9800 GX2 monitor detection problem

ksharpe · 06-26-2008, 10:35 PM

Hi all. I've recently purchased a gaming system from http://cyberpowerpc.com and have a big problem.

First off, I'll break down what hardware I have:

Case: Coolermaster Cosmos S case and chassis
Mobo: nForce 780i SLI motherboard
PSU: Coolermaster 1000W
Video cards: Dual eVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB cards in SLI mode

Ok, first off, CyberPower shipped my PC with the power cable disconnected at the bottom of the mobo. It took me a while to find where it was exactly, but it was a small black+red cable tucked away beneath the bottom video card. Plugged it in and now the computer will boot up.

However, when connecting the DVI cable for my monitor in ANY of the 4 available slots in the dual video cards, the monitor just reads "No signal found, check cable for connection."

So, I tried another monitor with a DVI cable. Same problem.

I went out and bought a new 19" widescreen LCD monitor with HDMI (because the 9800's have both DVI and HDMI ports), and tried that as well. Same problem. "No signal."

I'm at a loss for what else I can do. I've checked all the cables inside the case for anything not plugged in, and every relevant port on the mobo seems to be taken up by a cable. All 4 (the 2x 6-pin and 2x 8-pin cables going into the dual 9800 cards are connected and have a steady green light inside the cards, of course).

I don't know whether or not it's a motherboard problem or a video card problem, but I'm posting here with the obvious.

Please help. I'm dying to get this baby running.
Thanks.

Mooncatt · 06-27-2008, 07:20 AM

i cant really help you on this as it seems very odd, cant u send the pc back ??

ksharpe · 06-27-2008, 03:13 PM

I'm still looking for answers. I've posted my problem on a few different Tech Support forums, contacted tech support through CyberPower via email and live chat, even called their tech support line and didn't get an answer. I'm getting very impatient with their company.

I only have a limited knowledge of this kind of hardware and I'm trying my best to use my "checks and balances" to try, try, and try again to get this thing working. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

**magnethead** · 06-27-2008, 10:31 PM

this is going to sound REALLY wierd.

Did you power on the system without any monitors attached?

Grab you a local Svideo cable, connect a TV to the svideo out, and see if you get an image.

I've noticed on my 7800GT, if I boot the system without any monitors, the video output defaults to Svideo until you tell the system to use DVI-1 (ect) as the default display via nview manager (windows display properties wont do it alone)

Decane · 06-28-2008, 03:40 AM

Try booting with just one card in... are all drivers installed on the PC?

This happened to me on my 9600 GT, I was getting very frustrated with it. In the end, It boiled down to it being a faulty card, so I sent it back... I then ordered a 8800 GT, and everything is working fine.

It could be a faulty card... but I can't imagine it being <i>both</i> of them.

Regards,

David.

ksharpe · 06-29-2008, 07:31 AM

magnethead: The 9800 GX2's don't have Svideo ports. Each card has 2 DVI ports and 1 HDMI port. After reading your post however, I did try putting the individual cards in each of the 3 PCI Express slots in the motherboard with an attempt to boot up. Each variation failed, and I still *had* the same problem.

Decane: I couldn't get any visual to come up on the screen with those cards.

However, the problem has been successfully narrowed down to being two faulty cards. I pulled out the old 7800 GT from my old PC and popped it in, and voila, it works. I installed the latest GeForce 9 Series driver, then shut down the computer, reinstalled one of the 9800 cards, and STILL do not have any picture show up.

So, I'm just running it on my 7800 GT for the time being. I ordered two EVGA GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB overclocked at 678MHz. These cards all get great reviews from Newegg.com (where I shop for most of my computer hardware needs), and hopefully will be the solution.

I'll more than likely send the faulty cards back to CyberPower, but I'd like to hang onto them for a little while and see if, eventually, they work.

Thanks for all the help and ideas here. This forum is great! :)

Decane · 06-30-2008, 10:47 AM

Hmm... maybe I'm seeing a little pattern emerging in compatibility issues with the GeForce 9 series in nVidia X80i chipsets...?

