ATi Radeon 4870 not working

[SuRpRiZ3]

Hi there

I am having issues with my ATI Radeon 4870 1GB graphics card.

History:

The graphics card was bought and installed by a computer shop 4+ years ago with a new power supply. Has worked ever since with no issues at all; however a couple of months ago the computer would no longer turn on at all; I was overseas at the time and the family could no longer use it.

When I returned, after using a power supply tester I found the PSU had died. I bought the exact same model, though slightly different now, but same specs. I have installed it – now the computer turns on, but the graphics card no longer operates as it should. I did not touch anything else, simply took out the old PSU and replaced it with the new.

I get on the monitor a ‘no signal’ when attempting to use either of the two DVI ports from the graphics card, but the computer boots normally. I’m now using the VGA on-board port to type to you. There are no red lights showing under the graphics card, but the fan is on but rather noisy from start-up and eventually after a while (i.e 15 mins) the card slows the fan down and is quiet.

The steps I have taken are:

Reset BIOS by removing the battery for several seconds and replacing it

Taken out and tested all the RAM one at the time

Taken out the graphics card and placed back in. Computer works with and without the card installed.

Reset new thermal paste on both the CPU and graphics card CPU

Doubled checked all plugs were in


Here are my computer’s specs:

Silverstone SST-ST60F-ES 600W Power Supply (More than enough for it, and brand new!)

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 @ 2.6GHz

2x 1GB DDR2 & 2x 512 MB RAM

My novice understanding and researching on the internet has lead me to believe it is either:

A) Graphics card has died, though no lights show (apparently if they do, it has died)

B) The motherboard has an issue

I'm unable to find another desktop to test the card in...

I would love for your diagnostic on this on my next steps to get this sorted.

Many thanks

[dugimodo]

You definately connected the power supply to the graphics card then? it won't work without that connection.
Also check the BIOS has the add in graphics card set as the primary one.

Otherwise you really need another graphics card to try - even a really basic one, or like you mention another desktop to try your card in.
I keep a few spare parts around large because of how difficult it is to diagnose anything without them, you may have to either take it somewhere to get looked at or take a punt and buy a new card or motherboard.

[SuRpRiZ3]

Hi dugimodo

Thanks for your response!

As you advised, I bought another graphics card:

Sapphire Radeon HD 6570 Video Card, 2048MB, DDR3, PCIe-16, CrossFire

Received it this morning, put it in, uninstalled all other graphic drivers and installed the new ones. Works perfectly without a hitch!

So I'm going to assume it's the graphics card, but will keep it and when I do another big upgrade, I'll test the card out on a new motherboard and if it still has issues, I'll know the graphics card has carked it and throw it out.

Thanks for your suggestion, it's worked.

Solved! :)

God Bless - and a late Merry ChrisTmas to you!

[pctek]

It's stuffed.
Other components can and are often damaged by faulty PSUs, I had a GPU damaged by PSU once, the card initially was OK, but later died. It happens.

[ChazTheGeek]

A very sad situation...