Watercooled graphic card won't boot/start

[elysion]

Hi guys need urgent help here

Having setup my new watercooling system and the graphic card won't boot, i get a red message on the screen saying ''there is no power connected to the graphic card..''

I have the following setup:

1. 1x 6 pin, 1x 8 pin power supply directly to the card
2. I have not plugged in the fan 4 pin from the air cooler, would this be the issue?
3. I have plugged in both 8 Pin ATX cables to the mobo (too much for one HD5970?)
4. 24 pin cable is plugged in on the mobo as well

I cant access BIOS so far as it won't start. On the ASUS RIIIE it shows red light indicating a VGA card issue which would be correct at this stage ;-)
I have switched on the PCI-E 16x Lane switches as well (in order to enable the PCI-E cards)

thanks for the speedy reply.
Stephan

[Stealth42o]

As far as the #2 ?, No it is not necessary to have that plugged in.

Did you test the card with the stock cooler on it before installing the block?

If so, reinstall the air cooler and test it. More times then not your block is grounding on the card or it is over tightens.

Work backwards and you will figure it out. No quick fix.

[elysion]

Can confirm it is damaged after disassemble and when i wanted to remove the block one of the chip broke off due to the TIM i added on the chip and it was the chip which did not have the stepping.
I made a mistake, a costly one and i was quite upset.

Two thing I have noticed:

1. I should not put ANY TIM between the chips and the thermal pads, that stuff (Arctic MX 4) is sticking too much on it an Chips are prone to break like i just experienced (even though the manual states to make the pads more adhesive add small amount of TIM, I think this is not to recommend and would refrain from such thing.
2. My mistake I did I thought to add one more 0.55mm pad on the chip which was leveled and did not have a higher step then the other chips, mistake though because after inspecting the block I could see that the entire row of the chips next to it did not hav contact, assuming I should not have added the second pad...
3. Really make sure and double check after screwing the block on to unscrew it and check contact (as in the manual described correctly)
4. looks like over-tightened screws as well on the named chip which would be caused easily if there is one layer of pad too much :-(

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/DSC00318.jpg
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/DSC00322.jpg
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/DSC00319.jpg
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/DSC00320.jpg

good thing, i use a spare older 9800GT now and the CPU temps by 27 C are excellent with 30C max idle ;-)

[Stealth42o]

Don't kick yea self to hard, we have all been there in one way or another.

[zalbard]

It might be possible to repair the card by soldering a replacement chip back, look for a good repair store (or contact the RMA department).

[k0rnh0li0]

should have an RMA. hello evga my card died i dont know why help?

my 295 hydro is in RMA process. hopefully you have everything for RMA. good luck and sorry to hear.

thermal pads usually do the trick so no TIM is needed. sorry to hear that happen but other users suggest soldering could work or repair shop. last option is RMA

[matari]

Could have been worse. You could have forgot the O-ring in your cpu block. Skinnee has some youtube videos of blocks being installed, might want to watch.

[elysion]

;-) thanks for your replies, could been worse yes lol

well i don't think they cover RMA if I remove the cover and a waterblock, do they? will see with the agent what is possible yes.

Thanks

Edit: that is from my current project log and how it looks like now, still thinking to relocate the pump since i cant fill the entire loop to max...

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/DSC00259.jpg

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/DSC00293.jpg

[BrokenArrow]

should have an RMA. hello evga my card died i dont know why help?

This is quite unethical and you should not suggest this at all. He broke it and should not make the manufacturer pay for his mistake.

[jumper2high]

1. I should not put ANY TIM between the chips and the thermal pads, that stuff (Arctic MX 4) is sticking too much on it an Chips are prone to break like i just experienced (even though the manual states to make the pads more adhesive add small amount of TIM, I think this is not to recommend and would refrain from such thing.

You really think a hair-thin layer of low-viscosity fluid had enough strength to break a chip and not the second layer of thermal pads??

[Laine]

This is quite unethical and you should not suggest this at all. He broke it and should not make the manufacturer pay for his mistake.
This.

In the end, it's we who pay.

[PatRaceTin]

hmmmm

[XiraN]

This is quite unethical and you should not suggest this at all. He broke it and should not make the manufacturer pay for his mistake.

