GA890GPA-UD3H Won't post with 2 PCIe TV Cards

[Suse User]

I have a GA890GPA-UD3H (Rev2.1), bought with the intention of creating a Media/TV server. A friend bought the same board at the same time from a different retailer for the same purpose.  We chose this motherboard because it has on-board graphics and 5 PCIe slots.  I wish to put 3 Black Gold BGT3595 TV Cards in mine.

With more than 1 Black Gold PCIe TV card it won't post at all, it's fine with 1.  We can replicate the problem on his system.  He's using the latest Bios (downloaded yesterday) and mine has the shipped Bios.  We can put 2 Pinnacle 3010iX TV cards in there and it will post, but adding a 3rd one of those also results in the system not posting.

The 2 Black Gold TV cards work just fine in an alternative manufacturer motherboard my friend has, but that doesn't have enough PCIe slot for the purpose we want.

I think we may have to return the 2 motherboards but if there's any way to get this going I'd really prefer that, it's hard to find motherboards with 5 PCIe slots and onboard graphics.

Anyone have an idea what could be wrong?

Many thank,

Mark.

[Edited to add Motherboard model revision number]

[Dark Mantis]

Hi
The only thing I can think of is that it could be a power problem and if you can post what PSU you are using we can then verify if it could be that.

[Suse User]

Hi
The only thing I can think of is that it could be a power problem and if you can post what PSU you are using we can then verify if it could be that.

I don't think it's a PSU problem, the power supply in my system is a Corsair TX650W, but also tested in a system with Corsair 450W PSU.  These TV Cards have Power connectors, they don't just draw power from the PCIe slot.  450W should be ample, I have a 3.1GHz AthlonII Quad core and the other system we tested has a 3.0GHz AthlonII Quad Core.  Tested with 2 X 2GB Corsair Ram, 2 TV cards, monitor, keyboard and nothing else connected.

Black Gold BGT3595 TV Card

Pinnacle 3010iX TV Card (Shop link as I couldn't find a manufacturer's link

Thanks,

Mark.

[Dark Mantis]

No  agree. The power supplies that you have tried it with should be quite enough especailly the 650W Corsair.

[Suse User]

Anyone have any suggestions what may be wrong before I send this Motherboard back?

Thanks,

Mark.

[Dark Mantis]

No, I am afraid  don't have a lot of experience with TV cards and as far as I can see there is no reason for yours not to work but it sounds a little unusual to want to run three at once so maybe it would be worth trying on the card manufacturer's forum and see if they can help.

[Suse User]

No, I am afraid  don't have a lot of experience with TV cards and as far as I can see there is no reason for yours not to work but it sounds a little unusual to want to run three at once so maybe it would be worth trying on the card manufacturer's forum and see if they can help.

As I mentioned in my original post, my problem is specific to this motherboard, all works just fine on another motherboard from another vendor, but I have replicated the problem on 2 different GA890GPA-UD3H motherboards, and across 2 different firmware versions (including the latest).

I intend to run 3 of these cards in there eventually, this will be a server providing live & recorded TV for 5 rooms, as well as the possibility of multiple channel simultaneous recording.

I think I'm going to have to return the motherboard as having 5 PCIe slots is pointless when it won't boot with 2 populated with TV cards. The motherboard also won't post with 3 Pinnacle TV cards in there, again tested on 2 different motherboards of this model.

[Dark Mantis]

You do have both 12v 4 pin plugs inserted for the extra power by the CPU don't you?

[Suse User]

I do indeed, yes  .

[Dark Mantis]

I am afraid I am out of ideas on this then.  

Have you tried asking GGTS ?

Just enter your email address and click on the language of choice.
GGTS   http://ggts.gigabyte.com.tw/Default.aspx

[Suse User]

I am afraid I am out of ideas on this then.  

Have you tried asking GGTS ?

Just enter your email address and click on the language of choice.
GGTS   http://ggts.gigabyte.com.tw/Default.aspx

Yes, I tried support, but they're not going to help me this year...



I have no choice but to send the board back for an RMA refund.

I'll now have to make my first Non-Gigabyte motherboard purchase in recent memory, not even sure which other make(s) to trust.

Thanks anyway...

Mark.

[Dark Mantis]

No I'm afraid they are not the fastest thing on the internet but with it just coming up to Christmas as well it is a very bad time to want to contact them. The best thing is I bet athe mojority of them are not even Christians and don't actually celebrate the holiday as such.

[Tiger]

There is a limit as to how many TV Tuners the operating system supports. With Windows 7 all versions with Media Center (Home Premium, Pro & Ultimate) support four tuners of each type.

I have found in some cases the BIOS needs to be set to Plug & Play Operating System - YES.
The BIOS may confuse the TV card with a Video Card. In this case the PC starts up and runs fine but there is only a black screen. When set to Plug & Play Operating System, Windows OS not the BIOS picks the display and won't try to use the TV card as a Video Card.

[Dark Mantis]

Good point Tiger and quite feasible. Certainly worth trying.