Need help please

[jd10013]

just bought a new video card, but cant get it to work. first, the system is a dell xps 8300, intel i7 2600, 8 gigs of ram, and a corsair cx 600 psu i put in a couple years back. the card is a msi r7 370. the problem, when i put the card in and connect the 6 pin connect the light comes on and the fans start to run. but that's it. the monitor doesn't comes on, and I don't think the pc is even booting. the reason I don't think it is, is when i push the power button it goes off immediately. usually, i have to hold the button in to shut it down. anybody have any idea what's wrong? when I hook the old card back up it works fine, as does the integrated graphics when i take the card out. have tried removing all drivers and restarting. does the fact the motherboard is PCi-e 2.0 and the card 3.0 have anything to do with it?

 

[johnb35]

No the pci version doesn't matter. However, Some dells have a limit as to what video card can be installed. You might want to verify the card works in a different system first though.

 

[jd10013]

ok, here's where it gets really bizarre. I went ahead (actually, before you replied) and just for spits and giggles did just that and put it in my (probably) 8 yr old POS dell inspiron with a (i think) 2.8 ghz core 2 duo and three gigs of ram. and son of a B, the damn thing worked. because there are no vista drivers for it, the computer cant detect it or in stall drivers for it, but it works using a generic vga adapter. how in the hell does that card work on that ancient POS computer and not (know it's not the greatest thing in the world) my much newer, and until now problem free, XPS? I don't get it

 

[johnb35]

Try reinserting the card in the 8300, making sure its fully seated and try again. Other than that you can try resetting the cmos.

 

[jd10013]

Tried putting it in a few times, didn't do anything. The funny thing is, though I can't see what's going on, it doesn't load windows as I never hear the stupid little startup music. And how do u reset the CMOS, and how likely is that to work?

 

[voyagerfan99]

And how do u reset the CMOS, and how likely is that to work?

Unplug the power cable and remove the little button battery on the motherboard. Hold down the power button for 10 seconds, replace battery and power cord, and power up.

 

[johnb35]

I remember trying to put a 256mb video card into an older dell and it wouldn't boot up with it installed. Tried with a 128mb card and it worked. So I'm assuming this machine has a video memory limit. Do you have the 2gb or 4gb version of the card? I'm assuming its the 4gb version and the 2gb version would most likely work.

Also what bios version is installed?

 

[jd10013]

ok, bios version is A04, thats from the setup screen. and the card is 4 gb version. but what blows my mind about this is how the card actually works in my older, lower end, inspiron desktop.

 

[johnb35]

The latest version is A06 but it doesn't say anything about allowing higher ram video cards.

 

[jd10013]

Vso u think that's what it is?

 

[johnb35]

I would suspect yeah. Do you know of anyone with a 2gb card you can try in it?

 

[jd10013]

no, but i had a 6870, 1 gb in there and it worked fine. I'm still flabbergasted by this. no so much that my 4yr old MB in a dell computer would have a problem with a fairly new card, I get that. but I just cant get over how it works in a much older POS inspiron desktop. anybody care to explain that to me?

 

[jd10013]

I think I figured this out. according to some stuff I found on a dell MB, it's a bios issue. I don't really know what this means, some cards only have a UEFI BIOS on them, and the older dells do not have a UEFI BIOS, making them incompatible.

 

[johnb35]

Your older dell inspiron doesn't have a uefi bios either. You can try installing the latest bios but I doubt that will do anything.

 

[beers]

UEFI cards also support legacy BIOS setups, you just won't be using features like GOP for fast boot.

 

[jd10013]

UEFI cards also support legacy BIOS setups, you just won't be using features like GOP for fast boot.

I thought about that, but at any rate, there seems to be a compatibility issue with the 8300 and some cards. Sometimes it even comes down to brand

 

[jd10013]

It's 16, and had, well, still have, an 6870 in it. But will check that

 

[jd10013]

Here are a few more of the screens

 

[johnb35]

What options are under system configuration?