Weird problem with XFX 5870, what to do?

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Korialstrasza

Gawd
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Jan 21, 2004
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I just upgraded to an XFX 5870 from a Geforce GTX 260. My system was rock solid and stable with the GTX260. With the 5870, every time I turn on the computer, the fans on the card run at 100% and I get one long beep followed by 3 short ones. Then, I switch off the power supply and jiggle the card very slightly and then switch the power on and it works fine.

I'm going to go there and figure out what the deal is, but is there anything specific I should look for? When I first installed it, I always make sure the card is firmly seated and both screws are installed securing the card to the case. Yet a slight jiggle works. My 260gtx worked fine, so it must be the card?


Could there be dust in the motherboard's socket or something I should look for?
Could there be an issue with the card itself? Or is it most likely a seating problem?


Thanks guys!
 
One long and three short is saying its a Enhanced Graphics Adapter problem which basically means something isn't working right with your video (as you already know). The 5870 draws more power under load then a gtx 260 so first thing is what is your PSU?

Second thing is if the gtx 260 worked fine then most likely its NOT the PCI-E slot its plugged into not supplying enough power, but if your card can work in another slot on your MOBO it wouldn't hurt to try that. Your graphics card recieves power from both the mobo and the 6/8 pin power connectors from your PSU. I have had a mobo in the past that for some reason stopped supplying power to my video card through the mobo.

Third is there any dust in your system? Seriously, it can cause problems if it gets in your PCI-E slot.

Fourth when you went from your gtx 260 (nVidia) to your 5870 (ati) did you use a driver cleaner to make sure all the old video drivers were gone before you installed the new card? This is VITAL. It can cause all sorts of weird problems when your system is trying to make video work with pieces of the old drivers in their.
 
On my system I have 2 video cards and one is in the first slot and the other is in the bottom slot so there is more air movement between them I am using xfire connector between them

Related specifically to your issue - I noticed that in the bottom slot that it did not fit properly. The bottom end of the graphics card would not let it seat properly until I cut off the bottom edge with a tip snip because of the design of the case. There was a slight inner edge allogin the cards to fit except for the bottom slot.

Maybe the bottom edge of the card is not letting the card seat properly in your system. Take a close look at that and see if it's the problem cause it's exactly what was wrong with my system as you described.
 
My XFX 5870 also didn't post when I replaced my 4870X2 with it , so I reseated it and yet again no post. So instead of screwing it into the case , I left it free in the slot and then bingo .. it posts and works fine. I decided to go back and recheck it again and I noticed that when it was screwed down the right outter edge of the PCI-E connect wasn't making full contact.

This leads me to believe my case its a bit warped or that the card is but either way I can't screw down the card which isn't a huge deal I just closed up my case and its not like I move it at all.
 
As posted, look closely at the connection once you tighten the mounting screws.
Your case might be slightly off and pulling the card back out once you fasten the back plate.
 
OK,

Took it out, gently blew out any possible dust in socket and then placed card back in. Double checked the alignment, and it's fine.

Same thing, 4 beeps. Shut off power supply, wait 5 seconds, turn back on, 0 beeps.

I think it's my PSU.

It's a BFG 550 watt from Best Buy.

With my specs, do you think I need a bigger psu? Once I do get it to boot up it runs fine. Plays MW2 and WoW perfectly.

I have 3 hd's and 2 cd rom drives in there. And yes, both 6 pin connectors are connected to the card =)


Thanks guys. I do have another PCI-X slot I could try if I have to. It'd take some work to get to it since my hd's are in the way.
 
That PSU should be plenty, but it could be on it's way south.
Have you looked at the supplied voltages while in BIOS?
 
I'll check that out.

I also downloaded GPU-Z and found this. These temps seem a little high, don't they? No OC'ing and I'm idling in WoW right now.

97611632.jpg
 
I think those temps are fine with an air-cooled card if using a non-stressful 3D application.
 
What happens if you plug back in the GTX 260 and try a cold boot?

Have you tried the 5870 in another system?
 


Are those VDDC voltages normal for an idle card without a 3D game going in the backround? Cause those seem like undervolted values to me.
 
Well I plugged my 260 back in for now and it works fine.

Could this possibly be the card itself? Not sure what else it could be. I tried the other PCI slot, no good.
 
so after you got the 5870 to work perfectly then you put back in the 260

did i miss something?
 
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did you boot into safe mode and remove all the Nvidia drivers or did you do a swap?
 
Sounds like PSU to me, I had that problem as well right before my OCZ 700w gave up the ghost. Got a Corsair 850w and everything went perfectly, I was even able to increase my OC from 3.9 to 4.2GHz.
 
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