7950 not working only on specific motherboard

JadWS · Dec 31, 2016

Hey there,
First thing first I wanted to wish all of you a happy new year,
Long story short, my motherboard ran into some problems which lead to my computer crashing all the time, so I a bought a new motherboard ( msi H61M-P32/W8 ), every thing seems to work fine at first, and I even managed to format my computer and install most of my desired programs until the next day, my motherboard for some reason was no longer able to detect my graphics card (msi 7950 ).
So with the help of my friend we ran some tests.
So we did test my graphics card on both my system and my brother's system.
For the first trial my motherboard did not detect my 7950 and it displayed a black screen on boot.
We then in the second trial placed the 7950 in my brother's computer and it did boot up with no problems and even reached the desktop, this is where we installed the drivers and preformed a stress test, the 7950 did a great job.
For the third trial we plugged my brother's 980Ti to my motherboard and it did as well boot up with no problems and it did reach the desktop and even survive a stress test with no problems.
At this point we tried to plug the 7950 in my motherboard again and as expected it was giving a black screen and it was not being detected.
By these tests we managed to make sure that the 7950 was working fine, on other motherboards it had no problems running, and my motherboard was fine as well as it had no problem running my brother's 980Ti.
For some reason I am facing problems with my 7950 only when I try to run it on my motherboard.
After few hours of testing and switching between systems I plugged my 7950 to my motherboard and we tried to reset BIOS settings, it did not work, then we tried to downgrade BIOS version from 10.11 to 10.10 and then 10.9, 10.8, 10,7 and finally 10.6, same result, black screen on boot and the 7950 was not detected.
We tried to flash the newest version of BIOS again and tried to reboot it, nothing changed.
Finally I managed to run my computer using a VGA cable connected to my motherboard all while my plugged in 7950 is not even detected by my system.
So if any one of you know what other solutions I could try or have any idea on why this is happening, I'd really appreciate the effort.
Thanks for reading.

Mussels · Dec 31, 2016

Its one of two things:

1. Your systems PSU is not up to the task (not likely, but possible)

2. your motherboard is definitely too old for UEFI, its possible the AMD card requires it and the nvidia does not. If it has a BIOS switch, change the setting in case the secondary BIOS is compatible.

JadWS · Dec 31, 2016

Mussels said:
Its one of two things:

1. Your systems PSU is not up to the task (not likely, but possible)

2. your motherboard is definitely too old for UEFI, its possible the AMD card requires it and the nvidia does not. If it has a BIOS switch, change the setting in case the secondary BIOS is compatible.

Thanks for the reply, I can assure you we tested the psu and it can handle this task easily, I use it to power my brother's computer and trust me if it can run that computer it could run mine, after all the tests Id say that it is more of a BIOS problem, could you please elaborate more about the second point you made ?

jboydgolfer · Dec 31, 2016

Mussels said:
Its one of two things:

1. Your systems PSU is not up to the task (not likely, but possible)

2. your motherboard is definitely too old for UEFI, its possible the AMD card requires it and the nvidia does not. If it has a BIOS switch, change the setting in case the secondary BIOS is compatible.

IMO #2 ^^^^^
I had a similar issue with a 7970LCS on my older 1155 Z68 extreme 3 Gen 3. it either had to do with the UEFI, or the PCI-e revision Ver.

got around the issue by installing the GPU in a different PCI-E slot in the same problem board

Mussels · Dec 31, 2016

I'm not too clear on the details myself, but UEFI boards require a video card that is UEFI compatible or you wont get an image - it seems like the other way around might be whats happening for you, with the board being too old.

look for a BIOS switch on the top of the AMD card, change its position with the system off and see if it helps - and dont forget to try updating the video cards BIOS on your brothers machine, before trying it again in yours

JadWS · Dec 31, 2016

jboydgolfer said:
IMO #2 ^^^^^
I had a similar issue with a 7970LCS on my older 1155 Z68 extreme 3 Gen 3. it either had to do with the UEFI, or the PCI-e revision Ver.

Well I did try to search for an answer concerning these settings but I can assure you we tried to test it in every set of settings possible, maybe we missed something? If you could explain more that would be really appreciated, thanks.

Mussels said:
I'm not too clear on the details myself, but UEFI boards require a video card that is UEFI compatible or you wont get an image - it seems like the other way around might be whats happening for you, with the board being too old.

look for a BIOS switch on the top of the AMD card, change its position with the system off and see if it helps - and dont forget to try updating the video cards BIOS on your brothers machine, before trying it again in yours

Already done so and tested it on both settings, I mean we hit a solid brick wall trying every thing, even researched for hours ( not exaggeration ) , but we might have missed some things just to make sure I needed to know if there was any other kind of direct solution or if any one had any direct link I can test from a certain version of BIOS or so... Hoped to meet someone that had gone through the same thing so he might be able to help me.
Thanks for replying.

jboydgolfer · Dec 31, 2016

JadWS said:
Well I did try to search for an answer concerning these settings but I can assure you we tried to test it in every set of settings possible, maybe we missed something? If you could explain more that would be really appreciated, thanks.

