GFX replacement help needed.

[Doventanzer]

Today I tried replacing my two gtx 680's with 970's.
My rig meets the requirements, or so I thought.
I installed everything properly yet no monitor signal. The monitor goes straight back to sleepmode. Then I tried putting the old gfx cards back. My setup is now identical to how it was before, but still no monitor signal.
Got any ideas?

 

[Forgotten031511]

You said you believe your rig meets the requirements, what is your rig? Without that information we cannot confirm and/or tell you the problem.

 

[Joshua Martin]

Please answer the above question and also, when you say "you installed everything properly", what steps did you take?

Basically, all the info we have right now is, you think the 970 SLI meets your PC requirements and you think you installed them correctly. We can't help without a lot more details.

 

[Doventanzer]

I have an alienware aurora r4, specs according to the service tag:


ALIENWARE AURORA : ALX MATTE BLACK 875W
Processor : INTEL CORE I7-3930K (SIX CORE
Memory : 16384MB (4X4GB) 1600MHZ DDR3 QU
Media Card Reader : ALIENWARE 19-IN-1 ME
Hard Drive : 2TB RAID 0 (2X 1TB, SATA 6G
Optical Drive : DVD+/-RW (READ/WRITE) 24
Power Cord : EUROPEAN 250V
Display : DELL ULTRASHARP U2312HM 58CM(2
Graphics : DUAL 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GTX 680
Sound : INTEGRATED HDA 7.1 DOLBY DIGITAL

The new graphics cards are the MSI Gaming GTX 970's

And I followed the instruction manual:
-Removed old drivers (uninstalled drivers, deleted local files and removed in regedit)
-Rebooted
-Turned the power off, removed all external devices, pressed the power button for 5 secs to drain the remaining charge
-Opened the case and removed the pci shroud (removed it entirely to allow the new cards some breathing space)
-Unscrewed the screws holding the PCI bracket
-Cautiously removed all the wiring making notes on what went where just in case
-Removed SLI bridge
-Gently removed the gfx cards
-Firmly but lovingly inserted my large new cards into the PCI slots
-Plugged in the wiring according to the instruction manual
-Rebridged the SLI
-Screwed the Screws
-Closed the case
-Inserted the power cord
-Connected the monitor through a standard dvi cable
-Turned the power on
The following then happened:
-Lights went on
-Fans started roaring
-....Nothing
-No display, no beeps
-Minor mental freakout
So I went on and did the following:
Checked the cards were entirely seated into their respective slots, if all the wires were set up according to the instruction booklet my notes and the internet, removed the power, drained, added power, booted again.
No results.

So I went to the internet and read about making sure the BIOS was up to date. I know I'm on A09 and I believe the most recent is A11 so I shouted eureka went and undid everything step by step and reinstalled my set up to what it was before. Checked all the wiring, if everything is firmly seated and after confirming everything I tried booting my pc up aaaaaaand..... Nothing.
Still no display, nor any beeps.

This is where I ran out of ideas.
I hope this gives you somewhat of a picture as to what the situation might be.

 

[Forgotten031511]

What Wattage Rating is your PSU? All I see is "Power Cord : EUROPEAN 250V". Right now sounds like a power issue.

 

[Doventanzer]

That would be 875w, but I don't think it's a power issue since returning everything to my old (working) setup results in the same problem. Then again, I have very basic knowledge.

 

[Doventanzer]

I tried flashing the cmos which had no results. Ram is seated as tight as can fit.
Tried switching gfx cards, tried switching dvi cables, tried switching monitors. Still nothing, the monitor goes into sleepmode and they keyboard & mouse don't activate either.

 

[Forgotten031511]

The only common denominator in all of this is your motherboard...do you have a warranty or can you RMA it and get a new one?

 

[Doventanzer]

Yeah I still got a warranty, kinda weird how the mobo gets fried by upgrading a gfx card though.

 

[dominirican3351]

Is your mobo on the latest bios

 

[Doventanzer]

Nope, the bios version it shipped with was A07, which I updated to A09 at the time and the current version is A11. I know the new cards only work with A11 (didn't know before I tried installing them) but the old cards should be fully supported.

 

[dominirican3351]

Have you tried taking out the cmos battery for 30 seconds and putting it back in and then try booting it up with ur old card

 

[Doventanzer]

I took it out for about a minute if that makes a differencd, aside from that no results.

 

[Doventanzer]

Did some more tests, took out all the drivers, RAM and gfx cards.
No beep.
Tried to boot with only 1 ram instead of 4, no beep.
I know the system used to make single beep after post so it should have given the no memory beeping.
Pretty sure it's the mobo, but before I take any action replacing things I'd like to rule out any other possibilities.

 

[Joshua Martin]

Did some more tests, took out all the drivers, RAM and gfx cards.
No beep.
Tried to boot with only 1 ram instead of 4, no beep.
I know the system used to make single beep after post so it should have given the no memory beeping.
Pretty sure it's the mobo, but before I take any action replacing things I'd like to rule out any other possibilities.

When replacing the GPUs, were you careful to follow proper ESD guidelines?
If you've verified your cable connections and are sure everything is installed right, it's starting to sound like you may have ESD'd it.

 

[Forgotten031511]

I agree, when you replaced the GFX card it sounds like you killed the MB...4 out of 5 Dentists agree

 

[Doventanzer]

I'll see if I can get the mobo replaced. Thanks for all your answers.
I'll report back if the problem persists.