![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
If you have a power supply that comes with the 6-pin pci-e connector, this doesn't apply to you. Otherwise, read on.
I just received my Sapphire X850XT-PE from ZZF (ordered it after it became obvious that SLI wasn't working with EQ2). The board and cables are obviously 100% ATI, Sapphire just put a small sticker on the boards's 6 pin power connector. The 4-pin to 6-pin power cable is ATI:6110019500, WST:C219RA-021, Rev. B, Made in China. This cable looks really poor, as only a single +12V and single Ground pin are used, not the 3 of each that should be used. The 2 pins that are used are the power/ground pair closest to the top of the board.
Now the problem. I installed the X850XT-PE using the 4-pin to 6 pin cable and turned on the power. I got a flashing message that the 6 pin power connector wasn't plugged in. I verified that power was getting through the power cable to the board. I pulled out the board and looked it over. What I found out was that only the uppermost and lowermost ground pins of the 6 pin connector actually connect to board ground. The middle ground pin is used to determine if a 6 pin power connector is plugged in. If this middle ground pin isn't connected to ground in the power cable then the board will complain that nothing is plugged in. The problem became obvious after I noticed this. Remember that I said only the upper power/ground pair in the adapter cable was connected to +12V and ground, the other 4 pins aren't connected to anything. Thus the board sees that the middle ground pin isn't connected to anything and then complains, and you can't even get into the bios. Obviously no one at ATI actually thought to check if the 6 pin converter cables they're shipping actually work with the board. They won't. This is going to be a HUGE problem for ATI and everyone selling these boards. Most people aren't going to have a clue that the power cable is screwed up and not the board. To fix my problem for the short term I just wrapped a piece of wire around the upper and middle ground pins on the card's power connector (front side), to force the middle pin to ground. Everything is working great now.
If anyone from ATI reads this, I hope this is just a bad batch of cables, otherwise a lot of cards are going to be returned. Like I said at the beginning, if your power supply already has a 6 pin pci-e connector you obviously won't have this problem.
I just received my Sapphire X850XT-PE from ZZF (ordered it after it became obvious that SLI wasn't working with EQ2). The board and cables are obviously 100% ATI, Sapphire just put a small sticker on the boards's 6 pin power connector. The 4-pin to 6-pin power cable is ATI:6110019500, WST:C219RA-021, Rev. B, Made in China. This cable looks really poor, as only a single +12V and single Ground pin are used, not the 3 of each that should be used. The 2 pins that are used are the power/ground pair closest to the top of the board.
Now the problem. I installed the X850XT-PE using the 4-pin to 6 pin cable and turned on the power. I got a flashing message that the 6 pin power connector wasn't plugged in. I verified that power was getting through the power cable to the board. I pulled out the board and looked it over. What I found out was that only the uppermost and lowermost ground pins of the 6 pin connector actually connect to board ground. The middle ground pin is used to determine if a 6 pin power connector is plugged in. If this middle ground pin isn't connected to ground in the power cable then the board will complain that nothing is plugged in. The problem became obvious after I noticed this. Remember that I said only the upper power/ground pair in the adapter cable was connected to +12V and ground, the other 4 pins aren't connected to anything. Thus the board sees that the middle ground pin isn't connected to anything and then complains, and you can't even get into the bios. Obviously no one at ATI actually thought to check if the 6 pin converter cables they're shipping actually work with the board. They won't. This is going to be a HUGE problem for ATI and everyone selling these boards. Most people aren't going to have a clue that the power cable is screwed up and not the board. To fix my problem for the short term I just wrapped a piece of wire around the upper and middle ground pins on the card's power connector (front side), to force the middle pin to ground. Everything is working great now.
If anyone from ATI reads this, I hope this is just a bad batch of cables, otherwise a lot of cards are going to be returned. Like I said at the beginning, if your power supply already has a 6 pin pci-e connector you obviously won't have this problem.