[SOLVED] Is my R9 280x compatible with every motherboard?

[Davidino]

I want to test my r9 280x for so long now, but I dont have a motherboard that is compatible with it. Some days ago I found a guy putting a gtx 1060ti in a windows xp pc with ddr memory/motherboard. It blew my mind and it got my thinking: why doesnt my r9 280x show display in my ddr3 mobo and someone else just put a gtx 1060ti in a ddr mobo.

The mobos I have:
Msi 770-c45
Asus p5k-e
And many other ddr2 motherboards

 

[rgd1101]

1060ti draw a lot less power

 

[Davidino]

1060ti draw a lot less power

So are high consumption gpus compatible with less motherboards than lower consumption gpus?

 

[rgd1101]

probably more of an issue on old motherboard

 

[digitalgriffin]

So are high consumption gpus compatible with less motherboards than lower consumption gpus?

It's not the motherboard that supplies most of the power. When you get high end GPU's the PSU supplies the power through additional PCIe cables. If you don't have the PSU to power it, it's a no-go.

A 280x is basically a 7970. I ran mine on a Ivy Bridge DDR3 Z77 platform for years. I wouldn't run it on anything less than a quality 650 Watt PSU with the PCIe cables. Sandy Bridge chipset supported it. Some Core 2 chipsets also worked.

Initialize the PEG first in the bios settings.

 

[Davidino]

It's not the motherboard that supplies most of the power. When you get high end GPU's the PSU supplies the power through additional PCIe cables. If you don't have the PSU to power it, it's a no-go.

A 280x is basically a 7970. I ran mine on a Ivy Bridge DDR3 Z77 platform for years. I wouldn't run it on anything less than a quality 650 Watt PSU with the PCIe cables. Sandy Bridge chipset supported it. Some Core 2 chipsets also worked.

Initialize the PEG first in the bios settings.

Whats the PEG? Also, I have a cx500m, many people say its a chinese bad psu. But most of them said it can power my r9 280x
I tried a ddr3 mobo with intel quad q8300 and a msi 770-c45 with amd phenom ii x4 970, but both builds didnt show display. Is it a broken gpu maybe? I dont think so because ive tried to put a gtx 650 2gb in an asus p5k-e mobo and it didnt show display just like what my r9 280x does. But when I put the gtx 650 2gb in my msi 770-c45 it did show display. I bought the R9 280x from a person on marketplace and he said it would show display but after a few min there were artifacts. So I thought he just overclocked it too much or his psu is bad.

 

[digitalgriffin]

Whats the PEG? Also, I have a cx500m, many people say its a chinese bad psu. But most of them said it can power my r9 280x
I tried a ddr3 mobo with intel quad q8300 and a msi 770-c45 with amd phenom ii x4 970, but both builds didnt show display. Is it a broken gpu maybe? I dont think so because ive tried to put a gtx 650 2gb in an asus p5k-e mobo and it didnt show display just like what my r9 280x does. But when I put the gtx 650 2gb in my msi 770-c45 it did show display. I bought the R9 280x from a person on marketplace and he said it would show display but after a few min there were artifacts. So I thought he just overclocked it too much or his psu is bad.

The CM-x PSU quality depends on which version. The old ones weren't up to snuff, but it's gone through many revisions with the same branding. I wish corsair would just label them by Version or Year of release. But the only way you can tell is by the label, or disassembling them. But if it's over 5 years old, I would say it's no longer good to use on the GPU. It would be extremely borderline when it was new. They have a tendency to degrade over time.

Could the GPU be bad? Yep. But the power supply is questionable at best and the place I would start.

PEG is short for PCI External Graphics. You can tell the BIOS to initialize motherboard or PCIe graphics first. Sometimes in rare cases that makes a difference as long vBIOS initialization will make it appear like there isn't a graphics card there unless you force it to boot first. But if your system isn't booting at all, even with the built in graphcis header on the motherboard (with the 280x plugged in), I would say it's a PSU issue as the first guess.

