Will this card work with my old mobo?

[pedrov]

Hi. Will the Sapphire Ultimate HD 5670 work with my old Asus A8N-SLI Premium mobo?

I'm not trying to run crossfire or anything, just replacing my nvidia card that recently died. I'll be getting a new mobo down the road, so I can get something crossfire compatible then if I want.

Thanks!

 

[coozie7]

Slightly odd choice: Passively cooled card?
Nonetheless, it'll work just fine, although ther are less expensive actively cooled cards around.

 

[pedrov]

Thanks!

I know it's odd, it had the right combo of minimum FPS, low heat, and low power consumption that I'm looking for right now. It has to work on a 5-year old rest-of-the-system (including an old PSU) until I can upgrade more components.

Considering that it's replacing a 9800 GT that crapped out, its somewhat faster, but 27C cooler and 43W less at full load.

 

[Maziar]

Hello and welcome to the forums
Yes it should work fine,because PCI-E 2.0 is backward compatible with 1.0

 

[pedrov]

Thanks!

 

[pedrov]

Just throwing out this follow up. I've come across a few places where it is claimed that the HD 5000's actually use PCI-E 2.1, and that some folks have had trouble with it communicating with PCI-E 1 mobos (Asus was specifially mentioned). One of the last threads I saw for this was back in May, so I'm a bit concerned if this has been resolved, has not been resolved, or was never a problem in the first place. Tried the Asus site but it was sort of a maze. Any knowledge on this?

 

[Maziar]

PCI-E 2.1's backward compatibility is like PCI-E 2.0,so it should work fine one a PCI-E 1.0 slot.

 

[Tamz_msc]

I would suggest that you look for a PCI-E 2.0 5670.

 

[pedrov]

Thanks Maziar and Tamz... I ordered it before posting the follow up concerns about 2.1 vs. 2.0. I guess I'll find out when it arrives tomorrow!

Edit: I'll post a resolution.

I wasn't aware that any of the 5000s came in 2.0.

 

[nforce4max]

That is quite expensive for a 5670 but then again most retail is overpriced. VF900cu does a lot to silence a card. The same applies to the VF1000 which made my 8800gtx nearly silent except for the coil squeal. Over all you should have any issues at all unless you get a bad sample. Be sure to have decent airflow in your case or it can overheat.

 

[Maziar]

Thanks Maziar and Tamz... I ordered it before posting the follow up concerns about 2.1 vs. 2.0. I guess I'll find out when it arrives tomorrow!

Edit: I'll post a resolution.

I wasn't aware that any of the 5000s came in 2.0.

Congrats, lets us know how it performs

 

[pedrov]

Okay. I need some help on this... I thought I did everything correctly. I got Catalyst downloaded and so on, but every time I reboot the computer, I get the "Found Hardware: PCI device" and it can't ever seem to find the drivers. It's making me crazy.

I ran Sandra on the video adaptor and its listing ATI Radeon 5600 series. Here's what I see below:

SiSoftware Sandra

Video Adapter
Model : ATI Radeon HD 5600 Series
Chipset : ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x68D8)
RAMDAC : Internal DAC(400MHz)
Video BIOS : 113-E151DPMFR-021
VGA Compatible : No
Total Memory : 1GB (1GB Video) (117MB System)
Texture Memory : 1.1GB
Supports DIME Texturing : Yes

PCIe Capabilities
Version : 2.00
Physical Slot Implemented : No
Phantom Functions Support : No
Maximum Payload Size : 0
Width : x16
Speed : 2.5Gb/s

Video BIOS
Date of Manufacture : Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Version : 151DPMFR.021

Current Video Mode
Mode : 1680x1050 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit)
Current Refresh Rate : 60Hz
Virtual Desktop Size : 1680x1050

Video Driver
Model : ati2mtag.sys
Version : 6.14.10.7101
Expected Windows Version : 4.00
Video Acceleration : Yes
Screen Saver Active : No
Low Power Saving Active : No
Power Off Saving Active : No

