GTX 970 not being detected. TV display shows "No signal"

[UnifiedForce]

I just bought an MSI Geforce GTX 970 and am having trouble getting it activated.

First off, am I plugging it in right? As shown in the pictures, I have a single pci cable with two forked 6 pin ends and one 8 pin end. I tried putting the two forked 6 pins into the card and then the 8 pin end into my PSU's bottom socket. Is that enough, or do I actually need to get another, separate 6 pin to 6 pin eci cable to connect the card to the PSU's currently unused 6 pin socket?

When I run with just the integrated Intel graphics my PC displays and works fine but it doesn't detect the card and so Nvidia drivers won't install. Before I was using an R9 280x but it seemed to be having problems so I took it out and uninstalled all AMD drivers.

Once I plug in the pci cable, my TV's display only shows "No Signal" at startup even though I can see the 970's fans spinning and all of my other hardware activated. Switching my TV's input to television shows and then back to the HDMI will sometimes show a "Detect HDMI Signal" notification, then "Retrieving Data," but then ultimately regressing back to "No Signal." It also seems to be able to still register the keyboard since I'm able to shut it down with a keyboard shortcut that I created previously.

Specs:
-Win 7 64bit
-Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz
-MSI Geforce GTX 970
-8 GB RAM
-CX600M Power Supply
-H97M Pro4 Motherboard

HDTV is a VIZIO E320-A1 32-inch 720p 60Hz LED HDTV

 

[basroil]

That PSU is unacceptable for a 970, get a real psu. The EVGA G2 550 and XFX TS 550 gold are both cheap and will power your GPU properly

 

[UnifiedForce]

That PSU is unacceptable for a 970, get a real psu. The EVGA G2 550 and XFX TS 550 gold are both cheap and will power your GPU properly

What's wrong with the CX 600M? It can give 600 W and everything I look up about the 970 seems to say that's pretty sufficient.

 

[basroil]

What's wrong with the CX 600M? It can give 600 W and everything I look up about the 970 seems to say that's pretty sufficient.

1) Wattage is only part of the equation
2) That PSU doesn't even have the right connections for 2x 6 pin!
3) https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/CX600M/8.html <-- fails transient response tests horribly
4) Your cable should go into the 6+2 labeled section on PSU and then the 2x6 go in the GPU

 

[UnifiedForce]

What's wrong with the CX 600M? It can give 600 W and everything I look up about the 970 seems to say that's pretty sufficient.

1) Wattage is only part of the equation
2) That PSU doesn't even have the right connections for 2x 6 pin!
3) https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/CX600M/8.html <-- fails transient response tests horribly
4) Your cable should go into the 6+2 labeled section on PSU and then the 2x6 go in the GPU

I'm not very familiar with power connectors. Is the cable I have pictured not a 2x6? I looked up 2x6 pins on Google and what I have looks like one.

What you described in your #4 note sounds like what I've been doing: putting the 8 pin end into the 6+2 labled section and the two 6 pin forks in the card's sockets.

 

[basroil]

I'm not very familiar with power connectors. Is the cable I have pictured not a 2x6? I looked up 2x6 pins on Google and what I have looks like one.

What you described in your #4 note sounds like what I've been doing: putting the 8 pin end into the 6+2 labled section and the two 6 pin forks in the card's sockets.

1) I meant it doesn't have separate connectors for each 6+2
2) Your photos don't show you properly connecting everything, the only thing it shows is empty sockets. If you are properly connecting them (as per the manual), then you probably need a new PSU

 

[UnifiedForce]

I'm not very familiar with power connectors. Is the cable I have pictured not a 2x6? I looked up 2x6 pins on Google and what I have looks like one.

What you described in your #4 note sounds like what I've been doing: putting the 8 pin end into the 6+2 labled section and the two 6 pin forks in the card's sockets.

1) I meant it doesn't have separate connectors for each 6+2
2) Your photos don't show you properly connecting everything, the only thing it shows is empty sockets. If you are properly connecting them (as per the manual), then you probably need a new PSU

So then I do in fact need two separate cables rather than a forked one like I was wondering in my original post?

Below is how I've been connecting the cable I have pictured above.

 

[basroil]

You don't need separate 6pins, but any PSU worth it's price does have that feature.

 

[UnifiedForce]

You don't need separate 6pins, but any PSU worth it's price does have that feature.