It's people like the one you quoted that are steadily ruining all warranties on video cards, by doing shady things like that.

[Holst]

With some care and the right tools that card can be easily repaired.

Best bet is to find somebody on XS with the right skills or contact EVGA and explain what you have done and ask if they can repair (at your cost)

When I worked for Epox I would often find vmodded boards sent back for RMA, as I posted some of the VMOD guides on XS it was pretty easy for me to spot them :)
People who claimed that the board was just dead would get it sent back with a letter explaining that it was out of warranty damage.
The very few that admitted there mistake I would try and fix the board for them in my lunch hour or find another way to help them out.

[Diverge]

If that is all that is broke, you can fix your board. Those are just inductor/chokes, which should be a fairly cheap part. You just need someone who has access to reflow equipment, as you need those chokes soldered correctly; they carry a decent amount of current.

[NaeKuh]

Best bet is to find somebody on XS with the right skills or contact EVGA and explain what you have done and ask if they can repair (at your cost)


im lost why would he contact eVGA for an AMD card?

To my knowledge that looks like an 4870X2 or a 5970.

So why would eVGA even reply back when they dont touch AMD?


Not to rag on AMD/ATI, but they have the WORST RMA;s out of all the videocard brands combined.
Id honestly even take PNY on Nvidia side, over Saphire on ATI.

The only ATI company i will accept now is XFX and ASUS, but powercolor, saphire, ANY Company which requires u to send your gpu to china and back and charges is a thumbs down company for me.

And to answer your question...
If you didnt break the card, you are entitled to RMA.
I asked a few vendors there thoughts on it (ASUS, MSI, EVGA, GIGY), and they said, if you RMA it, and we find it did fail, we will replace it.
If you broke it, dont bother sending it, because we'll find out how you broke it and charge you to return it.

[Holst]

Sorry, I dont know where I got Evga from, must have got my threads confused.. what i meant was manufacturer :)

[elysion]

You really think a hair-thin layer of low-viscosity fluid had enough strength to break a chip and not the second layer of thermal pads??

It's definitely the second layer of the pad that's correct, the shop owner however mentioned that there should not be any thermal grease be applied it can get actually hotter between the pad and chip if ding so.

[elysion]

With some care and the right tools that card can be easily repaired.

Best bet is to find somebody on XS with the right skills or contact EVGA and explain what you have done and ask if they can repair (at your cost)

When I worked for Epox I would often find vmodded boards sent back for RMA, as I posted some of the VMOD guides on XS it was pretty easy for me to spot them :)
People who claimed that the board was just dead would get it sent back with a letter explaining that it was out of warranty damage.
The very few that admitted there mistake I would try and fix the board for them in my lunch hour or find another way to help them out.

Thanks for your reply, will send it back to the shop and i of course already informed them that it was my mistake and i would bare the cost so no problem with that, question is just if they can repair it or not, the shipping cost will be hefty like USD 150 or so ;-) but i don't mind as long as they can repair it i am okay with it...

[Waterlogged]

Sorry, I dont know where I got Evga from, must have got my threads confused.. what i meant was manufacturer :)

Don't apologize, it's not your fault...blame k0rnh0li0 who posted ~8 posts before yours. :D


should have an RMA. hello evga my card died i dont know why help?

my 295 hydro is in RMA process. hopefully you have everything for RMA. good luck and sorry to hear.

thermal pads usually do the trick so no TIM is needed. sorry to hear that happen but other users suggest soldering could work or repair shop. last option is RMA

[washu9]

This is the same case with my 295 a year back.

Unfortunately for me, there's NO company (in my country) that would actually even touch brands that they do not sell. (and there is no one carrying the brand I bought - a friend bought it for me overseas)

The card is still sitting in the corner of my desk as a stark reminder of the dangers of watercooling.

Didn't deter me from watercooling yet another one though...


Good luck with your repair.

[PiLsY]

Any decent TV/electrical repair shop should be able to repair that even if they have to send it off to do so. Forget the manufacturer repairs if you have to ship abroad as itll be way cheaper to get it repaired locally.

