Overclocking memory caused GPU error?

[OverclockingNub]

Hey guys,

I just built my second computer, so I am still relatively new to this. Anyways, to save money I decided to keep my old Radeon HD 4870 graphics card, while only purchasing a new mobo, ram, cpu, and case. Anyways, i decided to purchase the MSI 970A-G46 AMD 9 Series Motherboard due to the fact that it was on sale, and really cheap, AND it was the only budget mobo that seemed to support the 2133 MHz ram frequency. So, first thing i did after booting up the computer was open up the bios to overclock the ram to 2133 because apparently it defaults to 1600 or something. Anyways, for whatever reason I could only increase it to 1800. 2133 was not an option. But, i decided that was still better than 1600 and would do for now.

So, upon restarting my machine, my graphics card lit up (3 red lights) and and failed to display anything. I figured this may be due to the fact that upon overclocking the ram, my weak 500W psu couldnt power the 125W cpu, and the 220-ish W gpu, and the now OCed ram (if the gpu is not plugged into the psu at all, but it is plugged into the mobo, it gets these 3 red lights, so i figured it was a power issue). So, i decided to buy a brand new 750W psu, and i still have the same problem.

While waiting for the new psu to arive, i took out my graphics card and threw it in my old case with my old mobo, ram, and 55W processor. It worked perfectly fine. So i know that the problem is not with the graphics card, and probably not the psu (im quite sure 750W would be enough to run everything... especially since 500W ran everything to begin with).

So... is there any way to undo this edit to the bios? Unfortunately I cant simply open up the bios, since my computer can no longer display anything. Is there any sort of key i could hold that boots up while clearing bios settings...or perhaps some physical switch on the mobo that i have yet to find? unfortunately this is my only gpu, so i cant switch in a weaker one to test whether or not a different one would work under w.e. weird settings my mobo is using. I'm still now even sure how tinkering with the ram could have messed up my graphics card.

tl;dr I messed with my bios settings, and my graphics card doesnt work now. any way to change settings back?

Thanks a lot for any help.


Rig info:

Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 AMD 9 Series Motherboard
Processor: FX 4170
RAM: G. SKill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) Model F3-17000CL9D-8GBSR
Graphics Card: ASUS EAH4870 DK/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4870 Dark Knight 1GB
Power Supply: OCZ Fatal1ty 750W Modular Gaming 80Plus Bronze Power Supply

 

[Boulard83]

Fisrt, you need at least the bios 7693v12 for your Motherboard to support the new CPU, just to be sure with that. ** Latest 2012-10-31 : 7693v1B **

As for your question about reseting the BIOS, if you look at your motherboard manual, youll find a reset cmos procedur on page 1-28.

 

[OverclockingNub]

Thanks for the response, however I did not find anything useful on page 28 (I assume you meant page En-28 where En = english) Also, Do you have any idea where to find out what bios I have? I briefly looked in the manual and it did not have any information in the bios section. And also, my mobo DID work for a little while with the cpu, so i dont know why all of a sudden it has other problems.

 

[Boulard83]

I dont know for the exact page but i loaded the English manual from MSI web site and i found the CMOS procedure on page 1-28. Find it on yours

First try to reset the Cmos, then flash to the newest bios to make sure your Ram and CPU works well. Newer bios dont only offer newer stuff compatibility but more then often it also offer better stability and/or OC.

 

[OverclockingNub]

Okay, i THINK i cleared the CMOS ram... i turned off the system, then put the jumper onto the different slots, and then moved it back and booted up again. Nothing noticeable happened. I still have my graphics card lighting up with the 3 red lights. Was i supposed to turn the system on while the jumper was moved or anything?

 

[trents]

Yes, you are always, always, always supposed to completely power down the system and unplug it from the wall when you jumper the CMOS and don't power it back up until you return the jumper to it's default position. To not do so can totally corrupt the cmos/bios.

 

[OverclockingNub]

Okay, that is what i did. still no luck trying anything. I think I am going to try and return it and get a new one.

 

[RGone]

Okay, that is what i did. still no luck trying anything. I think I am going to try and return it and get a new one.

Probably a good idea since it seems the PCI-e slot is not able to supply its' share of the voltage to the old style video card.

The first thing I would do is NOT fool with a ram setting on first boot of a new motherboard. I would certainly see if the board could boot to memtest 86+ on disk or Usb stick. Anything to first see if the board is faulty or not.

Most especially since the 2133 ram speed is an 'overclocked' setting and not standard for the motherboard.
Memory Standard: DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600/1866/2133* (OC) << The asterisk after the 2133 indicates a memory setting only reachable if the ram is overclocked and is not a standard ram speed setting supported by the motherboard.

 

[OverclockingNub]

One last thing I wanted to try before returning it... I swapped out my new processor (since someone said they weren't supported in the older bios) and put my old athlon x2 in there instead. However, instead of booting up and the graphics card not working, something else happened. Upon the first try, it booted to the bios-loading screen (no idea what its called) and then promptly restarted. Now, all it does upon booting is well...nothing. It sound like it is constantly rebooting since the fans seem to power down and back up every few seconds. And the graphics card no longer has the constant red lights (they just blink now, which I think it does once at startup anyways... so it makes sense if the conputer is constantly powering up and down). I have read that this could mean a bios error. Is there any way to put a bios on a usb, or hard drive, or anything, really? or is there simply a way to fix this?

 

[RGone]

Look in your manual for 'how to clear CMOS' and do so that will set bios back to defaults and when changing items like cpu...it is often a necessity.

 

[OverclockingNub]

I have done that... although I am not sure if that somehow messed it up. I never powered on the computer while resetting it, but one time I did leave it plugged in... what would happen if I left the juice on?

 

[RGone]

I have done that... although I am not sure if that somehow messed it up. I never powered on the computer while resetting it, but one time I did leave it plugged in... what would happen if I left the juice on?

Just plugged in but not ON as in trying to boot...would cause nothing, but the odd chance the CMOs might not clear fully.

I always unplug power supply from its' electrical supply. I then jumper the CMOS clear to the clear position and remove the battery. I wait at least 5 mins for surety (in general) and then I 1)put the battery back in its socket. 2) I jumper the CMOS back to the operational position usually pins 1 and 2. 3) Then I REapply power to the motherboard and try the boot process again.

I hate to say this, but the number of MSI AMD boards we see used by posters in the forum are few and far between. Likely there is a good reason for that. Price-wise they seem cheap enough, but price is not really my number one reason for buying. Price can be a consideration, but it is not my first criteria for purchase. How the majority of users get along with boards in the forum is probably 80% of my reason to buy.

 

[OverclockingNub]

Yes, I see that I should have definitely came here first asking which parts I should purchase on a budget... although unfortunately I bought first since it was the cheapest and most well-equipped motherboard.