XFX RX 470 issue in new build

[RCS-Raincloud]

Hello, this is my first build and I have an issue with my XFX RX 470 4GB. I put the system together and got not Video Signal. All fans are spinning, including GPU fans. Removed the GPU and it boots fine, detects RAM and all. Specs:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($38.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: OCZ TRION 150 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 470 4GB HS Triple X Video Card ($209.99 @ B&H)
Case: Zalman ZM-T1 PLUS MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($20.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($21.55 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link Archer T6E AC1300 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter ($46.91 @ B&H)
Total: $640.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-18 14:21 EDT-0400

Edit: pic added http://imgur.com/a/VRg8A

I put the Wireless Network Adapter in PCIe x16 and it still boots fine. Any ideas on what the problem could be?

 

[notlim981]

I don't know how you put your build together, but usually video card manufacturers recommend to always install video cards on the PCIe x16 slot, is your BIOS updated? Is the PC running ok on the onboard video?

 

[logainofhades]

Are you connecting the monitor, to the graphics card? Try a CMOS reset, then install the graphics card.

 

[RCS-Raincloud]

Thanks for the replies,

@ notlim981 yes, GPU on PCIe x16, WIFI Adapter on x4. Only the GPU, same issue. Only the Adapter on PCIe x4, no issue. Adapter on PCIe x16, no issue.

@ logainofhades Monitor connected to MOBO. Put GPU, monitor still on MOBO, no video signal. I need to try to plug monitor to GPU see if works, but it´s odd I get no signal with MOBO output, right?

I´m trying to get some options because as I said, it´s my first build. I´ll try it all tomorrow after work!

 

[logainofhades]

Often when you plug in a GPU, the integrated video gets disabled.

 

[notlim981]

Thanks for the replies,

@ notlim981 yes, GPU on PCIe x16, WIFI Adapter on x4. Only the GPU, same issue. Only the Adapter on PCIe x4, no issue. Adapter on PCIe x16, no issue.

@ logainofhades Monitor connected to MOBO. Put GPU, monitor still on MOBO, no video signal. I need to try to plug monitor to GPU see if works, but it´s odd I get no signal with MOBO output, right?

I´m trying to get some options because as I said, it´s my first build. I´ll try it all tomorrow after work!

No it's not odd. When you install the video card, the BIOS will recognize it as the main video output and the onboard video will be disabled. If you install the Video card and plug the cable on the motherboard connector, most likely that's the reason why you don't have anything showing on screen. Good luck.

 

[RCS-Raincloud]

Well thanks folks, you both are absolutely right. I plugged monitor to GPU and everything worked fine. Installed windows 10, updated MOBO drivers with the CD, thinking on getting the most up to date latter online, installed drivers for WIFI adapter and here I am using the new pc.

Unfortunately, the title became a self-fulfilling prophecy. I installed GPU drivers from the CD, thinking on getting the newest latter just like for the MOBO. CD is on, drivers are installing fine and the screen goes black. I wait a bit. Then a lot. 10 minutes in, PC is on, everything is lit, fans are spinning on normal idle speed. CD is not spinning for over 5 minutes. No signal. I plug monitor to MOBO, no signal. Back to GPU, no signal. Restarted, got MOBO screen, windows starts and screen goes black. Switch to MOBO plug, no signal. Back to GPU, nothing. Restart, go into bios, switch main video input to MOBO, plug monitor to MOBO, everything is fine.

Now the odds part is I had the option to enter bios normally, even after installing windows 10. So I update windows, restart, put GPU cd, finish installing all drivers, restart. Everything looks good. I do the shift+restart to go into bios since windows 10 is updated and don't give me the option at the start anymore. Switch main video input to GPU, save and exit, no signal now. I plug monitor to GPU... no signal. Restart, no signal. Plug to MOBO... no signal.