And definitely be honest with how it happened if you do RMA it. Moral issues aside if you turn up cap in hand you're more likely to get help than if you're caught with your hand in the cookie jar...

[k0rnh0li0]

i was explaining my part w/ evga. i dont know his manufacturer. like i said there's nothing bad about asking for an RMA.

hopefully you can get by with an RMA. its my best wishes to him i'm not saying cheat them out.

manufacturers have different ways of tampering i'm not sure what kind...

all in all i hope the OP gets it fixed but if you just explain it to the RMA service i'm sure they would be glad to replace it for you cause you didn't know better and you still have all the original parts.

[NaeKuh]

i was explaining my part w/ evga. i dont know his manufacturer. like i said there's nothing bad about asking for an RMA.


LMAO.

eVGA USA not EU has one of the most LAX RMA policies you can get with GPU's.

Thats why i love them, especially if you get the advance RMA option, they will take back the card in almost any condition. IE. Meaning no physical damage other then potion of the card which failed.

Also they allow removal of stock sink.

[elysion]

thanks for the replies guys. Well will try to get the CPL-2-50 chip from overseas and my dad will solder it back on the board. however, I have tought about it and now i assume it must be a shortage somehow caused by me.

The card was working very good on stock air cooler before, no issue with it.
after applying the block and installing it in the loop, i got the red screen massage (no power connected etc...)
when i removed the block I felt the resistance the block gave me and finally the chip broke of when taking the block out of the board.
I assume therefore the chip which broke after i dismounted it from the loop did not cause the red massage as it was still intact.
The screws where not tightened and only as that much as soon as I felt resistance.

Might have been from the compression fittings from the top, the material is stainless steel and when connecting them some metal comes off when using tools to connect it...?

Not sure now how it happened but I would love to have it run again, lets see

My father brings me the XFX 5970 2GB version which is reference and i could use the block again but need to be careful of the stepping if and where second thermal pad is needed...

[elysion]

I have the following issue continuing on the problem above...

Now I have purchased and received a new XFX HD 5970 Black Edition 2GB, since I thought that i have damaged maybe the first card.

The card has never been used, this is the first time i used it, the card is not modified.
I installed the new XFX in the 1st PCI Express slot as pre manual and before I removed the 9800GT from this slot.

I received the same red error message on startup before I can enter BIOS even, like with the HIS.
The message reads that there is no sufficient power plugged in the VGA card, please refer to the quick start guide/settings guide.

The 1000Watt PSU has sufficient power to power even two hd5970 cards so i dont understand why i get this red message on screen and asking to check the power t othe VGA card...

It means that both 5970 dont work in any PCIE slot i plug in, but the 9800GT card does work and the system boots into BIOS, OS, working just fine no BSOD whatsoever.

I assume there is an issue with the Motherboard since both cards with the same model (HD5970) give me the error message and the 9800GT from Gigabyte does work and it worked before also with the older HIS HD 5970 card

The following I have tried:
a different CM 1000Watt PSU
single individual cables from the PSU to VGA card 6 & 8 pin plugs
additional single PCIE 6 & 8 pin cabsle from the PSU
All PCIE slots with all three cards
higher voltage on the PCI with 1.51.. standard voltage in BIOS (not in AUTO mode)
loading default BIOS settings with the 9800GT card and then changing to the hd5970 if its working, but it also failed to boot up
I can see the red light indicating an error on the ASUS board
I changed the PCIE lane switches to on and off to no luck but I have noticed that when it was on first with the 5970 plugged in and then powering on the system and then switching it to off the fans started to increase to maximum and staying there, not sure whether this info helps though.
Lan switches with the 9800GT do work properly, all of them

Remember, before the older HIS card with stock cooler was working on the board! the 9800GT still works though...
I dont get any error message in BIOS or OS nor BSOD when using the Win7 64 Bit OS with the 9800GT indicating an error with the ASUS board

Anyone having the same problem or am i alone, I am desperate guys...? I have two HD5970 cards and both are not working now, any suggestions? BIOS update? any other mobo fix?

Thanks, appreciated...

