Received Today

[pepper1729]

Hi guys/girls

Received my new PC today whilst at work.
Got home unpacked & connected up ............................. Nope, no signal to monitor and no beep on start up (all fans / lights come on)

So ...... done the search bit & found a few have suffered similar issues, so did the usual, checked wiring / connectors / leads etc.
memory and gpu both seated.

So read a little more & my current monitor (awaiting new one) is VGA so connected to motherboard as no VGA on gpu but read that you have to take out gpu if connecting to motherboard, is this correct ? and would this be why there is no beep ?

Paul


Case
CORSAIR 230T COMPACT GAMING CASE - BLUE LED
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i5-4670k Quad Core (3.40GHz @ max 4.20GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB KIT)
Graphics Card
3GB AMD RADEON™ R9 280X - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Seidon 120M High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software

 

[vanthus]

Got home unpacked & connected up ............................. Nope, no signal to monitor and no beep on start up (all fans / lights come on)

So read a little more & my current monitor (awaiting new one) is VGA so connected to motherboard as no VGA on gpu but read that you have to take out gpu if connecting to motherboard, is this correct ? and would this be why there is no beep ?

You shouldn't need to take out the dedicated GPU for the Onboard graphics to work,you may need to enable it in bios settings or device manager though.
I would double check everything is seated correctly and all connections are OK,hard dive etc.
Failing that probably best give PCS a call.

 

[mantadog]

If you are using a VGA monitor but your GPU has no VGA what kind if adapter are you using? Some don't get on well with VGA monitors when trying to use a DVI-d port on the GPU, did you try the other DVI port on the GPU? One of them should support the adapter.

if your not using a DVI adapter then I don't know what the problem could be.

Have you fully removed and re seated the GPU + all connectors. Just looking isn't good enough, needs to be taken right out and re inserted. The no beep is actually good, probably means your system is booting just fine just your monitor isn't picking up the signal.

 

[vanthus]

Some don't get on well with VGA monitors when trying to use a DVI-d port on the GPU,

That's true,it won't work because there are no analog connections on DVI-D ports

My Power Color R9 280X from PCS has a DVI-D and a DVI-I port so assuming the OP has the same ports,connecting to the DVI-I port with a DVI-A to VGA adaptor should work with a VGA monitor.
Alternatively,to connect to on board,disable the R9 280X and enable on board graphics either from BIOS settings or device manager,it may be necessary to install driver for the on board graphics from the motherboard disk if not already installed.

 

[steaky360]

Quick tip in case you can't tell which port is which

 

[pepper1729]

My current monitor is vga so I can't use gpu to test & I don’t have a adapter, still waiting for new monitor which will plug in to the gpu.
I'll try the hdmi on my tv tonight.

 

[mantadog]

Ah ok, I see...

You were trying to connect to the motherboard this whole time? Without an adapter from the GPU its not going to be displaying from the motherboard unless you go into the BIOS and tell it you want it to.

You don't have any faults with your hardware by the sounds of it, you just need to wait for the new monitors or grab an adapter, they can be had for a couple of quid online or a bit more off the high street.

 

[pepper1729]

So, got home & bought pc downstairs to plug in to TV via HDMI ....................Nope same as before.

Right, both panels off to check all connectors firmly plugged in & all ok, took out the GPU & re-fitted to make sure fully seated - nope -
took out the memory & re-fitted as per the GPU - nope - so tried with just one of the memory sticks in place - nope - then the 2nd - nope-

Scratching head now

I then lay the PC on its side to make sure the memory sticks were firmly in & whilst on its side I pressed the on button & up came the pcspecialist logo
followed by the "insert serial number" screen.

Great all working .............. BUT when I moved the PC into the upright position the screen goes blank, restart & nothing, lay PC on side & it works move it back towards upright & the screen goes blank and repeat and the same every time, REALLY

Just realised that this post is in "Check this spec" doh I meant to place it in the desktop technical questions section

 

[mantadog]

Well believe it or not that is a good thing.

Means we are probably just dealing with a loose connection. Unfortunately it happens sometimes when the PC is in transit.

Now we need to narrow down the source of the dodgy connection... In your case I think I might have an idea, you have a modular PSU and I'm going to take a wild flailing in the dark stab that the connector that powers the GPU is not seated into the PSU correctly. What your going to want to do is trace the cable back from the GPU to the PSU, unplug it fully and then re insert it. Not sure if the 280x has 2 cables but however many it has make sure you do all of em, both on the PSU end and the GPU end.
Make sure the system is fully unplugged when doing this.

if that doesn't work could you post a photo of the inside of the build. I don't know if your chassis has cable routing holes or anything but would be good to get eyes on it to see any other potential problems if the above doesn't work

 

[pepper1729]

Thanks for your reply Mantadog, I bought the vanquish 230x review system.