I mean... all of the 9 series cards you tried didn't work in your 780i, and my 9600GT card refused to work in my 680i in exactly the same way...
I even put an old ATI card in, and that worked fine. Maybe it's something worth looking into... maybe a PCI-E 2.0 issue? but my 8800GT is PCI-E 2.0, and all the new cards assure backwards compatibility. Perhaps maybe it's a bios issue. I'm not sure...

Anyway, good luck with your new cards. :]

Regards,

David.

dai · 06-30-2008, 11:31 AM

have they plugged in the aux power connector into the m/board

ksharpe · 06-30-2008, 06:21 PM

I don't know. The 6-pin and 8-pin cables are plugged into the cards, and the cards are properly seated in the PCI slots. When the computer is powered on, the 9800's have steady green lights where the cables are plugged in, so they are getting power properly.

Are you referring to the PWR3 aux power cable? I don't know where that is... I really don't know a whole lot about hardware.

dai · 06-30-2008, 10:14 PM

this socket here

**Aus_Karlos** · 07-01-2008, 08:35 AM

That Aux is for 3way SLI or Quad, same setup as mine but different M/B.
Even tho you have no Video to display does the PC Boot. Ie do u hear the Beep that means its on the POST screen.
As your motherboard has 3 PCI-E is it in the top one. Or if it is, switch it to the bottom, the Middle is PCI-E x8 and shouldn't be in there.

dai · 07-01-2008, 09:25 AM

[That Aux is for 3way SLI or Quad,]
it has nothing to do with sli or quad

**magnethead** · 07-01-2008, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dai

[That Aux is for 3way SLI or Quad,]
it has nothing to do with sli or quad

yea, i thought the P4 and P8 plugs were for the CPU so it wouldn't have to leech off the 24 pin ATX connector?

ksharpe · 07-02-2008, 03:04 PM

Yes, if I plug a single card into the top PCI slot and boot it up, I hear beeps. However, the screen is still black and the monitor says it cannot find a signal. But, when I plug the card into the middle or bottom slot, the computer boots up and shows me a BIOS screen, saying I need to move the card to the top for it to work properly. So I know the card works. I've tried using both cards, individually, in the top PCI slot, and in all PCI slots, and the same problem occurs.

I recently purchased two EVGA 8800GTS 512mb cards to see if they would work, and I get the same problem. Black screen and the monitor reads "No Signal Found, Check Connection"

I've registered my cards with EVGA's RMA program, and I've forwarded this problem onto their tech support and their forums to see if I can get any professional assistance from them. Hopefully I can get this fixed.

ksharpe · 07-02-2008, 04:07 PM

I am considering buying Windows XP Pro 64-bit. One of the guys on the EVGA message boards says he had the same exact problem I'm having and he switched to XP Pro x64 and now everything works great. Any second opinions?

dai · 07-02-2008, 11:55 PM

with the single card i check the bios code here and see what it is saying is the problem
www.bioscentral.com

Decane · 07-05-2008, 02:54 PM

The other day I reconnected my DVI cable to my video card (8800GT) and it did exactly the same thing, with no signal to the monitor... It had worked before... I thought Oh no, this one's not ending up like the 9600GT I had earlier.

But I wiggled the cable a bit and screwed it in well, and the monitor worked.

I know it sounds silly, but you could try wiggling the cable, and screwing it in well?

(By the way, the 9600GT I sent back did turn out to be faulty... but I can't imagine all three of your cards being faulty?)

Best of Luck,

David.

