new GPU not working in Acer M3970...?

Scubaguy
Scubaguy Member Posts: 8

Tinkerer
in Legacy Desktops
I have an M3970 desktop, not new by any means, but it has an i7-3770 in it and I've been gradually upgrading over the years. e.g. - 2x the ram, added and SSD drive.
It performs pretty well for regular stuff and i'm all about preserving it as long as I can vs. buying new ones every few years. 

For a GPU it has an older ADM HD 7470. I've actually even done video editing with it, but it's dated by any measure now and I thought a new GPU would nicely update my PC for a while.
I grabbed an ASUS geforce GTX1050ti... not crazy but with the prices today, I grabbed it for a nice price and according to some sites I checked would prove to be a nice update over my old HD.

I swapped it out... and the the computer won't come up. It starts to boot, shows the ACER flash on the screen like normal, but then just goes black. It will emit a single beep every 20s or so, and windows never comes up.

I've read a bunch of posts on this and other forums, but I don't find something exactly matching my description. Here's what I did...
- used a utility to verify my power usage beforehand.  148w... that's well under 300w, so I figured the 1050ti is pretty reasonable at 75w. that's only about 50w over the HD card, so I should only be around 225w. Not a strain by any means.
- i verified in the bios  UEFI mode.
- checked and double checked the mounting onto the board in case I didn't insert it properly.

When I take it out and reinsert the old card, all is fine.

Grateful for help!  ...thks.

Answers

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,206 Trailblazer
    The Aspire M3970 models were right in the cusp between Legacy Boot (Win 7 early) and UEFI Boot (late Win 7 and after). I believe they defaulted to Legacy and yours is likely still setup that way. The newer GPUs, such as the NVIDIA 10xx series, require UEFI to initialize properly and won't work on a Legacy system. Check to see if you have UEFI settings in the BIOS. If you do the solution is to reinstall the OS using a GPT configured drive and UEFI. That will allow the card to work. You don't tell us if you are still running W7 or if you have upgraded to W8/W8.1 or W10. If you are running W10 I'd do a system backup, wipe the SSD, reinstall W10 in UEFI mode, then restore the backup. That should keep your data and apps active while going to the new drive geometry and BIOS type.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Scubaguy
    Scubaguy Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    Thks... I neglected that part.  SInce I did an SSD upgrade i reinstalled the OS. Rather than use the 'recovery' disks, I downloaded a copy of WIN10 (i.e.- generic without all the acer crafty stuff atop). I installed that and I've verified it's already in UEFI.  (i.e. - so when I installed WIN10 about a year ago when I did the SSD).

  • Scubaguy
    Scubaguy Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    Confirmed: GPT also
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,206 Trailblazer
    Yeah, it has to be in GPT to boot UEFI... Your PCIe x16 slot is 2.0, I wonder if that affects the card. It should work but at a slower bus speed than a 3.0 slot would provide.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,142 Trailblazer
    Scubaguy said:
    I have an M3970 desktop, not new by any means, but it has an i7-3770 in it and I've been gradually upgrading over the years. e.g. - 2x the ram, added and SSD drive.
    It performs pretty well for regular stuff and i'm all about preserving it as long as I can vs. buying new ones every few years. 

    For a GPU it has an older ADM HD 7470. I've actually even done video editing with it, but it's dated by any measure now and I thought a new GPU would nicely update my PC for a while.
    I grabbed an ASUS geforce GTX1050ti... not crazy but with the prices today, I grabbed it for a nice price and according to some sites I checked would prove to be a nice update over my old HD.

    I swapped it out... and the the computer won't come up. It starts to boot, shows the ACER flash on the screen like normal, but then just goes black. It will emit a single beep every 20s or so, and windows never comes up.

    I've read a bunch of posts on this and other forums, but I don't find something exactly matching my description. Here's what I did...
    - used a utility to verify my power usage beforehand.  148w... that's well under 300w, so I figured the 1050ti is pretty reasonable at 75w. that's only about 50w over the HD card, so I should only be around 225w. Not a strain by any means.
    - i verified in the bios  UEFI mode.
    - checked and double checked the mounting onto the board in case I didn't insert it properly.

    When I take it out and reinsert the old card, all is fine.

    Grateful for help!  ...thks.

    Yes the format of your M3970 desktop could be an issue as billsey is saying but first I would suggest that you try another more powerful or newer PSU like an ATX 550W to drive this more power demanding GTX 1050 Ti even though this cards suggested PSU is 300W, it could be that there is a problem with your old PSU.


  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,206 Trailblazer
    The GTX 1050 ti requires a 300W supply, and the M3970 comes with 300W, so it shouldn't be that unless the supply itself is failing.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Scubaguy
    Scubaguy Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    Hi all... update.  sadly, i returned the gpu.  
    Like mentioned above... i checked all.. gpt mode, uefi, verified the volumes, the bios mode etc. etc. even did the wattage calc.
    i grew increasingly suspicious that maybe the gpu itself was defective. i looked further at the packaging -- no CD in it with drivers, no case stickers etc... looked a bit suspicious.. like something repackaged and sent out, so... wait for refund.

    i'm wondering though... still curious re my system.  thinking about ordering something more middle of the road.. just to see if a bit older card might have some success.

    recap: have AMD HD 7470

    nogo: asus 1050ti

    option: i found a zotac geforce zone edition (based on nvidia gt730); i found the 4gb (less prominent than the 2gb)... not a 1050, but wondering if it might be a worthy upgrade from the 7470?

    i.e. - is it even worth the $$ ???
  • Scubaguy
    Scubaguy Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    update... so following from above, i returned the 1050ti. i thought the 710/730 wasn't enough upgrade to make it worth it.
    i bought a zotac gt 1030 (2Gb). i got a good deal and it was fair more performance than the old AMD hd. 

    tried it... same thing. doesn't get past the banner screen... and the periodic beeps.
    this one was nice too because it's 25w (old one) vs. 30w (this one)... close enough that i think i could rule out power supply.

    at my end.  magic answers?

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,206 Trailblazer
    So it could be a PCIe 2.0 vs 3.0 issue then. I really don't think it's power related.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Scubaguy
    Scubaguy Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    but pci 2 /3 are supposed to be backward compatible?  ie seemless
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,206 Trailblazer
    Yes, they are supposed to be, but that doesn't mean everyone has followed spec in their board designs. :(
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Scubaguy
    Scubaguy Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    Checked the bios... was P03-A1 and updated successfully to P03-A3. I believe the latest possible.

    No go. Card still won't let windows come up.

    Board is s1155 from acer m3970-eb15 model

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