Already done so and tested it on both settings, I mean we hit a solid brick wall trying every thing, even researched for hours ( not exaggeration ) , but we might have missed some things just to make sure I needed to know if there was any other kind of direct solution or if any one had any direct link I can test from a certain version of BIOS or so... Hoped to meet someone that had gone through the same thing so he might be able to help me.
Thanks for replying.

Did you install the 7950 in every PCI E slot in the motherboard that's giving you trouble?

Also going into that motherboards bios and changing which revision of the PCI E it's using, sounds exactly like what I went through with my old 7970

Mussels · Dec 31, 2016

you can try the BIOS switch, yuou can try other PCI-E slots if you have them, you can update the BIOS for your card (every card is different and you havent given the exact model of yours, it'll be faster for you to search for it) - or you can buy a replacement card that works. the board is very old and compatibility is simply hit and miss with modern hardware.

JadWS · Dec 31, 2016

jboydgolfer said:
Did you install the 7950 in every PCI E slot in the motherboard that's giving you trouble?

It has only one slot, and that slot worked fine when I tried to install other gpus

jboydgolfer · Dec 31, 2016

Mine worked fine too when i installed OTHER GPU's , but as you can see for yourself, it isnt working so fine when you install That GPU(every GPU BUT the 79xx worked in that board). im just sharing what I did in this situation, you only having a single PCI-e slot might mean your S.O.L in respect to this issue + that board, i dunno , but that was my solution, and your issue sounds pretty similar.

best of luck

CAPSLOCKSTUCK · Dec 31, 2016

My 7970 works fine with ASUS ROG ii socket 1366 which is older tech than yours. Its not a h/w compatability issue.

fill in your specs please
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/account/specs

jboydgolfer · Dec 31, 2016

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:
My 7970 works fine with ASUS ROG ii socket 1366 which is older tech than yours. Its not a h/w compatability issue.

fill in your specs please
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/account/specs

i went through this with an 1155 MoBo, and trouble shoot'd it for a While, and the only solution was use a diff board, or drop it into another PCI-e slot, it sounds loco, but it IS indeed whyat the case is/was , even spoke with Asrock support.

unless OP is dealing with a diff issue

CAPSLOCKSTUCK · Dec 31, 2016

I have the Gigabyte H61m and didnt have a problem with any card i put in it.

Mussels · Dec 31, 2016

motherboard has BIOS updates specifically mentioning GPU compatibility:

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/H61M-P32W8.html#support_download

"- Improved PCI- E display card compatibility."

JadWS · Dec 31, 2016

Mussels said:
motherboard has BIOS updates specifically mentioning GPU compatibility:

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/H61M-P32W8.html#support_download

"- Improved PCI- E display card compatibility."

As said before in the post we pretty much tried every single version, still nothing, the problem is that the gpu was working fine just yesterday, no idea what happened.

jboydgolfer · Dec 31, 2016

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:
I have the Gigabyte H61m and didnt have a problem with any card i put in it.

Yeah I'm not saying that it's every P 55 or Z 68 motherboard I'm just speaking from personal experience that's it. When I used the 7970 on my extreme3 z68, it just would not recognize the gpu, I spoke with asrock Support , they had me doing bios updates and a number of other things.it was actually @Norton Who suggested I drop it down into one of the other X 16 slots and sure enough it worked as ridiculous as it sounds it worked. And that doesn't mean all newer cards dont work , the only one I had an issue with was the 7970, my 970 worked perfectly.

I no longer have that 7970, but it just seemed like a similar issue to what I experienced so I figured I'd share my solution with the op

i actually found a Bunch of threads from all over the interwebz regarding users of My old MoBo + 7970/7950's.

Here
http://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/49199-hd-7970-recognized-z68-extreme3-gen3.html

Z77 here
http://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/...eme-6-doesnt-detect-sapphire-hd-7850-gpu.html

Here Z68
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=359578

Z68 here
http://www.overclock.net/t/1220296/new-build-asrock-z68-extreme-3-gen-3-not-detecting-video-card

maybe its just Asrock boards

i dunno

Mussels · Dec 31, 2016

ironically i have that z68 extreme 3 gen 3, and ran 7970 crossfire on it problem free - but i know both my cards had UEFI support, and it was on a UEFI BIOS (iirc, 7970's could go either way with UEFI or BIOS, hence the switch discussion)

Aquinus · Dec 31, 2016

Mussels said:
UEFI boards require a video card that is UEFI compatible or you wont get an image

That is a very generalized and in my experience, an inaccurate statement. My P9X79 Deluxe is UEFI and my old 6870s were not and I had zero problem running them. Just saying. I suspect that dynamic changes when you put a UEFI GPU into a legacy BIOS motherboard.

