Question Sparkle ARC A380 Elf Video Card: Difficult Installation

[Petros_K]

Video card: Sparkle ARC A380 Elf
System: HP Elitedesk 800 G4 Workstation with Intel Core i7 8700 CPU
OS: Windows 10 Pro

The system above has a modest PSU (250W) so I wanted to go with this card not for gaming but to be able to stream 4K and hopefully do some video editing. No PCIe power adapter is necessary.

When I initially put this video card into the PCIe slot it did nothing, black screen and no fan running. I thought it was broken.

Prior to installing the card, I had tried to install the driver but it failed. I tried to install the driver first because most of the hardware I have used you install the driver first and then connect the device. When the ARC failed to install drivers I thought setup may need to detect the hardware first. But again, the video card was not working at all.

I put back the discrete video card that came with the system (AMD Radeon R7 430) and all worked as before.

Some research indicated if you encounter this problem to be sure the BIOS for your PC is updated. Mine was not because it was from 2019, and I found an HP update dated 2023 and installed it successfully using the online HP support assistant. Worked flawlessly but did nothing to fix the problem with the video card.

When I contacted Sparkle tech support, they said the problem is likely that their video card was not compatible with my motherboard/BIOS. They sent me info suggesting this card requires a 10th generation or higher Intel Core CPU, but I had read an article claiming this is not actually true and only for best performance and all features (e.g., resizable BAR) do you need 10th generation or better (Source: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/no...gen-cpu-or-newer-for-intel-arc-graphics-cards ) Tech support seemed to be saying this video card likely won't work because it's not compatible with my CPU , motherboard, and BIOS. They offered no troubleshooting advice.

I read that you can troubleshoot BIOS and OS issues if a video card doesn't seem to be working by connecting your monitor to the integrated graphics on your PC. Thankfully, my PC does have integrated graphics. I had to get into BIOS (UEFI) to switch primary display from PCIe slot 1 for a discrete video card to the integrated graphics. Once I switched to the integrated graphics I could then boot into Windows.

But note before booting into Windows I shut down and put the ARC back into the PCIe slot.

Turned the system back on and booted into Windows. Went to Device Manager and to my surprise under Display Adapters the ARC was detected but properties showed the driver was not yet installed. So ran the install again for the driver and this time there was no error and it installed. Restarted the PC, went to device manager and could see the driver installed for ARC along with the "This device is working properly" status.


--So in summary, to install the ARC I needed to first switch the PC monitor to integrated graphics, then install the video card in the PCIe slot, then boot into windows and install the ARC driver, restart, shut down and connect a monitor to the ARC, restart and it worked.

Here's what I still don't understand: When I go to BIOS it still does not detect a video card in PCIe slot 1. Windows 10 detects the video card but BIOS does not? I only have one idea: Put the video card back that came with the PC (AMD Radeon R7 430) and see in BIOS is it detected again. Then switch primary display back to PCIe slot 1. Remove the card and put the ARC back in. I couldn't do it this way initially because I could not install the ARC A380 driver unless I switch to integrated graphics because the ARC A380 video card would not run.

I also believe as it's set up at the moment, I can't get into the BIOS unless my monitor is connected to the integrated graphics.

 

[Eximo]

Well, there is some truth to the card needing a more up to date system to work fully. Without resizeable bar you may run into performance issues.

OEM motherboards are tricky, they don't always have the support you would expect from retail boards.

If your system is configured for BIOS boot and not UEFI, I can easily see you not being able to use a brand new card in an old system. Doesn't seem likely though given the age of the hardware.

I would say you are quite lucky everything worked out. I can think of no PCIe card that you must pre-install the driver for. Maybe RAID cards, but that is a special case and is usually part of the OS installation, with the card installed.

A380 had no issues working in my 4th gen system, aside from the lack of ReBar.

 

[Petros_K]

When the original video card that came with this PC is installed (AMD Radeon R7 430), you can have a monitor plugged into it and enter BIOS. You can see there's an option to select either integrated video or the AMD video card as the "VGA Boot Device."

With this card installed, the system defaults to connect a monitor to the video card and be able to view BIOS setup and info.

But when you remove this video card and install the ARC A380, the BIOS looks like this and there is no option to select the video card at PCIe slot 1:

Plus, you cannot plug the monitor into the ARC and view BIOS setup. If you tap the F10 key to enter BIOS the PC emits one beep and hangs. Only if you restart and plug the monitor into the integrated graphics can you tap the F10 key and enter BIOS. Yet, if you start the PC and plug a monitor into the ARC, it will boot into the Windows 10 OS because now the driver is successfully installed.

