New graphics cards do not make it past POST screen

[Gartock]

Hello everyone!

I recently decided to upgrade my old GTX 460 1 gig (gigabyte card) to something a little more capable.

I bought a Gigabyte GTX 760 OC card and installed it on my Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H motherboard (rev. 1.0, BIOS 12), made sure the two power connectors (6+8pin) were connected, and powered on the system only to be greeted by my POST screen and then nothing more. No boot, and I couldnt even enter BIOS since no keys seem to be working. After about a minute on the POST screen the screen turns black with a white blinking prompt in the upper left corner.

I tried several times more and tried reseating it, but only got the same thing.

I then installed my old GTX 460 again, and everything boots fine. Figured the GTX 760 was faulty and returned it to the retailer. They tested it and found no fault with it but were kind enough to let me replace it anyway with another card. I chose a GTX 660 figuring it was older and perhaps had less compatibility issues with my GA-Z77-D3H motherboard.

Unfortunately the issue persists in exactly the same manner with the Gigabyte GTX 660 OC card that I brought home as a replacement.

Now Im wondering what to do next. What could be the issue here? I have enough power to power any of the cards (a Corsair TX550M which is a quality PSU) and the 760 only draw 10 more W than the 460 which has been rock solid for me. The 660 doesnt even draw what the 460 does.

Is there some setting I need to change to make newer graphics cards work with my motherboard? I read something about PCI ROM setting changes but if I change that i have to reformat the computer it seems? Should i flash the motherboard BIOS? I can find no information on what support has been added in the BIOS versions for the GA-Z77-D3H since r12 to r18 (which seem to be the latest non beta BIOS, but it seems to predate the Kepler architecture anyway).

Any ideas?

[oilman]

Put in your old card to get to bios. Change PCI ROM setting from EFI ROM to Legacy ROM. Reinstall new card and it should work.  I had the same problem when I upgraded to GTX 770 OC and this fixed it. Many people are having the same issue with the newer cards.  You do not need to reformat anything when you change this, I changed it and my GTX 770 and the rest of my system has worked flawlessly.

[Gartock]

Thanks for the advice. I returned the card so unfortunately I can't test if this works, but I have seen similar stories on other forums now so it probably is the solution. I will order a new card in the not so distant future and hope this method will solve the problem if it appears again.

If anyone else has any thoughts on the subject feel free to share them

[Gartock]

Thank you Oilman!

I followed your advice and set the PCI ROM Boot Order to Legacy and it worked like a charm with the new GTX 760 card I bought today. The machine now boots fine with the new graphics card. Hopefully others who may encounter this problem will find this thread and be able to fix the issue as well.

[jacob374]

I have seen similar stories on other forums now so it probably is the solution.  Reinstall new card and it should work.  I had the same problem when I upgraded to GTX 770 OC and this fixed it. Many people are having the same issue with the newer cards. 

[GratianHarris]

I don't know that much about POST but does it make one beep or nothing at all?