GA-Z68X-UD5-B3: HD 6970 not detected

[mantismu]

Just got my new build up and running on the weekend:

i7 2600K
Gigabyte Z68X-UD5-B3 (F7 BIOS currently)
2 x Sapphire HD 6970 (for crossfire)
Antec CP-850 PSU (850w)

Everything up and running nicely except the newer Sapphire HD 6970 isn't detected by the motherboard, yet the older 6970 is.

Non detected card: http://tinyurl.com/5wbqh5h
Detected working card: http://tinyurl.com/3cmkaa4

So naturally since both cards are virtually identical, and one works fine and the other doesn't, I thought one was a DOA.

This morning I took the non-working card back to the seller and they tried it in a PC there (not sure what motherboard) and it was working fine!

I'm at a loss at what more troubleshooting I can do.

Symptoms of the non-working card:

- On power up gfx card fans run at FULL
- No video signal from any ports
- Card not detected at all in device manager

My troubleshooting so far

- tried the card on its own, in all slots. No change
- reset CMOS on motherboard
- updated BIOS on motherboard
- tried earlier BIOS revisions on motherboard
- tried different PSU cables
- Boot with only 1 RAM slot installed

Now remember the other Sapphire HD 6970 is running beautifully on this motherboard. I just can't understand why the newer one isn't!

Again, the non-working card tested fine at the PC shop this morning when installed on a different motherboard.

Now before I go and order a new card is there anything I'm missing? Is there 6970 compatibility issues with this board/bios?

[Aussie Allan]

  mantismu 

Try uninstalling video drivers completely.....I mean everything you can find then shutdown.............install both cards ......install bridge and boot to Bois and hit optimized defaults and reboot........del key to Bios again and reconfigure for your system as before......save and boot back to windows and reinstall video drivers including crossfire drivers.....report back with what happened!..........if you can get back in to both cards ....check GPU Bios version ........should be the same!......if not, flash to latest!


 Aussie Allan

[mantismu]

Thanks for the reply.

Well after trying a new Power Supply from a machine at work I finally figured out the issue.... I pulled out my PCI Mini Express Wifi card.

Yup, that fixed it.

The damn Broadcomm wireless N PCI mini card was causing the new HD 6970 to freak out!

Still it's strange that it interfered with only one of the cards.

Both cards are working great now and I'm running in Crossfire. I've tried plugging the Wireless cards back in but it caused that same 6970 to fail again.

[Aussie Allan]

  mantismu

  Would have been nice to know about the other PCI card! ......Oh well.........As far as why it affects one card and not the next......the PC god works in mysterious ways........But it could be a different Bios version on the card.......that's where my money is......that or.........

  Might even be an I/O conflict applicable to just one of the PCI-E ports

  Aussie Allan

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

Well I am glad that it was all sorted out in the end ok but this is a prime example of why it is often necessary to list all the hardware when faultfinding. I know some people can't understand why you ask for it when it is only a single card or whatever seemingly at fault.