06-26-2008, 10:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
ksharpe Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 6 OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit	9800 GX2 monitor detection problem Hi all. I've recently purchased a gaming system from http://cyberpowerpc.com and have a big problem. First off, I'll break down what hardware I have: Case: Coolermaster Cosmos S case and chassis Mobo: nForce 780i SLI motherboard PSU: Coolermaster 1000W Video cards: Dual eVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB cards in SLI mode Ok, first off, CyberPower shipped my PC with the power cable disconnected at the bottom of the mobo. It took me a while to find where it was exactly, but it was a small black+red cable tucked away beneath the bottom video card. Plugged it in and now the computer will boot up. However, when connecting the DVI cable for my monitor in ANY of the 4 available slots in the dual video cards, the monitor just reads "No signal found, check cable for connection." So, I tried another monitor with a DVI cable. Same problem. I went out and bought a new 19" widescreen LCD monitor with HDMI (because the 9800's have both DVI and HDMI ports), and tried that as well. Same problem. "No signal." I'm at a loss for what else I can do. I've checked all the cables inside the case for anything not plugged in, and every relevant port on the mobo seems to be taken up by a cable. All 4 (the 2x 6-pin and 2x 8-pin cables going into the dual 9800 cards are connected and have a steady green light inside the cards, of course). I don't know whether or not it's a motherboard problem or a video card problem, but I'm posting here with the obvious. Please help. I'm dying to get this baby running. Thanks.

06-27-2008, 07:20 AM	#2 (permalink)
Mooncatt Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 32 OS: winxp sp3	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem i cant really help you on this as it seems very odd, cant u send the pc back ??

06-27-2008, 03:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
ksharpe Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 6 OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem I'm still looking for answers. I've posted my problem on a few different Tech Support forums, contacted tech support through CyberPower via email and live chat, even called their tech support line and didn't get an answer. I'm getting very impatient with their company. I only have a limited knowledge of this kind of hardware and I'm trying my best to use my "checks and balances" to try, try, and try again to get this thing working. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

06-27-2008, 10:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
magnethead Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Texas, USA Posts: 3,570 OS: Vista ultimate 32bit My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem this is going to sound REALLY wierd. Did you power on the system without any monitors attached? Grab you a local Svideo cable, connect a TV to the svideo out, and see if you get an image. I've noticed on my 7800GT, if I boot the system without any monitors, the video output defaults to Svideo until you tell the system to use DVI-1 (ect) as the default display via nview manager (windows display properties wont do it alone) __________________ For proper support: what are you running? graphics, cpu, m/board, ram, PSU brand wattage PCI-E requires 26 amps at 12 volts. That's a 650W PSU. Power Supply Info and Selection . Info on thermal compounds & application . TEST PSU USING MULTI-METER . Bench Testing Your System

06-28-2008, 03:40 AM	#5 (permalink)
Decane Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 29 OS: Windows XP SP2	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem Try booting with just one card in... are all drivers installed on the PC? This happened to me on my 9600 GT, I was getting very frustrated with it. In the end, It boiled down to it being a faulty card, so I sent it back... I then ordered a 8800 GT, and everything is working fine. It could be a faulty card... but I can't imagine it being <i>both</i> of them. Regards, David.

06-29-2008, 07:31 AM	#6 (permalink)
ksharpe Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 6 OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem magnethead: The 9800 GX2's don't have Svideo ports. Each card has 2 DVI ports and 1 HDMI port. After reading your post however, I did try putting the individual cards in each of the 3 PCI Express slots in the motherboard with an attempt to boot up. Each variation failed, and I still had the same problem. Decane: I couldn't get any visual to come up on the screen with those cards. However, the problem has been successfully narrowed down to being two faulty cards. I pulled out the old 7800 GT from my old PC and popped it in, and voila, it works. I installed the latest GeForce 9 Series driver, then shut down the computer, reinstalled one of the 9800 cards, and STILL do not have any picture show up. So, I'm just running it on my 7800 GT for the time being. I ordered two EVGA GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB overclocked at 678MHz. These cards all get great reviews from Newegg.com (where I shop for most of my computer hardware needs), and hopefully will be the solution. I'll more than likely send the faulty cards back to CyberPower, but I'd like to hang onto them for a little while and see if, eventually, they work. Thanks for all the help and ideas here. This forum is great! :)

06-30-2008, 10:47 AM	#7 (permalink)
Decane Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 29 OS: Windows XP SP2	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem Hmm... maybe I'm seeing a little pattern emerging in compatibility issues with the GeForce 9 series in nVidia X80i chipsets...? I mean... all of the 9 series cards you tried didn't work in your 780i, and my 9600GT card refused to work in my 680i in exactly the same way... I even put an old ATI card in, and that worked fine. Maybe it's something worth looking into... maybe a PCI-E 2.0 issue? but my 8800GT is PCI-E 2.0, and all the new cards assure backwards compatibility. Perhaps maybe it's a bios issue. I'm not sure... Anyway, good luck with your new cards. :] Regards, David.