The manual for this PC says the following under BIOS utility setup (pg 84):

If the system has multiple video sources (embedded, PCI, or PCI-Express adapters) installed (embedded video on some models only) and a single monitor, the monitor must be plugged into the monitor connector on the source selected as the primary VGA adapter. During boot, the other monitor connectors are disabled and if the monitor is connected into these ports, the monitor will not function. You can select which source will be the default VGA source in Computer Setup.

That's not quite what happens. With the ARC A380 installed, I can't get into the BIOS unless plugging the monitor into the integrated graphics, and that's because when the ARC A380 is installed there's no option to select it as the "VGA Boot Device." But despite the BIOS settings, when the ARC is installed and a monitor is plugged into it you can boot into Windows 10 and it seems to work fine.

So the way the Sparkle tech said the CPU/motherboard, and BIOS are not compatible with the ARC A380 is not quite correct either, but it does appear the BIOS can't detect this card, even though Windows 10 can.

And BTW the BIOS mode for this PC is set to UEFI, not legacy.

 

[Eximo]

Likely not expecting an Intel device ID on the PCIe port for graphics. Might even be seeing it as an Intel sound card or something.

Still the buggiest part of my ASRock A380, getting audio out through HDMI is spotty after the monitor/TV has been off for a while. Used to happen constantly and I had to restart the Display Audio driver from device manager. Now it only happens irregularly.

 

[Petros_K]

Likely not expecting an Intel device ID on the PCIe port for graphics. Might even be seeing it as an Intel sound card or something.

But why? BIOS update that I installed is for June 2023. Card requirement is for PCIe 3.0 or higher. This system has 3.0.

 

[Eximo]

This is HP we are talking about. They, along with other OEM manufacturers, don't have much incentive to make your system work with every piece of hardware on the market. They sell AMD and Nvidia GPUs with their systems. Not sure the same can be said of Intel, but certainly not with an 8th gen system. They have even less incentive to do this with a system that isn't being sold any longer.

Those BIOS updates are probably more about security vulnerabilities than hardware compatibility. Their business customers actually do care about that and they likely have agreements with Intel/Microsoft to keep that up to date through the supported lifecycle of the CPU.

It could very well be an Intel or Sparkle problem. You may want to check in with Sparkle from time to time to see if they release a vBIOS update. Intel's drivers may also deliver updated microcode from time to time.

 

[Petros_K]

It could very well be an Intel or Sparkle problem. You may want to check in with Sparkle from time to time to see if they release a vBIOS update. Intel's drivers may also deliver updated microcode from time to time.

I just updated the ARC A380 driver. After initial install an update was available. But what is a vBIOS update that would come from Sparkle?

BTW first attempt to ask HP support why would Windows 10 detect the ARC A380 but the HP BIOS does not: No answer.

 

[Eximo]

Yes, every GPU has its own BIOS that is produced by the card vendor. Can be stability and compatibility, or even performance. You can always inform Sparkle about your issue and see if they can resolve it.

You aren't likely to get in contact with anyone knowledgeable through HP support.

 

[Petros_K]

I see what you're talking about with BIOS updates for the ARC A380 here:

Intel's latest GPU drivers can overclock Arc A380 GPUs by 150 MHz through a BIOS update - VideoCardz.com

The latest Intel Arc GPU drivers adjust Arc A380 GPU clocks According to Neowin, the firmware update, which is part of the newest GPU drivers, actually changes the GPU clocks of the Intel entry-level model. Arc A380 GPU users should take note of the latest GPU drivers, as they bring several...

videocardz.com

I see BIOS version as well as a driver version for the GPU. Checked the ARC A380 on my PC and it says the following:

There is apparently a .1064 version of the BIOS according to the article above?


I see at the Sparkle website there was a driver update just came out 9/7/2023. I installed this but BIOS version is still the same:

 

[Eximo]

Driver is not the same as the BIOS. Actually haven't messed with mine as of yet, been no real need. So not 100% sure the process for an Intel BIOS update. With Nvidia you use a tool called nvflash.

You would only want the BIOS update from Sparkle. Though you could probably force another BIOS on to the card, there are only two or three models that don't have an 8-pin PCIe connector.