M5A97 Aus - can't tell release?

[marknoo]

I bought my M5A97 at least 6 years ago. It has stamped on the mobo M5A97 but nothing else.

If it were one of the EVO or R2 would that be stamped on the mobo alongside the M5A97.

What I am trying to determine is if I have the latest BIOS. I have release 1605.

The reason I care about this is because I want to make sure my video card is compatible with my M5A97.
I just bought a XFX Radeon RX 480 and it does not work.

I asked about it in another thread on this forum:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3321551/xfx-radeon-480-work.html

I did everything in that thread and then I read up on PSU and decided mine was likely fine. That degradation was probably not a concern.

I then called Enu Computers and the told me it was most likely my GPU but I forgot to tell them that I was not sure if I had the latest BIOS.

Another thing I forgot to say was that my original video card (GTX 650) will make my screen work but it will not play games (War Thunder and Left4Dead). It shuts down the machine. I did a FurMark stress test and the machine immediately shut down too.

Anyway, Enu Computers seemed to think it was my GPU and suggested I return it. But I thought I should ask about the BIOS before I start claiming the video card is defective.

Should my M5A97 operate the XFX Radeon RX 480

This is from Asus on the M5A97

Auto O.C. Tuning & Mouse-controlled UEFI BIOS on AM3+ Platform
Dual Intelligent Processors - TPU + EPU
UEFI BIOS - Flexible & Easy BIOS Interface
Auto Tuning - Auto System Level Up
Quad-GPU CrossFireX Support!
True USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s Support - fully unleash performance

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A97/

The UEFI BIOS is the thing I was worried about. I did a a MSINFO32 and got my system specifications.

it says my BIOS is Legacy.

Would that change anything?

Speccy motherboard information:

Motherboard
Manufacturer ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
Model M5A97 (Socket 942)
Version Rev 1.xx
Chipset Vendor AMD
Chipset Model RD9x0
Chipset Revision 02
Southbridge Vendor AMD
Southbridge Model SB910/950
Southbridge Revision 40
System Temperature 31 °C
BIOS
Brand American Megatrends Inc.
Version 1605
Date 10/25/2012
Voltage
+12V 12.055 V
+5V 4.888 V
CPU CORE 0.900 V
VIN3 1.644 V
VIN4 0.516 V
+3.3V 3.132 V
VIN6 2.544 V
VIN7 0.072 V
VIN8 1.668 V
PCI Data
Slot PCI-E
Slot Type PCI-E
Slot Usage In Use
Data lanes x16
Slot Designation J6B2
Characteristics 3.3V, Shared, PME
Slot Number 0
Slot PCI-E
Slot Type PCI-E
Slot Usage In Use
Data lanes x1
Slot Designation J6B1
Characteristics 3.3V, Shared, PME
Slot Number 1
Slot PCI-E
Slot Type PCI-E
Slot Usage In Use
Data lanes x1
Slot Designation J6D1
Characteristics 3.3V, Shared, PME
Slot Number 2

Speccy Summary Information:

Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
AMD FX-6100 26 °C
Zambezi 32nm Technology
RAM
16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 664MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. M5A97 (Socket 942) 30 °C
Graphics
DELL 1800FP (1280x1024@60Hz)
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (ASUStek Computer Inc) 32 °C
Storage
476GB Crucial_ CT512MX100SSD1 SATA Disk Device (SSD) 33 °C
1863GB Western Digital WDC WD20 EARX-00PASB0 SATA Disk Device (SATA) 36 °C
1397GB Western Digital WDC WD15 EARX-00PASB0 SATA Disk Device (SATA) 35 °C
3725GB Western Digital WD My Book 1230 USB Device (USB)
Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-222BB SATA CdRom Device
Audio
High Definition Audio Device

 

[Paul NZ]

The M5A97 is the only mobo thats got a 1605 BIOS. None of the other models have a 1605 BIOS

So there are no more BIOS updates for the M5A97

 

[Lutfij]

If your system with the GTX650 shuts off when subjected to a game then it's possible that your PSU is incapable of powering your system. Might I ask what your full system's specs are? You need to be specific about the PSU's model number to gauge it's quality+ we also need to know it's age of service.