If you look at the review photos http://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/zardon/pcspecialist-vanquish-230x-review/2/ they pretty much mirror
what my build looks like.

I think the 280x has 2 cables, if you look at image 13 of 18 (better image in the hi-res, page 3 of review) there are 2 cables plugged into PCI-E are these the cables you are referring to ? and I take it you mean the connectors that are blue and black plugged in to the PSU

Many thanks
Paul

 

[mantadog]

Hmm yeah looks like two cables to me, so yeah you will want to remove both those and re insert em.

Basically your going to want to remove and re seat all those detachable PSU cables unless one is obviously for the GPU. I cant get a good angle on it to see whats what and I have never worked on that PSU so I have no idea what goes where if you know what I mean...

I think whats happening when you lay it on its side is the cables are pushing back through that cable routing hole and connecting to the power, lift it up and the cables are no longer pressed into place so you have no power. The possibility exists it could be a damaged cable, but that is unlikely and even if it is, it wont be a big job to get a new one sent out or you maybe already have a spare in your welcome pack.

 

[pepper1729]

Right unplugged and re-inserted those but still no joy, laid on side & it worked so placed back in upright position and I noticed that the corner where the
PCI-E cables are on the GPU did not look straight when in the upright position so I pushed up on the underside of the GPU and it raised approx. 5mm

I then restarted the PC whist holding up the corner of the GPU & it worked :yes: .......................BUT as soon as I released the GPU it dropped 5mm & the screen goes blank, I have removed the GPU and re-seated it and its as firm as it can be.

Do you think it may be a faulty GPU or possibly the connection between the motherboard & the GPU ?

 

[mantadog]

That does sound like its the GPU to me, could have been damaged in transit.

What you can do tonight to rule out any possibility that its the slot is move the GPU down into any other PCIex16 slot and see if it works. if it works without any problems then its the slot, if not its the card.

 

[pepper1729]

Thanks Mantadog, I'll try that tonight when I finish work.

 

[mantadog]

PCS would be able to send you a new one in trhe post to fit yourself, so no problems with having to send the whole system back, should be fairly straightforward if it s indeed the GPU.

 

[pepper1729]

Unfortunately when I re-fitted the GPU to the 2nd PCIex16 slot it did not work , but again when I laid the PC on its side it did work.

I repeated this a couple of times to make sure it was seated correctly and still the same outcome, On refitting the GPU to the 1st PCIex16 slot
it would not show the graphics on my TV but once laid on its side and restarted it would.

I noticed on the review, page 2 picture 5 of 18 it says

"It is important to remove the side window, as PC Specialist use sculpted foam to protect the components from movement during rough shipping. They adhere a page to the side of the case alerting the inexperienced user to the fact, so it is difficult to miss"

There was NOTHING inside my PC so my conclusion is that due to no sculpted foam to protect the components from movement the motherboard / GPU has become damaged in transit, I will have to ring pcspecialist in the morning explaining what we have done to find the fault and our conclusions (mentioning this thread) and request a RMA

 

[mantadog]

Yeah that's the best thing to do, they do not always add the foam. Not quite sure why they do/don't do it but it isn't always added for whatever reason.

It will save you a load of time on the phone by having done these troubleshooting steps, so as you say just explain to them what you tried and why you think its the GPU (which I would be incredibly surprised if it wasn't at this stage) The will send you out a new one, if you can have the old one all packaged up and ready to exchange with the courier that will save you having to send it yourself.

Let me know how you get on, should have you PC up and running before Friday if you call tomorrow.

 

[pepper1729]

Many thanks for your help / input in diagnosing this problem mantadog, Ill give them a call in the morning and explain the troubleshooting that you have helped me with and see what they say.

And yes I will let you know the outcome as I think it is always a good thing to let people know what happened

Link to a video https://www.dropbox.com/s/y5i3zf53wm2o49j/2014-03-11 20.02.01.mp4

 

[mantadog]

Yeah mate that's the GPU for sure, just had a look at the video. Those black and white vertical lines give it away. Good news though is that a new card will fix it, of that i'm sure.

 

[pepper1729]

I phoned support this morning at 09:00 and got strait through :yes: and explained the problem and our diagnosis, mentioning mantadog / this thread and the guy said "you have covered everything we would have asked you to do, You should receive a new GPU tomorrow" end of call at 09:05

I had an RMA email at 09:09 and Item despatched email at 10:23, Now that's what I call customer service.
Obviously it certainly helped in coming on to the forum and going through fault diagnosis with mantadog and I highly recommend trying this first.