Upgrading Optiplex 990's GPU & PSU

[Ariolander]

So, I bought an Optiplex 990 Mini Tower with the intention of popping in my Radeon HD 7970 and a PSU I'd been using in an ExpressCard adapter for my laptop.

 

I removed the HDD caddy and the card fits fine. However, with the card installed the computer doesn't boot properly. Everything spins up, but I display there is no display output from the 7970's HDMI port and I am unsure if it is POST-ing. I tried poking around in the BIOS but I didn't see any GPU related settings on the Dell Mobo.

 

The computer boots fine on integrated graphics and I know the 7970 is still good because it works on my laptop. Any troubleshooting help appreciated.

[TheGlenlivet]

4 minutes ago, Ariolander said:

So, I bought an Optiplex 990 Mini Tower with the intention of popping in my Radeon HD 7970 and a PSU I'd been using in an ExpressCard adapter for my laptop.

 

I removed the HDD caddy and the card fits fine. However, with the card installed the computer doesn't boot properly. Everything spins up, but I display there is no display output from the 7970's HDMI port and I am unsure if it is POST-ing. I tried poking around in the BIOS but I didn't see any GPU related settings on the Dell Mobo.

 

The computer boots fine on integrated graphics and I know the 7970 is still good because it works on my laptop. Any troubleshooting help appreciated.

Doublecheck all connections, including PCI power.

Reseat the Card.

Reinstall drivers using DDU to remove the current ones.

Try another GPU if you have one around?

[AresKrieger]

Whats the power output of this PSU you are using as you need at least 500W if its an i7 model, and are you using the 16x slot or the 4x that has the length of a 16x, the red marks the 16x slot, Check to see if one of the io tabs is hitting the display port/hdmi slot, and make sure the integrated graphics is disabled

(These are just general mistakes I've seen in threads on the 990, I have one next to me for reference)

Spoiler

 

[Ariolander]

24 minutes ago, AresKrieger said:

Whats the power output of this PSU you are using as you need at least 500W if its an i7 model, and are you using the 16x slot or the 4x that has the length of a 16x, the red marks the 16x slot, Check to see if one of the io tabs is hitting the display port slot, and make sure the integrated graphics is disabled

 

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I upgraded the default PSU with a Thermaltake TR2 600W.

I am using the 16x slot as the double width card wouldn't have fit in the other PCI slot due to the case size.

I am unsure about how to disable the integrated graphics as the BIOS seems pretty stripped down and doesn't have any graphics options I could see. I read its supposed to be automatic.

 

I tried reseating the card and all the power connectors.

I tried re-installing the drivers using DDU to remove the old ones.
I haven't tried testing another GPU yet but I am gonna borrow one from a friend to try that if all else fails.

[AresKrieger]

Just now, Ariolander said:

I read its supposed to be automatic

It depends, sometimes it can be wonky especially with regards to drivers I've seen people having to install drivers via the disk drive before during trouble shooting, however it should work properly I'll look at the bios to see if I can find anything, but mine is a little odd due to raid installations I also don't have a spare GPU to chuck in so I'll just be checking settings.

 

If everything is powering (fans on the gpu) on just no display I would look over the HDMI connector if you haven't already, it seems to have given a few people trouble due to the case io partially blocking pins

[AresKrieger]

So under >System Configuration>Miscellaneous Devices there is a setting Enable PCI slot, I'm not sure if it means all pci slots pcie or otherwise or if its just the 1x slot but that could be an issue, I do not see a specific bios setting for graphics however I'm running Bios A11 which is really old so that mqay have been added I'll look further in a bit.