Edit: removed GPU, plugged to MOBO, switched main input to MOBO in bios, so this is how I'm here now. GPU is sitting on it's bag. So, should I remove all AMD drivers and install stuff from XFX website? Can I use the CD removal tool, or should I use windows to remove the drivers? I presume I need to update all the drivers for the MOBO too, right? (downloading them now)

 

[notlim981]

The best you can do now is the following:

1-) Download the latest driver available from either AMD or NVIDIA website.

2-) Remove the drivers you previously installed for your video card and restart the PC. One good thing to do here is go to CCleaner (you should have it installed in your PC, it's a good tool) and scar for errors on Windows Registry.

3-) Enter the BIOS and set video to PCIe, and then, install the GPU, and plug your monitor to the GPU installed, not the motherboard.

4-) Install the drivers downloaded on step 1.

If it does not work, most likely there is something wrong with your GPU.

 

[RCS-Raincloud]

Hi notlim981, thanks again for the answer. This is what I did now: put GPU in, made sure MOBO is updated, Windows 10 is updated. Used DDU to remove AMD drivers. Plugged monitor to GPU and runs fine. Which makes me think the GPU is ok, else I'd have a problem here?

Downloaded the latest GPU driver and stalled fresh. Same issue occurred, screen goes black mid driver installation. Bear in mind these are the new drivers from AMD web, downloaded to SSD. Went for some food, came back 15 minutes later and system is idle, screen is black - no video signal. Now the fun part, I hit reset, computer starts again and monitor is working, MOBO screen, Windows logo shows up and BAM screen goes black, no video signal. Why does the GPU dies with driver update? Nuts.

Edit: TL;DR - Built PC fine, put GPU in and freaked out because no video signal. Turns out all I had to do was switch cable from MOBO to GPU, as forum people pointed out. Happily go to finish it up by installing GPU drivers and GPU dies. Remove drivers and it works again. Lost.

 

[notlim981]

Try to download and install the latest BETA driver from AMD just for the sake of testing. If it works the driver you installed first might be corrupt, otherwise something is wrong with your GPU.

 

[RCS-Raincloud]

I'll do that, thank you. I also tried starting the computer in low resolution mode, didn't work. Since I don't have another GPU to test, I can't be sure the MOBO is fine. Very frustrating first build =/

Update: Tried beta, nothing. Everything looks fine after I remove all AMD drivers with DDU. I set PCIe as main and boots normally, monitor plugged to GPU. Halfway through driver's installation screen goes black, switch to integrated and it's all fine. Restart to finish installation, plug to GPU and screen goes black when windows 10 boots. Switch to integrated and it's fine. Can't say if is a GPU issue or MOBO issue.

 

[RCS-Raincloud]

I tried something else. So far I'm using VGA cable when I need to connect monitor to MOBO and DVI cable when I connect to GPU. I just used the DVI to connect to MOBO and got no signal. Now, I know DVI cable is working fine, I use it normally up to the point when I have to install GPU drivers. I'll do a DDU cleanup to remove all AMD drivers again and see if DVI cable to the MOBO works. Could it be both MOBO and GPU are fine, drivers screw with DVI cable connection?

Update: removed GPU and used DDU to remove AMD drivers. Now if I plug monitor to MOBO with DVI cable, I get no signal. VGA cable still works. Faulty MOBO? I'm tired and lost lol

 

[notlim981]

Perhaps a faulty DVI cable. And no, corrupt drivers do not mess with ports on the card whatsoever. A driver is only a layer of communication, all it does is say to Windows: look, there is a new card on this pc and it is an AMD GPU. A driver will never cause any physical damage to the pc, unless it happens to be a malicious piece of software.

 

[RCS-Raincloud]

Thank you for the information. About the DVI cable, it works fine with the GPU if the drivers aren't installed. The video signal is lost only when I install the GPU drivers. And even if I remove the GPU and all AMD drivers, DVI cable gets no signal from MOBO, which makes me think there is a problem with the MOBO. At very least the MOBO has a faulty DVI plug, so I could RMA it and see if everything works on a new MOBO. Can't think of anything else to do. I could RMA the GPU but I'm not sure if it's really faulty, as it could be a MOBO problem.