[elysion]

anyone having an idea to this issue? thanks

[Church]

Have you tried new card with stock air cooling first? If it works that way, i suspect waterblock/backplate or something like that may short something on card.

[elysion]

I have it running now with the stock fans, however I have to put the Nvidia Card on the first PCI Express Slot otherwise the system wont boot no wheter what sequence (even one 5970) is plugged in. Therefore I asked ASUS for a fix to the problem and awaiting their information, a solution would be that if there is no BIOS fix for it that I could select a PCIE Lane for boot up and then have the other two cards running on 16x speed lanes, which is the easiest solution if there is no BIOS fix. I consider buying a cheap ATI card supporting the ATI 5900 series driveers so that at least I have the same drivers from the same company installed and dont use two drivers like now...cheers and thanks mate

[Diverge]

Try your 5970's in another system, if they work, then your problem is your motherboard (since you said you tried different PSU's).

It's possibly when you crushed the inductors, they shorted to the water block, which is probably ground, and may have damaged something on your motherboard via PCIe slot.
If everything worked fine before you damaged your first 5970, then it most likely has nothing to do with your bios, or settings.

[elysion]

Try your 5970's in another system, if they work, then your problem is your motherboard (since you said you tried different PSU's).

It's possibly when you crushed the inductors, they shorted to the water block, which is probably ground, and may have damaged something on your motherboard via PCIe slot.

If everything worked fine before you damaged your first 5970, then it most likely has nothing to do with your bios, or settings.

Both cards work fine as i have tested them, the issue is that they dont boot up if one of them is in the 1st PCIE slot, so i can only run the system with the nvidia in the first slot.

due to my setup i would have to rearrange the loop and res so i can add the 2nd 5970. let's see if ASUS can provide me with a fix for this, latest BIOS flashing did not give me a solution yet for this problem, thanks mate

[elysion]

Hi folks, it has been a while and I was awaiting the new mobo from Switzerland which my uncle brought me two days ago, also I have a new Koolance dual bay res in serial configuration and lets start with the log

unpacking of the Koolance dual bay res:
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/Cosmos%20S%20GTR%20Black%20Mod/DSC00597.jpg

the flowmeter from A/C (still does not show any flow i dont know why...??)
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/Cosmos%20S%20GTR%20Black%20Mod/DSC00600.jpg

the old extreme board
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/Cosmos%20S%20GTR%20Black%20Mod/DSC00601.jpg

the new formula board
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/Cosmos%20S%20GTR%20Black%20Mod/DSC00609.jpg

cleaned Supreme and looks like new:
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/Cosmos%20S%20GTR%20Black%20Mod/DSC00608.jpg

installing of both MCP35x was easy and painless
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/Cosmos%20S%20GTR%20Black%20Mod/DSC00610.jpg

some LED lighting but i figured i had only 5mm led which doent fit into 3mm, nevermind taped them on anyways
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/Cosmos%20S%20GTR%20Black%20Mod/DSC00616.jpg

very messy in the bay front, with this koolance i could only do an extended hose which was not very msart looking and arranged but believed to be working
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/Cosmos%20S%20GTR%20Black%20Mod/DSC00618.jpg

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/Cosmos%20S%20GTR%20Black%20Mod/DSC00619.jpg

with the older 5450 in in first PCIE
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/Cosmos%20S%20GTR%20Black%20Mod/DSC00624.jpg


So, now to the sad part, I have exactly the same issue again friends, the 5970 in the first PCIE slot is not booting up and its driving me nuts...
Tonight i'm going to try it with the backup PSU but anyways, before it was working on air cooling without any issues

I tried:
- different PCIE cables
- Tried also the spare EZ_Plug mobo connection
- 2 different cards of 5970 in all different PCIE slots
- unplugged all other devices including fans just to test but no luck either
- and so on

I can't imagine that people can not run HD5970 on this board???
I swapped to the ASUS R III Formula cause I have seen it around with people using heavy setups so assume it should work.

Am I missing something here??

