Hi everyone,

I’ve been trying to build my own system, however when I boot it up I’m not getting any video output – everything seems to be functioning, but there’s nothing on the monitor. The system consists of the following components:

- ASUS P5VD2-X Motherboard
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 CPU (2.13GHz)
- Inno3d GeForce 8600 GTS DDR3 Graphics Card (256Mb)
- 512Mb DDR2 RAM (PC4200)
- 350W PSU

I don’t have a system hard drive connected to it at the moment, so I can’t tell how far it’s getting in the boot process. When I turn the system on the motherboard lights come on and the CPU and graphics card fans start spinning, but there’s no video signal. I only have the basics connected at the moment (Motherboard, CPU, Graphics Card, RAM) so it can’t be any external devices causing the problem. The graphics card is connected to a VGA monitor via the DVI-to-VGA adapter that came with the card.

The fact that the fans start spinning makes me think the problem isn’t anything to do with the CPU or graphics card, but I really don’t know. The graphics card has a 6-pin power connector at the rear which isn’t connected to anything at the moment, I’m not sure if that’s necessary or not.

Does anybody have any ideas about what the problem could be? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Steve.

Hello citizencole...

Make sure the 24pin and the 4pin motherboard connectors are connected and firmly seated. And you will need to connect the 6pin on your video card, as well.

With all those properly connected, can you get to the BIOS screen?

wannabe1

Thanks for the reply.

I've made sure the motherboard power connectors are properly connected. It may be worth pointing out that i'm using a 20-pin ATX power connector, while the motherboard has a 24-pin socket - could this perhaps be causing the problems?

I've also connected the 6-pin power connector on the graphics card to the PSU - using an adapter which converts the 6-pin socket to 2 molex plugs, which i've then connected to the PSU.

Unfortunately i'm still getting no video output. Anyone have any other ideas?

All help is greatly appreciated.

What make and model power supply are you using?

The PSU I'm using at the moment is an Eagle DR-B350ATX. I think it's pretty basic, it came with a cheapish case I bought a while ago. I've also tried the set-up with a 400W PSU which I believe is a Sumvision KY-500ATX.

Do you think the PSU could be the problem? I had assumed that if it was good enough to power up the system (i.e. get the fans spinning) it would be good enough to get it into post.

I'm thinking you're not getting power to all parts of the mainboard. I'd be willing to bet that if you use a PSU that incorporates a 24pin main power connector, your platform will fire up.

I usually recommend 500W as a minimum these days...and a good quality PSU over a cheapie any day.

I tried using the 400W PSU with the 24-pin ATX connector, but still no luck. I'm thinking I might buy a good quality 500W+ PSU in the hope that gets it working. Even if it doesn't though, it's still a good investment.

I also thought the problem could be something to do with the RAM. Do you think bad/incompatible RAM could explain the problem I've been having?