[SOLVED] Too powerful? ... No display ...

[Jakehx]

Hi guys,

I'm a bit a complete noob, so please bare with me, but I'm pulling my hair out here...

I've installed a new GPU and I am receiving no display when the computer is turned on... The monitor works fine when my old GPU is inserted.

So my computer is a bit out-dated and I suspect some parts are too old to handle the new graphics card I'm trying to run...

My current spec is a cheap setup:

Cougar CMD 600W Digital '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply
AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6300 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor
ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 Motherboard
16GB (2x8GB) DDR3
Raijintek Aidos Direct Contact CPU Cooler

My current graphics card is MSI GeForce GTX 950 Gaming 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express. I've come in possession of a Gigabyte Radeon AMD 5700 XT which I understand is a pretty good card.

I've put my spec, including the new graphics card into pcpartpicker and it suggests that it should run OK with a 600W PSU. I've plugged the PSU into the GPU using the 6+2 pins.

I don't really know what to do. I've looked online and tried the following things to no avail:

Ensure the card is sat properly in the PCI-E slot and connected.
Uninstalled the NVIDIA drivers before inserting the AMD card
Resat the RAM

When the AMD card is sat in the PCI-E slot and the machine is turned on there is power to the card as the the lights on the card itself are lit - the fans aren't spinning because I believe they only come on at a certain temp. However, the monitor does have power, but cannot display a signal. When I put in my old GPU the monitor works fine with no issues. I'm using a 1080p HP monitor and I only have a HDMI cable so I'm unable to plug my monitor directly into the motherboard to enter BIOS and see if the AMD card is recognised.

What else can I try? Please help!

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I've plugged the PSU into the GPU using the 6+2 pins.

are you sure this card only uses a single 8pin power cable? all the versions i've seen require 2x 8pin or 1x 8pin / 1x 6pin.

I've come in possession of a Gigabyte Radeon AMD 5700 XT...

from where?
possibly a bad card someone was just looking to unload. or did you purchase it new from a legit retailer?

 

[Jakehx]

Hi mate, thanks for the reply.

Checking on the AMD I've just found this:

• Minimum 600W (recommended 700W) PSU with up to an 8-pin + 6-pin PCI Express Auxiliary connectors. This PSU recommendation is only for one Radeon RX 5700 series GPU installed per system. Additional GPUs will require more capable power supplies

On the card itself there is certainly able to take 1x8 & 1x6 pin

It seems my PSU only has a 6+2 which I believe is going to be the problem... New PSU then ?

In answer to your last question, I bought it from a legit retailer. In hind sight I should have probably done more research before buying it and not taken the advice from pcpartpicker as gospel.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

it appears you will need both PCIe power cables so your best bet is to get a nice >=700w PSU.

Tom's a has quite a few nice articles/threads here about PSU quality, performance & recommended units.

 

[King_V]

Definitely a new PSU. Not just that, but get a good quality PSU.

See the first link in my sig for an excellent guide on good vs bad PSUs, and recommendations of what to get and what to avoid.

With a modern, high-quality power supply, you could probably get away with a 550W unit, but I'd go 650W to give yourself extra headroom. No need to go beyond that.

 

[Jakehx]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the replies.

King - I just happened to be reading that guide when you posted!

I've taken a look at the Seasonic Focus GX 650W PSU and that seems reasonably priced for what's been described as good quality.

I could pick up the same model but 750W for an additional £17 which may make sense?

What is your thoughts?

Thanks

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

the wattage depends on what all is connected at any single time. if a multitude of drives, USB devices, other internal hardware or peripheral devices all functioning at once you will want to take the GPU manufacturer's suggested power and add 100-150w.

 

[King_V]

The extra £17 isn't bad for the extra 100W, though I'm not sure it's necessary. My rough estimate is that, worst case, your system would draw, maxed out:

• CPU rated at 95W, say 130W worst case with overclocking
• GPU rated at 225W, say 275W worst case if you overclock it or push it really hard
• Motherboard, RAM, hard drives, etc (everything else), probably under 100W, but let's say 130W

I calculate that at a total of 535W maximum, if everything was running 100%. Honestly, it'll probably never hit that level. So, 650W is plenty of headroom. But a small amount of extra money for extra margin of safety is good for a guarantee of peace of mind (and any experimenting you might do later).

Plus, when you upgrade to a newer platform (which may draw less power, depending on CPU choice), the rock-solid PSU, along with the GPU, can be carried over to the new system.

 

[Jakehx]

I think for the sake of a few quid I'll take the GX-750 to give myself a bit more flexibility.

I'll report back here with how I get on... I hope installing a PSU is easy haha!

 

[King_V]

Sometimes snaking cables around is a bit of a pain, depending on the layout of your case, but generally it's a straightforward process. Just a little tedious. Do things patiently and carefully, and you should be good.

 

[Jakehx]

Thank you so much for your help. I am a complete noob with this kinda stuff, but you've both made me feel a lot better about the situation. Thank you!

 

[Jakehx]

Another question kinda GPU related .. kinda not .. should I be expecting some bottlenecking due to my CPU ? Looking into it I think I'm in trouble ...

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

even if your CPU wasn't holding back the power of the GPU, you would still get much worse results in game than your average 5700XT user due to the weak processing power of the CPU.

but yes, more than likely it will create quite a GPU bottleneck.

 

[King_V]

Another question kinda GPU related .. kinda not .. should I be expecting some bottlenecking due to my CPU ? Looking into it I think I'm in trouble ...

ALL systems have a "bottleneck" of some kind.

Even on your computer, with the new video card - in one game, the CPU might be your "bottleneck" and on another game, the video card might be the "bottleneck"

Don't worry about whether or not you have a bottleneck, and definitely NEVER use any of those "bottleneck calculator" sites. They are worse than garbage.

 

[Jakehx]

Ok thanks guys. That'll be next on my list to upgrade when I have some money then haha.

 

[Jakehx]

Just reporting in...

PSU arrived today and was promptly fitted along with the GPU with relative ease... and bingo! Monitor came on with no issues.

I've also ordered a couple of other parts which I'm looking forward to putting together.

Motherboard - MSI B450 Tomahawk Max
CPU - Ryzen 5 3600 (going to fit it with the stock cooler)
RAM: Patriot Viper Steel Series DDR4 16GB (8x2) 3600Mhz
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 with tempered glass side panel

Just wanted to say thanks for your help guys. Really appreciated.

 

[King_V]

Glad to help, and that you've now got a live system. You're definitely going to enjoy gaming a bit more with the new parts coming in, and especially those combined with the new video card.

Actually, depending on the monitor's refresh rate, that video card could be overkill, practically coasting along bored out of its mind 🤣 doing 60fps if your monitor's a 60Hz unit.

 

[Jakehx]

Haha, yep. It's a 60Hz unit and is on the list to be replaced