 

[DSzymborski]

If it's a CX 500M, so it's definitely one of the bad ones before they upgraded their budget line (and can only manage 456W of +12V power even under the best case scenario). Given it's also an ancient lowish-quality PSU, it's inappropriate to pair with an extremely power hungry and spiky HD 7970/280X.

If there are artifacts even after proper drivers and PSU, the GPU's VRAM is probably failing, and this is generally a terminal condition. Hopefully you didn't pay more than $10 or $20 for this. But replace the PSU first.

 

[DSzymborski]

The CM-x PSU quality depends on which version. The old ones weren't up to snuff, but it's gone through many revisions with the same branding. I wish corsair would just label them by Version or Year of release.

For some of them, the wattage is also a clue! The modern CX PSUs have no 400W, 430W, 500W, or 600W, so seeing one of those is a red flag without even knowing the label.

 

[Davidino]

If it's a CX 500M, so it's definitely one of the bad ones before they upgraded their budget line (and can only manage 456W of +12V power even under the best case scenario). Given it's also an ancient lowish-quality PSU, it's inappropriate to pair with an extremely power hungry and spiky HD 7970/280X.

If there are artifacts even after proper drivers and PSU, the GPU's VRAM is probably failing, and this is generally a terminal condition. Hopefully you didn't pay more than $10 or $20 for this. But replace the PSU first.

I paid 1 dollar for the gpu and 10 for the psu, I saw that as a splendid investment lol.

 

[DSzymborski]

I paid 1 dollar for the gpu and 10 for the psu, I saw that as a splendid investment lol.

$1 for the GPU is quite a good risk! Usually around here, people who buy failing GPUs with the hope of resolving the issue paid ludicrous prices.

That PSU isn't worth $10. Maybe if you were given $10 for the effort of recycling it.

 

[Davidino]

The CM-x PSU quality depends on which version. The old ones weren't up to snuff, but it's gone through many revisions with the same branding. I wish corsair would just label them by Version or Year of release. But the only way you can tell is by the label, or disassembling them. But if it's over 5 years old, I would say it's no longer good to use on the GPU. It would be extremely borderline when it was new. They have a tendency to degrade over time.

Could the GPU be bad? Yep. But the power supply is questionable at best and the place I would start.

PEG is short for PCI External Graphics. You can tell the BIOS to initialize motherboard or PCIe graphics first. Sometimes in rare cases that makes a difference as long vBIOS initialization will make it appear like there isn't a graphics card there unless you force it to boot first. But if your system isn't booting at all, even with the built in graphcis header on the motherboard (with the 280x plugged in), I would say it's a PSU issue as the first guess.

I invested whole my budget into pc's, but I dont have enough to buy good/new stuff. I really dont have an alternative actually. I did find some used psus, maybe theres a good one among them:
Cooler master G550M 80+ bronze = 10 bucks.
Adata 750w HM series psu 80+ bronze = 20 bucks.
Corsair HX520W = 20 bucks.
Cooler master 600w (RS-600-AMBA-D3) = 25 bucks.
HIPER 1000W power supply = 15 bucks.
Cooler master B600 ver 2 = 25 bucks.
Xilence 700w 80+ bronze = 25 bucks.
Club 3D 600w 80+ bronze = 20 bucks.
Corsair VS550 80+ = 15 bucks.
Silentstorm 660w = 20 bucks.

Id rather not buy a new psu, but if the cx500m really is that bad I guess ill have to do it.

 

[Davidino]

$1 for the GPU is quite a good risk! Usually around here, people who buy failing GPUs with the hope of resolving the issue paid ludicrous prices.

That PSU isn't worth $10. Maybe if you were given $10 for the effort of recycling it.

Owh, he said it has artifacts. I thought it was because he used a 400w hewlett packard psu to run it or he overclocked it. Anyways, here are a list of used psus I can afford:
Cooler master G550M 80+ bronze = 10 bucks.
Adata 750w HM series psu 80+ bronze = 20 bucks.
Corsair HX520W = 20 bucks.
Cooler master 600w (RS-600-AMBA-D3) = 25 bucks.
HIPER 1000W power supply = 15 bucks.
Cooler master B600 ver 2 = 25 bucks.
Xilence 700w 80+ bronze = 25 bucks.
Club 3D 600w 80+ bronze = 20 bucks.
Corsair VS550 80+ = 15 bucks.
Silentstorm 660w = 20 bucks.

