two HD monitors in the office. The monitor sat there black saying no signal. After swapping cables, monitors and numerous power cycles I swapped back in the 6600LE for now. Verdict; The EVGA GeForce 8600GT does not like the P5Q, else we all wouldn’t have found this thread… For reference the XFX 6600LE GPU has a power connector.