GeForce 7950GT AGP8X on Asus P4C800-E Deluxe?

[ladynred56]

Let's start by saying that, yes, this is a 'dated' system, but I'm not in the market for a newer system right now.

Soo.. here's my question then. :)

The pc has an Asus P4C800-E Deluxe mobo in it, AMI BIOS version 1017, with an AGP 8x pro video slot. It also has a 600W power supply in it (original was a 480W). It's running WinXP SP3.

I have been running an nVidia 7300GT 512MB DDR2 card in it for the last 3 years, with zero problems, but a couple of months ago it developed a problem. So, I purchased the nVidia 7950GT 512MB/256 DDR3 card to replace the dying 7300 card. The problem is, with the 7950GT installed (yes, all power cables connected) the pc won't even get to POST - lights come on, fans come on, but that's as far as it goes. I made sure everything was seated well, the extra power is firmly connected, etc.. The display just says 'no signal'.

So, I took the card out and put the 7300 back in and when the pc comes back up, there's a BIOS message that says 'overclocking failed.. run setup... '. I run setup, don't need to make any changes since this machine has never been overclocked, Save and Exit and the machine boots up normally. I did this twice and the same thing happened both times so it's not a fluke.

So, my question is, what could the problem be with the 7950GT and this mobo? Is a BIOS updated needed? Do I need to change some BIOS setting? Is this card just not compatible with this mobo?

Any insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[rockinup1231]

Well, there should be no problem with onboard graphics chipsets taking precedence over your graphics card, since I see nothing of the sort built into the motherboard.

I think your best bet would be to find another AGP compatible motherboard (if possible) and test this graphics card with it to see if you encounter similar results. Typically most AGP 8x graphics cards are backwards compatible with AGP 4x and the like, so that should not be an issue if that is all you can obtain for testing (unless the slot or the card are not universal).

Otherwise, you could try a BIOS update if you're comfortable doing so, although it may accomplish very little. If you can't find another motherboard to test the graphics card on and don't want to try a BIOS update (or it does not improve the situation), your card may be a dud and need replacement.

Although I am curious; did you replace the power supply at the same time you installed the new card? If so, you may want to see if you can at least get the system to post with the old power supply.

P.S.: AGP Pro slots are bigger than your typical AGP slot, but normal AGP cards should fit in the center of the slot and work properly regardless. So it is unlikely to be an issue there if you have seated the card correctly.