Hey all, first post in quite a while, and it's with a dilemma. Bit of background first.
When I first set up my water loop in Feb 2008, I put in an Asus M2N32-SLi Deluxe, with a BFG 8800 GT. In May I added another BFG 8800 GT. Everything was working fine. In January this year, it refused to boot, with the 1 long and 3 short beep code indicating GFX issues. I traced the problem (I thought) to the card in the blue PCI-E slot, nearest the processor. I left the other card in the other black slot, and started planning an upgrade.
The upgrade started this week. I bought a BFG GTX 295 H20 on ebay (risky, I know, but meh...), built a brand new loop and fitted a new cpu block. Everything was looking hucky dory, with 2 small probs. The system would not warm boot, but WOULD cold boot. Restarting meant shutting it down completely, then powering on again. Not a big deal but wierd. And noticed a couple of flickering textures in games, despite low temps for about 45-50, and latest drivers.
Night before last, I selected sleep instead of shutdown on the power menu by mistake. I couldn't get the pc to respond again once I had - keyboard presses, mouse movement, power button - no effect. So I turned it off at the PSU, waited a few seconds, then turned on again. 1 long beep followed by 3 short.
Normally at this point I would have tried the card in the other slot. But a) as it's plumbed into the loop, it won't reach, and b) the card is so massive that the standard PCI slot that sits next to the second PCI-E is gets in the way and there is physically not enough room for it.
I know what a lot of you are going to think, and I thought it too - Power. The green power light was lit on the card, but the power calculator I used suggested I needed a 625W PSU, and I had a 650W...
So off I trundles and bought a Corsair HX1000, which I thought would be plenty. Fitted it - no joy. At this point, I removed the GTX 295, held it near the slot, fitted the 8800GT in the blue slot, and turned it on. This was not easy, as the GTX 295 is bloody heavy...
Anyway, no boot. But move the 8800GT to the other black slot, and it boots fine. And yes, I've made sure the blue slot is free of dust, to the best of my ability. So it's starting to look like the mobo is being a bit rubbish.
Currently I have both cards in the system. The GTX 295 is in the non-working blue slot, power being fed to it, but the blue led isn't on and it's not actually doing anything except being cooled. The 8800GT is in the black slot, and is the one being used by the system. As expected, Windows et al only reports the 8800GT as existing...
So, my question(s) to you is (are):
a) Does anyone have an experience with this problem, and know of a way to get the blue slot working?
and if not,
b) What should I replace it with?
Currently got an FX-62 in there, and 6Gb (a 4Gb pair and 2Gb pair) or Corsair stuff. Can't remember the speeds. Any help is appreciated.
When I first set up my water loop in Feb 2008, I put in an Asus M2N32-SLi Deluxe, with a BFG 8800 GT. In May I added another BFG 8800 GT. Everything was working fine. In January this year, it refused to boot, with the 1 long and 3 short beep code indicating GFX issues. I traced the problem (I thought) to the card in the blue PCI-E slot, nearest the processor. I left the other card in the other black slot, and started planning an upgrade.
The upgrade started this week. I bought a BFG GTX 295 H20 on ebay (risky, I know, but meh...), built a brand new loop and fitted a new cpu block. Everything was looking hucky dory, with 2 small probs. The system would not warm boot, but WOULD cold boot. Restarting meant shutting it down completely, then powering on again. Not a big deal but wierd. And noticed a couple of flickering textures in games, despite low temps for about 45-50, and latest drivers.
Night before last, I selected sleep instead of shutdown on the power menu by mistake. I couldn't get the pc to respond again once I had - keyboard presses, mouse movement, power button - no effect. So I turned it off at the PSU, waited a few seconds, then turned on again. 1 long beep followed by 3 short.
Normally at this point I would have tried the card in the other slot. But a) as it's plumbed into the loop, it won't reach, and b) the card is so massive that the standard PCI slot that sits next to the second PCI-E is gets in the way and there is physically not enough room for it.
I know what a lot of you are going to think, and I thought it too - Power. The green power light was lit on the card, but the power calculator I used suggested I needed a 625W PSU, and I had a 650W...
So off I trundles and bought a Corsair HX1000, which I thought would be plenty. Fitted it - no joy. At this point, I removed the GTX 295, held it near the slot, fitted the 8800GT in the blue slot, and turned it on. This was not easy, as the GTX 295 is bloody heavy...
Anyway, no boot. But move the 8800GT to the other black slot, and it boots fine. And yes, I've made sure the blue slot is free of dust, to the best of my ability. So it's starting to look like the mobo is being a bit rubbish.
Currently I have both cards in the system. The GTX 295 is in the non-working blue slot, power being fed to it, but the blue led isn't on and it's not actually doing anything except being cooled. The 8800GT is in the black slot, and is the one being used by the system. As expected, Windows et al only reports the 8800GT as existing...
So, my question(s) to you is (are):
a) Does anyone have an experience with this problem, and know of a way to get the blue slot working?
and if not,
b) What should I replace it with?
Currently got an FX-62 in there, and 6Gb (a 4Gb pair and 2Gb pair) or Corsair stuff. Can't remember the speeds. Any help is appreciated.