Mussels · Dec 31, 2016

Aquinus said:
That is a very generalized and in my experience, an inaccurate statement. My P9X79 Deluxe is UEFI and my old 6870s were not and I had zero problem running them. Just saying. I suspect that dynamic changes when you put a UEFI GPU into a legacy BIOS motherboard.

i'm not 100% on the details and may have small inaccuracies - but there is mobo and GPU Compatibility issues that exist regarding UEFI and BIOS support.

dorsetknob · Dec 31, 2016

MSI 1366 Non EUFI motherboard here and Saphire R9 280x Graphics Card works just fine with graphics card Bios Sw in either position
it also function just fine with a duel Sw bios HD 7850 club edition

Aquinus · Dec 31, 2016

Mussels said:
but there is mobo and GPU Compatibility issues that exist regarding UEFI and BIOS support.

For some motherboards, sure but, I wouldn't say that UEFI/Legacy is the problem but, rather an incompatibility with the motherboard if it is happening on the same boards but, not others.

Simply put, don't throw UEFI under the bus when it probably has a lot more to do with its implementation on problematic motherboards.

eidairaman1 · Jan 1, 2017

Update that motherboard bios to latest stable or Beta (if they even have a beta version).

The other thing to do is bench run the motherboard with GPU out of the case. 7900 series were some of the last to have CSM as its main bios, I had this issue with a R7 250X and a k8V-XE. Had to get a 6450 (7400 Series) thanks to the help of @cdawall and it booted just fine.

cdawall · Jan 1, 2017

eidairaman1 said:
Update that motherboard bios to latest stable or Beta (if they even have a beta version).

The other thing to do is bench run the motherboard with GPU out of the case. 7900 series were some of the last to have CSM as its main bios, I had this issue with a R7 250X and a k8V-XE. Had to get a 6450 (7400 Series) thanks to the help of @cdawall and it booted just fine.

Yea this sounds like the same thing. There is probably a legacy bios around for the 79xx

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
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VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
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Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

System Name	Americas cure is the death of Social Justice & Political Correctness
Processor	i7-11700K
Motherboard	Asrock Z590 Extreme wifi 6E
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A
Memory	32GB Corsair RGB fancy boi 5000
Video Card(s)	RTX 3090 Reference
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 1Tb + Samsung 970 Evo 500Gb
Display(s)	Dell - 27" LED QHD G-SYNC x2
Case	Fractal Design Meshify-C
Audio Device(s)	on board
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus+ Gold 1000 Watt
Mouse	Logitech G502 spectrum
Keyboard	AZIO MGK-1 RGB (Kaith Blue)
Software	Win 10 Professional 64 bit
Benchmark Scores	the MLGeesiest

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

System Name	Americas cure is the death of Social Justice & Political Correctness
Processor	i7-11700K
Motherboard	Asrock Z590 Extreme wifi 6E
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A
Memory	32GB Corsair RGB fancy boi 5000
Video Card(s)	RTX 3090 Reference
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 1Tb + Samsung 970 Evo 500Gb
Display(s)	Dell - 27" LED QHD G-SYNC x2
Case	Fractal Design Meshify-C
Audio Device(s)	on board
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus+ Gold 1000 Watt
Mouse	Logitech G502 spectrum
Keyboard	AZIO MGK-1 RGB (Kaith Blue)
Software	Win 10 Professional 64 bit
Benchmark Scores	the MLGeesiest

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

System Name	Party On
Processor	Xeon w 3520
Motherboard	DFI Lanparty
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Video Card(s)	HD 7970
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Audio Device(s)	seperate amp and 6 big speakers
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Mouse	cheap
Keyboard	under going restoration

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Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Logitech G915, GL Clicky
Software	MacOS 15.3.1

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Processor	AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard	Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling	Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory	16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s)	NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case	AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s)	Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply	Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard	Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software	Windows 7 Pro 64

System Name	Moving into the mobile space
Processor	7940HS
Motherboard	HP trash
Cooling	HP trash
Memory	2x8GB
Video Card(s)	4070 mobile
Storage	512GB+2TB NVME
Display(s)	some 165hz thing that isn't as nice as it sounded

7950 not working only on specific motherboard

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