06-30-2008, 11:31 AM	#8 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,732 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem have they plugged in the aux power connector into the m/board __________________

06-30-2008, 06:21 PM	#9 (permalink)
ksharpe Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 6 OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem I don't know. The 6-pin and 8-pin cables are plugged into the cards, and the cards are properly seated in the PCI slots. When the computer is powered on, the 9800's have steady green lights where the cables are plugged in, so they are getting power properly. Are you referring to the PWR3 aux power cable? I don't know where that is... I really don't know a whole lot about hardware. Last edited by ksharpe; 06-30-2008 at 06:23 PM.

07-01-2008, 08:35 AM	#11 (permalink)
Aus_Karlos Moderator, Games Team Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Western Australia Posts: 3,461 OS: Vista Ultimate x64, Windows XP 32-bit/64-bit, Ubuntu x64, Windows 7 x64 Beta My System Blog Entries: 2	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem That Aux is for 3way SLI or Quad, same setup as mine but different M/B. Even tho you have no Video to display does the PC Boot. Ie do u hear the Beep that means its on the POST screen. As your motherboard has 3 PCI-E is it in the top one. Or if it is, switch it to the bottom, the Middle is PCI-E x8 and shouldn't be in there. __________________ MemTest86 / Nvidia Drivers / ATI Drivers / DirectX 9.0c / Sys Requirements / Everest Folding@Home

07-01-2008, 09:25 AM	#12 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,732 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem [That Aux is for 3way SLI or Quad,] it has nothing to do with sli or quad __________________

07-02-2008, 03:04 PM	#14 (permalink)
ksharpe Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 6 OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem Yes, if I plug a single card into the top PCI slot and boot it up, I hear beeps. However, the screen is still black and the monitor says it cannot find a signal. But, when I plug the card into the middle or bottom slot, the computer boots up and shows me a BIOS screen, saying I need to move the card to the top for it to work properly. So I know the card works. I've tried using both cards, individually, in the top PCI slot, and in all PCI slots, and the same problem occurs. I recently purchased two EVGA 8800GTS 512mb cards to see if they would work, and I get the same problem. Black screen and the monitor reads "No Signal Found, Check Connection" I've registered my cards with EVGA's RMA program, and I've forwarded this problem onto their tech support and their forums to see if I can get any professional assistance from them. Hopefully I can get this fixed.

07-02-2008, 04:07 PM	#15 (permalink)
ksharpe Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 6 OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem I am considering buying Windows XP Pro 64-bit. One of the guys on the EVGA message boards says he had the same exact problem I'm having and he switched to XP Pro x64 and now everything works great. Any second opinions?

07-02-2008, 11:55 PM	#16 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,732 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem with the single card i check the bios code here and see what it is saying is the problem www.bioscentral.com __________________

07-05-2008, 02:54 PM	#17 (permalink)
Decane Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 29 OS: Windows XP SP2	Re: 9800 GX2 monitor detection problem The other day I reconnected my DVI cable to my video card (8800GT) and it did exactly the same thing, with no signal to the monitor... It had worked before... I thought Oh no, this one's not ending up like the 9600GT I had earlier. But I wiggled the cable a bit and screwed it in well, and the monitor worked. I know it sounds silly, but you could try wiggling the cable, and screwing it in well? (By the way, the 9600GT I sent back did turn out to be faulty... but I can't imagine all three of your cards being faulty?) Best of Luck, David.