Supported Video Modes
Mode 0 : 640x480 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 1 : 640x480 256 colours (8-bit) 75Hz
Mode 2 : 640x480 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 3 : 640x480 64K HiColour (16-bit) 75Hz
Mode 4 : 640x480 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 5 : 640x480 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 75Hz
Mode 6 : 640x480 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 7 : 640x480 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 75Hz
Mode 8 : 800x600 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 9 : 800x600 256 colours (8-bit) 75Hz
Mode 10 : 800x600 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 11 : 800x600 64K HiColour (16-bit) 75Hz
Mode 12 : 800x600 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 13 : 800x600 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 75Hz
Mode 14 : 800x600 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 15 : 800x600 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 75Hz
Mode 16 : 1024x768 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 17 : 1024x768 256 colours (8-bit) 75Hz
Mode 18 : 1024x768 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 19 : 1024x768 64K HiColour (16-bit) 75Hz
Mode 20 : 1024x768 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 21 : 1024x768 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 75Hz
Mode 22 : 1024x768 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 23 : 1024x768 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 75Hz
Mode 24 : 1280x720 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 25 : 1280x720 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 26 : 1280x720 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 27 : 1280x768 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 28 : 1280x768 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 29 : 1280x768 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 30 : 1280x800 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 31 : 1280x800 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 32 : 1280x800 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 33 : 1280x960 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 34 : 1280x960 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 35 : 1280x960 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 36 : 1280x1024 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 37 : 1280x1024 256 colours (8-bit) 75Hz
Mode 38 : 1280x1024 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 39 : 1280x1024 64K HiColour (16-bit) 75Hz
Mode 40 : 1280x1024 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 41 : 1280x1024 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 75Hz
Mode 42 : 1280x1024 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 43 : 1280x1024 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 75Hz
Mode 44 : 1360x768 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 45 : 1360x768 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 46 : 1360x768 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 47 : 1400x1050 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 48 : 1400x1050 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 49 : 1400x1050 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 50 : 1440x900 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 51 : 1440x900 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 52 : 1440x900 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 53 : 1600x1200 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 54 : 1600x1200 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 55 : 1600x1200 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 56 : 1680x1050 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz
Mode 57 : 1680x1050 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz
Mode 58 : 1680x1050 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz
Mode 59 : 640x480 16 colours (4-bit)
Mode 60 : 800x600 16 colours (4-bit)

Enhanced Video Settings
Animation Effects Enabled : No
Full Windows Drag Enabled : Yes
Font Smoothing Enabled : Yes
HighContrast Feature On : No

Device Mode Characteristics
Physical Medium Width : 320 mm, 13 in
Physical Medium Height : 240 mm, 9 in
Recommended CRT/Panel Size : 20 in
Horizontal/Vertical Resolution : 96x96 dpi
Colour Bits/Planes : 32 / 1 bit(s) pp
Brushes : 4294967295
Pens : 4294967295
Colours/Shades : 4294967295
Pixel Width/Height/Diagonal : 36 / 36 / 51

Driver Clipping Capabilities
Can Clip Output to Rectangle : Yes
Can Clip Output to Region : No

Driver Raster Capabilities
Supports Banding : No
Supports Fonts Larger than 64Kb : Yes
Can Transfer Bitmaps : Yes
Supports Bitmaps Larger than 64Kb : Yes
Supports Device Bitmaps : No
Supports DIBs : Yes
DIBs on Device Surface : Yes
Flood Fills : Yes
Supports Windows 2.x : Yes
Stretch/Compress Bitmaps : Yes
Stretch/Compress DIBs : Yes
Supports Scaling : No
Palette-Based Device : No
Saves Bitmap Locally : No

Driver Curve Capabilities
Can Draw Circles : Yes
Can Draw Ellipses : Yes
Can Draw Pie Wedges : Yes
Can Draw Chord Arcs : Yes
Can Draw Wide Borders : Yes
Can Draw Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Wide, Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Rounded Rectangles : Yes
Can Draw Interiors : Yes

Driver Line Capabilities
Can Draw Polylines : Yes
Can Draw Styled Lines : Yes
Can Draw Wide Lines : Yes
Can Draw Wide, Styled Lines : Yes
Can Draw Markers : Yes
Can Draw Polymarkers : Yes
Can Draw Interiors : Yes

Driver Polygonal Capabilities
Can Draw Alternate-fill Polygons : Yes
Can Draw Winding-fill Polygons : Yes
Can Draw Rectangles : Yes
Can Draw Scan Lines : Yes
Can Draw Wide Borders : Yes
Can Draw Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Wide, Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Interiors : Yes

Driver Text Capabilities
Supports Stroke Clip Precision : Yes
Supports Stroke Output Precision : Yes
Supports Character Output Precision : Yes
Supports 90° Character Rotation : No
Supports Any Angle Character Rotation : No
Supports Independent X-Y Scaling : No
Supports Doubled Character for Scaling : No
Supports Integer Multiples for Scaling : No
Any Multiples for Exact Scaling : No
Can Draw Double-Weighted Characters : No
Can Italicise : No
Can Underline : Yes
Can Draw Strikeouts : Yes
Can Draw Raster Fonts : Yes
Can Draw Vector Fonts : Yes
Cannot Scroll Using BitBlt : No

Performance Tips
Tip 319 : A refresh rate of at least 75Hz is recommended. Increase it if possible.
Tip 323 : Remove the desktop wallpaper to save memory and improve performance.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.

