Should I get a new motherboard?

Kevs121124

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Oct 29, 2013
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I have a pre-built Dell XPS 8500, and recently decided to get a sound card (ASUS Xonar Essence STX). I can't get the card to work. When I boot it up with the sound card inside, about a third of the time it freezes at the dell logo that displays before Windows loads up. The rest of the time, it loads fine, but doesn't detect any changes in hardware. I have tried different PCIE slots, taken onboard audio off through the BIOS, updated the BIOS, fiddled with the location of the sound card many times, and more.

After some thorough googling, it seems that the BIOS for the XPS 8500 has problems with certain PCIE cards. Apparently a temporary solution would be to reseat the card while the PC is on after every cold boot, but that seems tedious. Also, I'm kinda dead set on this sound card.

So, what are my options? Would a new motherboard fix it? Should I get a new case, too? If so, any suggestions? Is there an easier solution that I'm overlooking? Finally, would this violate the warranty (I'll be surprised if it doesn't)?

Also, specs if it helps:
Intel i-5 3450
AMD Radeon HD 7770
8 Gigs of ram, I think two 4 Gig sticks
not really sure what the motherboards name is, or what other specs could help.

Finally, I thank you for your time.
 
You may have to get a new case, if your Dell uses the BTX form factor, as an ATX motherboard won't line up or fit.

I would not attempt to reseat any add-in boards while your computer is powered up unless you're looking to replace your equipment. While the PCI Express standard does cover hot swapping of cards, that doesn't mean your motherboard or your add-in board support this feature. Furthermore, if the card is not available during POST, your system may simply not see it, and the card may not perform any internal setup routines that are necessary for functioning.
 


For reseating the card while the PC is on, I saw several different threads claiming it was a temporary fix (something about plug and play or something), but I don't really feel comfortable doing it, and it would be annoying to have to do after every cold boot. I'm not really sure what you mean by POST (Kinda new to hardware installation), but if thats an easy problem to fix, that would be great. I had already sent back the first card back and got a replacement, but had the same problems, so i doubt it's the card...

As I would rather stick with the card then downgrade, what would be an estimated cost of switching out the mobo and case? also, what is involved?
 
When a computer powers on it goes through a POST (Power On Self Test) during which ROM (Read Only Memory) and BIOS (Basic Input Output System) chips on each add-in board are read into the computer's main memory (not all cards have these chips.) Cards also go through routines that set all of their particular chips to an initial state, which is why sometimes you have to reset a computer to regain functionality of particular hardware. If a driver puts the hardware into an inaccessible state, resetting the computer will cause the hardware to go back to it's default, although, this does not always happen during a powered on reset, sometimes requiring the computer to be powered off.

Plug and play does not really cover what you are intending to do. If your card or motherboard do not properly support hot swapping, you could end up burning one or both pieces up irreparably. I would only attempt such a solution when you're willing to replace one or both components, or possibly more, if the motherboard takes more with it if it should happen to go.

The problem of not having an add-in board plugged into your system when you power it on is that the POST routine for the main computer does not see the add-in board, and therefore obviously can't map any of the add-in boards ROM or BIOS data to main memory when it's supposed to, can't properly allocate an IRQ to the add-in board so the board can have a software service routine run by the processor when necessary, and I'm sure more is being done, but we've already covered enough potential side-effects that I recommend against the method.

Replacing your motherboard and chassis is likely to cost you more than the soundcard.

If you're in the United States, a great place to start would be:

ATX Cases (if you select a full sized ATX motherboard, your case needs to be large enough to hold it):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007583&IsNodeId=1&srchInDesc=ATX&page=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=PRICE&PageSize=100

Motherboards with LGA1155 socket that should support your i5-3450:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%20600093976&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=100

When picking a motherboard, I recommend a full sized ATX board, not a Micro sized, to avoid potential expandability issues down the road, and also, some of the cheaper boards I would steer clear of as they aren't designed to handle more than light duty use.

The next fun thing you will have to put up with is the potential need to reinstall Windows. If all goes well, you will not need to, but you will likely need to reactivate Windows due to the networking ID information from the motherboard being different. I go into any motherboard replacement project expecting to reinstall Windows, although sometimes you can luck in.

Before attempting, I do recommend fully backing up any personal information, as your computer may be inaccessible until you can complete the project.