Pertaining to your motherboard inquiry, Asus have listed 4 boards under M5A97 series where one such board is M5A97. There are 4 more with the addage of EVO or the R2.0 at the end of aforementioned nomenclature.
i.e
M5A97
M5A97 R2.0
M5A97 EVO
M5A97 PRO
M5A97 EVO R2.0

If you can't even see a sticker that says M5A97 R2.0 then you're on the vanilla M5A97. You might be able to pass on a picture of your board via smartphone camera and pass it on here for us to confirm.

 

[Calvin7]

It appears you likely have this model power supply:
Thermaltake TR2 TR-600
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153166&Tpk=N82E16817153166

From the label it has:
+12V1@23A, +12V2@20A

volts x amps = watts
12 x 23 = 276 watts
12 x 20 = 240 watts

With both rails combined I don't think it can put out the minimum required power for either video card.

If you choose power supplies by finding the cheapest made, then you get what you pay for.

 

[marknoo]

It appears you likely have this model power supply:
Thermaltake TR2 TR-600
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153166&Tpk=N82E16817153166

From the label it has:
+12V1@23A, +12V2@20A

volts x amps = watts
12 x 23 = 276 watts
12 x 20 = 240 watts

With both rails combined I don't think it can put out the minimum required power for either video card.

If you choose power supplies by finding the cheapest made, then you get what you pay for.

Here is an image. It is about 6 or more years old.

http://imgur.com/lXF6tq8

It says it is 600W.

I believe the RX 480 calls for 500W.

It did run the GTX 650 but then it stopped working when I tried to game. Occasionally when I tried to convert a movie from one format to another. It failed the FurMark stress test. That is why I want to upgrade.

Cold this have anything to do with an upgrade from Win 8.1 to Win 10. I don't think I have tried to game since the upgrade about a year ago.

 

[Lutfij]

We're not talking just about the wattage but the quality of the PSU to provide the necessary wattage over a long span of time and under load conditions. Yeah,

You should avoid the TR2 range of PSU's like they were the plague. Burn it with fire before it burns you with fire, quite literally possible for them to torch the system.

 

[marknoo]

d

 

[marknoo]

We're not talking just about the wattage but the quality of the PSU to provide the necessary wattage over a long span of time and under load conditions. Yeah,

You should avoid the TR2 range of PSU's like they were the plague. Burn it with fire before it burns you with fire, quite literally possible for them to torch the system.

So it is probably not a:
UEFI - Legacy setting problem.
RX 480 video card problem.

and it may not be a GTX 650 video card problem.

It is most likely the PSU.

My computer runs but when I demand more power to run the GTX 650 it quits. Also the RX 480 takes to much power right from the beginning and so it just shuts down.

If I have that right I will buy a new PSU.
(please recommend one too) and I might as well step up in power output too.

 

[marknoo]

Power was the problem. How do I know that?
My old GTX 650 does not have a power connector to it. It ran.
I tried another video card in it (GTX 1060 SCC) and it told me to hook up the power but the power was already hooked up. So the system sensed no power when the power was hooked up.

How I got lucky and fixed it. I switched out the 6 pin to 8 pin adapter from the 480 with the adapter from the 1060. The computer works and I installed the drivers.

I think it was a bad adapter the whole time. Ouch. Boy do I feel stupid, more importantly, I lost a lot of time.

Without your help I would have lost even more time.

Thank you for all your help everyone on this forum.

I still would like a recommendation for a better PSU. I think I should start watching the sales and get one. Maybe a 700-800 Watt unit. But it needs to be the same size as the old Thermaltake 600W TR2 "Firestarter" model. That is dangerous, so I would like to get away from it.

 

[Lutfij]

It's the power, now that you mention that adding a load on the GPU causes the system to give out indicates a PSU failure. To shoot suggestions, we'd need a budget and a site from where you'd be purchasing from. You've mentioned you're from Australia and I'm familiar with PCCaseGear ans GGF LAN but I'm sure you have access to them.

You first need to look at how much wattage you need and then buy the best quality PSU within a budget. Not the other way round...or by looking at the PSU's stickered wattage.