I'm not sure if these problems are a way of telling me the card is incompatible with the mobo, or if I'm doing something wrong... I'll elaborate later on the errors I got removing the Nvidia drivers and the c000021a fatal error I later got... suffice it to say I'm exhausted... any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[nforce4max]

OK is your os up to date? Same for the Bios is it as well up to date? Also what revision of driver are you trying to use for the card? If it is from the CD then no good. Go under device manager and look under display devices and post back the info displayed. If code 41 ect you may need to RMA. Post screenshots since that will help more info wise.

press print key

load paint then ctrl + v and then save

upload onto imageshack then link in post.

 

[pedrov]

Please see my post above, but a new development is that I opened up the display driver in device manager. It showed two ATI Radeons, one that was supposedly funcitoning, and one that was not. When I left the device manager, it told me I would need to save my changes and reboot... which I did, though I don't recall changing anything. It went to bluescreen during the reboot with a STOP for ati2mtag.sys Page_fault_in_nonpaged_area. Tried rebooting again and got the same error. Then I rebooted in Last working configuration, which got me back into windows, and I'm still getting the New Hardware Found... PCI device issue.

Earlier today, when I originally installed the drivers for the card, I used the manufactuers disk, but it kept failing and giving me the c000021a fatal system error. Finally I booted with the XP disk in and it got me back into my system without the error, at which point I downloaded the latest drivers for my card (from July of this year... it's listed in the post above). But now I'm wondering if I have multiple driver installs or something.

I'm seriously starting to lose my mind here.

 

[pedrov]

Thanks for the reply nforce, we cross-posted.

I'm not sure about the BIOS... not that advanced of a user yet, I'm afraid. I haven't seen if you responded to what I just reported for the device manager... but I'll printscreen anything you want... I'm thoroughly lost.

 

[nforce4max]

I think that you may have gotten a lemon (broken) card so I would contact Newegg or Sapphire for RMA which will take a few days to two or three weeks. As for the board I think you may be fine but still check for bios if possible. Get cpuz and the info will be there and easy to find. Once you know what version of the bios you got for your board look online for any up dates. If there haven't been any for a long time then don't bother just RMA the card.

 

[pedrov]

Okay. Imageshack is taking forever to upload the bmps, but I grabbed CPU-Z. The BIOS is from 2006, which shouldn't be a surprise since I had to reinstall my boot drive from a ghosted image made then.

 

[pedrov]

Unfortunately, Asus doesn't have any BIOS updates that are newer than 2007 or so... I'm guessing the motherboard isn't supported any longer (socket 939 A8N-SLI Premium).

 

[nforce4max]

Nope but at least the card will post which is a good sign when it comes to compatibility. If there was you would get a blank screen and a beep.

 

[pedrov]

Yeah. I'm running the monitor off of the card now. I'm guessing I need a new motherboard now too. Sound right?

 

[nforce4max]

I wouldn't upgrade unless you have the need for it such as a better cpu and more ram. It is worth the upgrade but that is your choice however you will notice the improvement in performance in every day stuff like videos or web browsing. AM2+ and AM3 boards that are quality that offer SLI or Crossfire aren't that cheap $75+ on up while cpus it is the same story. Dual cores are ok but Tri and Quads that have L3 are the best bang for buck like the Phenom x3 720. 2GB ram isn't much but 4GB+ under a 64bit os is the sweet spot. Over all it is going to cost a pretty penny just to overhual your rig so I would try to RMA the card or return it for something else but I believe it is the card that is the problem.

 

[pedrov]

Yeah. I was going to upgrade the mobo eventually anyway, I was just hoping the new vid card would run on the old board for a while (my last card died). I'm making a post over in the mobo section for some advice on picking a compatible board.

Personally, I believe the card is okay, just that isn't working with my older system. Guess I'll have to learn how to swap out a mobo as well!

 

[nforce4max]

Good luck and it will be fun and isn't that hard. Like most things it will come with a guide how to hook things up and you should be fine just take your time and it will all go well. It really is easy if you aren't into do any overclocking.

 

[pedrov]

Since I promised to post a resolution for posterity's sake, the PCIe 2.1 cards don't play nice with (at least some) PCIe 1.0 mobos. If your board, like mine (an old Asus A8 series), hasn't had an update to the BIOS in several years, I'd advise looking very closely at what it can handle.

Oddly, I could get the new card to run some things (e.g., a game I couldn't run before with my old, broken card), but it was something of a frankenstein affair and the system would never recognize the card during boot.

I've seen some posts that claim it's the chipset, some that claim its particular to Asus... I don't know, but do your homework!