[elysion]

update:

Changed to the PSU to another 1000Watt, same result
changed only the PCIE connections from one PSU and the other cables from the second PSU and vice versa, same result
changed only ATX cables and EATX12V cables, same result
changed only molex connectors, same result
removed the power surge adapter and plugged it in the wall socket directly, same result
changed the ATX extension cable and used the PSU own ATX cable, same result
changed and tried all different PCIE cables and combination from, same result
used both cards in crossfire just to try, fans were spinning at 100% and then i got a failure indication but I guess due to that the cards were powered by a single PSU and the other hardware by the second PSU..

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/DSC00627.jpg

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n352/mappy1234/DSC00632.jpg

the card always stops at the pre-BIOS start screen with the red light on the motherboard with continuous beeping and red message on screen

just out of curiosity, will try my first rampage extreme with the i7-920 chip just to give it a shot.

seems so far that everything is working both mobos, both PSU, just not with either HD5970 cards...
i am completely lost! are those ASUS boards incompatible?

[cx-ray]

The HD 5970 should work with your mobos. Perform a search. Enough examples of people running those combinations. I think it's pretty safe to assume that your second 5870 is defective as well.

BTW, I just thought of your second PSU after posting the above. Is it an identical 1000W model? I guess there's a small chance of a compatibility prob between the two.

[elysion]

The HD 5970 should work with your mobos. Perform a search. Enough examples of people running those combinations. I think it's pretty safe to assume that your second 5870 is defective as well.

BTW, I just thought of your second PSU after posting the above. Is it an identical 1000W model? I guess there's a small chance of a compatibility prob between the two.



hi mate, you think that both 590 the second GPU is dead? A single card works perfectly in crossfire but in the second PCIE slot and i tested with games and can see the useage of both GPU cores so it should be working mate.

i tested two PSU, both 1000 Watt, one is modular, one is not, both from CoolerMaster, what issues they have?

Last night my friend tried also both cards and he run the setup on a ASUS II and he had exactly the same issue.

Now, to my knowledge, if both cards don't run on all three different ASUS boards, i am not sure whether the 6990 would run on them too so i might be better off buying either one new Gigabyte Assassin and for sure a new GTX590'er or an ATI6990, thus my 5970 are rendered useless unless i use yet another board but a Gigabyte this time, I am a bit fed up with the non-response from ASUS and those boards.

Can anyone confirm if the new cards work on ASUS III boards or the new Gigabyte Assassin?

Thanks

[cx-ray]

It's just trial and error problem solving. You've tried your graphic card on several Asus mobos without success. What your tests have in common are the GPUs and mobo brand. Considering others are running those graphic cards without issues on the same mobos, it seems most likely to me there's something wrong with the graphic card.

If you're looking for alternatives, I'd recommend two GTX 580 cards in SLI. Forget about dual GPU cards from any brand.

[elysion]

It's just trial and error problem solving. You've tried your graphic card on several Asus mobos without success. What your tests have in common are the GPUs and mobo brand. Considering others are running those graphic cards without issues on the same mobos, it seems most likely to me there's something wrong with the graphic card.

If you're looking for alternatives, I'd recommend two GTX 580 cards in SLI. Forget about dual GPU cards from any brand.

that's what i also think, it seems the dual gpu setup causes issues for booting my system, but they still work if i connect them in second PCIE slot and down, that's why i initially thought it must be a mobo issue, guess we will never find out...

will be thinking the same, either on GTX580 from ASUS or 2x GTX570, actually my purpose is using FSX only and such game does not support SLI/CF (except if tweaked as such) and only DX9, therefore i might be better of with one 580 from ASUS or Gigabyte, what you think?
cheers

[cx-ray]

I don't have any experience with FSX. Best to refer to a dedicated forum as to which card or cards work best with it.

For brand I'd go with EVGA if you choose Nvidia. They have the most hassle free warranty and good support.

[NaeKuh]

Have u confirmed if its a bios issue?

I remember when i had my X2's they played havok until i got the proper bios to support them.

Any chance its the same thing?

[elysion]

upgraded with one GTX570 from Gigabyte which is an OC version and looking great so far, maybe going SLI in the future but not sure yet.
changed the board to R III Formula but both boards actually work as i found out, nevermind the formula is great too.
it seems those dual gpu cards have really issues from ATI and won't consider buying one anymore ;-)

cheers and thread can be closed, solved