But based on the pictures do the connections look like they should work?

And are you saying this might be an issue with my PSU rather than GPU?

 

[basroil]

But based on the pictures do the connections look like they should work?

And are you saying this might be an issue with my PSU rather than GPU?

Those connections are correct as far as I can tell.

If the system starts without that GPU installed, then it could be either. If it doesn't, it's either the PSU or mobo

 

[UnifiedForce]

But based on the pictures do the connections look like they should work?

And are you saying this might be an issue with my PSU rather than GPU?

Those connections are correct as far as I can tell.

If the system starts without that GPU installed, then it could be either. If it doesn't, it's either the PSU or mobo

The system does start without the GPU and registers the integrated Intel graphics instead.

Unless there's any more advice/info you or anyone else can offer, I'll try seeing if the 970 works in another system, but I probably won't be able to find that out for awhile.

Not sure if this information will be relevant, but I got this GTX 970 to replace the R9 280x I had previously. The 280x had its own display issue where it started up and did browsing fine, but playing relatively high performance video games would result in HDMI signal loss within a minute of having started a game. Also unlike my issue with the 970, the computer would remain activated but seemed to lock up, since it was unresponsive to the shutdown keyboard shortcut I mentioned in my OP and I instead had to manually press the power button.

 

[basroil]

Not sure if this information will be relevant, but I got this GTX 970 to replace the R9 280x I had previously. The 280x had its own display issue where it started up and did browsing fine, but playing relatively high performance video games would result in HDMI signal loss within a minute of having started a game. Also unlike my issue with the 970, the computer would remain activated but seemed to lock up, since it was unresponsive to the shutdown keyboard shortcut I mentioned in my OP and I instead had to manually press the power button.

That is VERY relevant, and likely goes back to being an issue with your horrible PSU

 

[UnifiedForce]

Not sure if this information will be relevant, but I got this GTX 970 to replace the R9 280x I had previously. The 280x had its own display issue where it started up and did browsing fine, but playing relatively high performance video games would result in HDMI signal loss within a minute of having started a game. Also unlike my issue with the 970, the computer would remain activated but seemed to lock up, since it was unresponsive to the shutdown keyboard shortcut I mentioned in my OP and I instead had to manually press the power button.

That is VERY relevant, and likely goes back to being an issue with your horrible PSU

I'm far from an expert on PSUs, but I based my build on one vetted by the creator of pcpartpicker.

None of the comments I read in that link or the attached instruction video said/say anything about the PSU model being bad?

 

[basroil]

I'm far from an expert on PSUs, but I based my build on one vetted by the creator of pcpartpicker.

None of the comments I read in that link or the attached instruction video said/say anything about the PSU model being bad?

If you don't trust me about that PSU being bad, there's a few dozen threads here where your exact PSU had problems that were fixed by getting a better PSU. Hell, the CX600m is usually considered no better than 3rd tier!

As for that build, it's actually a god aweful build back in the day, and even worse by new standards!

 

[UnifiedForce]

I'm far from an expert on PSUs, but I based my build on one vetted by the creator of pcpartpicker.

None of the comments I read in that link or the attached instruction video said/say anything about the PSU model being bad?

If you don't trust me about that PSU being bad, there's a few dozen threads here where your exact PSU had problems that were fixed by getting a better PSU. Hell, the CX600m is usually considered no better than 3rd tier!

As for that build, it's actually a god aweful build back in the day, and even worse by new standards!

I do plan to look into RMAing/replacing the PSU since that seems to be the one thing other than the GPU which might be at fault.

I'm just frustrated with the idea of having to shell out more money for a new PSU when I already spent a bunch just to get this 970 to replace my 280x. I do appreciate all of the help you've been. I'm okay with my parts not being the absolute best of the best for gaming; as long as games are playable at all it's good enough for me and I'd like to keep PC costs down when it doesn't hurt.

 

[basroil]

as long as games are playable at all it's good enough for me and I'd like to keep PC costs down when it doesn't hurt.

Being cheap never comes cheap, especially with something like a PSU. Never skimp out on the PSU, it's the single most important part of a computer (without a PSU, NOTHING works. Without a CPU your mobo and ram still work, and without hdd/graphics card everything works just fine. But PSU is usually the most underappreciated and underestimated component)