GTX 470/Video/Motherboard Trouble's

[DkRk]

Hello everyone. Today I've been beset with some hardware woes, and I'd like to see if anyone will be able to help me out.

Hardware Specs:
Phenom 955 C2
MSI-790FX GD70
GSkill Ripjaws 1333, 4GB (2x2GB)
Zotac GTX 470/ 2x4870's
Corsair 750TX

CPU OC'd to 3.6GHz with 18x multipler. Cool n' Quiet enabled, no added voltage or any other tweak.


I got a Zotac GTX 470 from NCIX, so I installed it in my PC in the afternoon. Previously, it was occupied by two Crossfired 4870's that ran without issue since their installation.

I removed all the ATI software, the drivers with Driver Sweeper in Safe Mode, and installed nVidia's drivers without a hitch. I then ran FurMark for about five minutes, just to see this bad-boy in action. And then played some Borderlands, and some Arkham Asylium. I'd say the card was in operation for about an hour at least, and wasn't operating at a very high heat.

As I was playing through AA, a Windows pop-up appeared saying the program was consuming a lot of memory, yadda, yadda. So I closed the program properly, and then headed to the desktop, onto MSN Messenger.

Within moments, my screen went black, but the lights stayed on, the fans, and hard drives continued to spin. So I did a reset, and the same thing occurred, where everything spun up, but my screen remained black, on 'standby mode', without a signal. So I decided to make sure my power/pci-e/monitor connections were fine, and they were, and tried again to no avail.

I relocated my video card to a different PCIe slot, and that did not fly. I then replaced the card with one of my 4870's, and the same problem occurs. I hook the monitor up to my netbook, and it works properly. So now I've taken my motherboard out of the case, and hooked up the bare essentials. Everything is on a wooden breadboard.

I've checked each stick of RAM in the first slot to see if either was the culprit, and it doesn't seem that way. Cleared the CMOS three ways: using the button on the board, using a jumper, and removing the battery and leaving it for about ten minutes before reinserting it.

Provided on the board is a LED Display that shows error codes, and mine is 'FF;' the manual states that means 'Power on and First Initialize CPU' so not terribly much help there. A poke around on Google has some people saying it's an indication of CPU, or Motherboard failure, but I'm jumping onto that wagon just yet. I also installed my motherboard's speaker, but haven't heard any sounds at all.

I haven't smelt any smoke, or heard anything weird, and the motherboard all looks tickety-boo. The LED's for the CPU, and Memory phases appear too.

Any advice of input would be greatly appreciated. If I'm missing any details and obvious fixes, please tell me.

[SugarJ]

If the board is going directly to FF without posting, it's sometimes a bios issue. If your bios chip isn't soldered to the board, try reseating it in the socket. It's also sometimes no power to CPU. Check your 4/8 pin connection to the mobo. And try another PSU if you can.

[DkRk]

The 8-pin connector is firmly seated, as are the 24-pin and PCIe ones. Unfortunately, I don't have access to a second modern PSU that has an 8-pin CPU power connector.

As for the BIOS chip, it looks like it is soldered onto the motherboard.

[Caldezar]

Hmmm... I may be completely off here, but doesn't 'FF' stand for 'Fully Functional'?

Regardless, which slot are you trying when you are individually testing the RAM? I believe with MSI, 'dimm 1' has to be populated, which is the second slot from the CPU on an 890 board, NOT the first slot. I've also run across this exact issue on 790fx boards where all that's required is a reseat of the CPU and it's fine. I don't know why that works, or if it's even the same issue you're having, but worth a shot.

[_dangtx_]

there was another thread with an evga, ff being dead if it dodnt go past.

now this being an msi it might be different

test 470 in another puter? i take it you used the quattro 850 watter?

[DkRk]

Well, the manual says that the DIMM closest to the socket is DIMM 1, but I did try both sticks in DIMM 2, just in case.

I took off my heatsink, took out the CPU, cleaned it, reset it and put the stock sink on top. No dice.

I also put the 470 into a different motherboard, and it sends out video properly, with the same Corsair power supply.

So, no improvement unfortunately.

[_dangtx_]

ok so somehow the 470 pulled more juice than the mobo could deliver, pci-e wise?

[Zero82z]

Originally Posted by DokkRokken

I also put the 470 into a different motherboard, and it sends out video properly, with the same Corsair power supply.

Did you test your RAM and CPU in that motherboard as well (assuming they're compatible)? This is sounding like a dead motherboard to me.

[DkRk]

Originally Posted by Zero82z

Did you test your RAM and CPU in that motherboard as well (assuming they're compatible)? This is sounding like a dead motherboard to me.

The other board runs DDR2, and is an AM2(not AM2+), so RAM testing was out, as was easy CPU compatibility. I did peruse MSI's site earlier to see if a BIOS update would allow it to run a PhenomII, but that hasn't borne fruit. CPU-Upgrade.com says the board can accept newer CPU's, but stops at the Phenom 945, as I think it only supports up to 95W.

Edit: By the looks of things, I'll be dialing up MSI bright and early on Monday and get an RMA going. Real shame, as this board has been an absolute champ and I had nothing but good things to say about it. Hopefully MSI's customer service will be as good as the board was when it worked.