 

[Davidino]

probably more of an issue on old motherboard

I dont really have the money to buy a new motherboard, I have one that supports the R9 280x, but the front panel connecter doesnt work. Not my button, but the actual pins

 

[DSzymborski]

I invested whole my budget into pc's, but I dont have enough to buy good/new stuff. I really dont have an alternative actually. I did find some used psus, maybe theres a good one among them:
Cooler master G550M 80+ bronze = 10 bucks.
Adata 750w HM series psu 80+ bronze = 20 bucks.
Corsair HX520W = 20 bucks.
Cooler master 600w (RS-600-AMBA-D3) = 25 bucks.
HIPER 1000W power supply = 15 bucks.
Cooler master B600 ver 2 = 25 bucks.
Xilence 700w 80+ bronze = 25 bucks.
Club 3D 600w 80+ bronze = 20 bucks.
Corsair VS550 80+ = 15 bucks.
Silentstorm 660w = 20 bucks.

Id rather not buy a new psu, but if the cx500m really is that bad I guess ill have to do it.

Unfortunately, one of these are better -- the HX primarily because it's absolutely ancient -- and most are even worse.

The most important part of a PC is a safe PSU competent for the components!

 

[Davidino]

Unfortunately, one of these are better -- the HX primarily because it's absolutely ancient -- and most are even worse.

The most important part of a PC is a safe PSU competent for the components!

Oh ok, but how do I find a good quality psu? Because when I see 80+ bronze, I immediately think its decent quality psu.

 

[digitalgriffin]

Oh ok, but how do I find a good quality psu? Because when I see 80+ bronze, I immediately think its decent quality psu.

Unfortunately no. That's just it's power efficiency rating when new. And bronze is not impressive by today's standards. It doesn't cover things like transients, regulation/spikes, hold up time, quality of capacitors, topology, and warranty.

Info - PSU Comparison Table (A Sortable Database of Desktop PSU/SMPS) | Tom's Hardware Forum (tomshardware.com)

Wait to find a new one on sale. Find one you like on Amazon (or your local website) and track the price. If you are on amazon, you can use camelcamelcamel.com and sign up for an alert when it hits your price point. At the very least you should spend $55 on a 550W+ sale unit (That is still iffy and might not work under load). You'll be drawing AT LEAST 250W from the GPU alone. 650W would last you a bit longer.

 

[DSzymborski]

Oh ok, but how do I find a good quality psu? Because when I see 80+ bronze, I immediately think its decent quality psu.

Not really, it's an efficiency rating. And not a particularly impressive one; Bronze is basically just the minimum level of efficiency competence these days. A lot of efficient PSUs are junky otherwise.

 

[Davidino]

Unfortunately, one of these are better -- the HX primarily because it's absolutely ancient -- and most are even worse.

The most important part of a PC is a safe PSU competent for the components!

I did find a cooler master V series V550 80+ gold for 35. Is that a good psu?

 

[digitalgriffin]

I did find a cooler master V series V550 80+ gold for 35. Is that a good psu?

No. You'll need to spend at least $55

 

[digitalgriffin]

Here...it's renewed but it's certainly about as cheap as you'll find
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Bron...1651346938&sprefix=corsiar+cx5,aps,145&sr=8-5

 

[DSzymborski]

Used PSUs from random people is really risky; this is safety equipment. The Cooler Master is a decent Enhance-made one, but used? I would never b uy a used PSU unless it was a PC I didn't care about or from someone I personally knew.

 

[digitalgriffin]

Used PSUs from random people is really risky; this is safety equipment. The Cooler Master is a decent Enhance-made one, but used? I would never b uy a used PSU unless it was a PC I didn't care about or from someone I personally knew.

Maybe johnny guru can chime in. The store is labeled Corsair outlet. It implies it might be a division of Corsair.