I'll get a HDMI cable with the neighbors and try it. If the GPU works with HDMI, it will actually make me more confused lol.

 

[notlim981]

Thank you for the information. About the DVI cable, it works fine with the GPU if the drivers aren't installed. The video signal is lost only when I install the GPU drivers. And even if I remove the GPU and all AMD drivers, DVI cable gets no signal from MOBO, which makes me think there is a problem with the MOBO. At very least the MOBO has a faulty DVI plug, so I could RMA it and see if everything works on a new MOBO. Can't think of anything else to do. I could RMA the GPU but I'm not sure if it's really faulty, as it could be a MOBO problem.

I'll get a HDMI cable with the neighbors and try it. If the GPU works with HDMI, it will actually make me more confused lol.

This is good, you have to narrow down all the options. If it works with the HDMI cable, it could one of the 3 options:

1-) Your GPU has a faulty DVI port (unlikely IMO);
2-) Your monitor could be faulty (it can't handle the correct image when the driver is installed)
3-) Your monitor has a faulty DVI port (which might be linked to option 2).

Let us know how it goes. Good luck.

 

[RCS-Raincloud]

It was the cable. It was the f* cable the whole time. The f* DVI cable. Got another DVI single channel old AF cable and everything works now. The f* cable. Thank you for the help. The f* brand new DVI cable I just bought was the f* problem the whole f* time. The f* cable. Took the system apart 3 times, was about to RMA MOBO. The cable.

 

[Marcel Brown]

It was the cable. It was the f* cable the whole time. The f* DVI cable. Got another DVI single channel old AF cable and everything works now. The f* cable. Thank you for the help. The f* brand new DVI cable I just bought was the f* problem the whole f* time. The f* cable. Took the system apart 3 times, was about to RMA MOBO. The cable.

I just needed to post here that after a many hours of troubleshooting an RX 470 showing a similar "no video signal" issue, swapping out the DVI cable also fixed the issue!

Here are the quick details:
GA-F2A68HM-HD2 Motherboard
AMD A6 7400K CPU
MSI RX 470 ARMOR 4G OC GPU

The symptoms were that the GPU seemed to work just fine upon first installation (and after I fiddled with the BIOS to disable the internal GPU on the APU processor). I could do anything I wanted including running Furmark and such, plus playing games at noticeably improved FPS. But then I noticed that when the computer went to sleep, upon wake the monitor would show "no signal". I determined that the computer was still running and I could shut it down by a single press of the power button, or restart it with Win+X, U, R. I could get the GPU working again by fiddling with a combination of re-enabling the iGPU in BIOS, connecting the monitor to the iGPU, and then shutting down and reconnecting the monitor to the RX 470 GPU. This would work fine through reboots or cold shutdowns and restarts, but if the computer ever went to sleep (even just monitor sleep, not CPU sleep) I could not get the monitor to come back on even through reboots and/or shutdowns. Finally after much research I stumbled upon this thread and was surprised that a DVI cable could possibly be the cause, since this particular DVI cable had been working with another GPU for years and it seemed to work perfectly fine connected to the iGPU. But since the symptoms in this thread seemed so similar to my situation I figured what the heck. So far the monitor will wake up from sleep with no problems now after a few hours of testing.

As a computer professional with over 20 years of experience, I must say I am somewhat shocked by this situation and it's resolution. But it also proves the point I make to many other computer professionals to not overlook simple solutions even if they don't really make a lot of sense. Swapping out the cable should have been something I did earlier in the troubleshooting process, but it didn't seem necessary. Just goes to show that we can all learn new tricks and that determined Google searching can shed light on tricky technology problems.