First Build, First Boot

[LiveW1R3]

ok, so I am trying to boot my first built with the following specs

EPoX 3NPA +Ultra motherboard
AMD 3800+ X2
2x1GB corsair value select DDR-DIMM, 184 pin
eGeForce 7800 GS
old Western Digital 80GB protege hard drive (salvaged from old comp)
samsung dvd/cd rom drive (also salvaged)
Antec 450W Smartpower psu

keyboard and mouse are noname, but tested and work

The problem is that the video card seems to be completely innert (no fan activity or anything) and there is no display on my monitor (which I made sure I actually turned on ). I tried to boot on the ROM CMOS setup utility by holding down delete... still nothing. Do I need to configure jumpers on my main board so that it knows where my card is? I feel mildly to severely retarded thinking that I could set this up on my own, and any help would be vastly appreciated.

[doctorgonzo]

Does the video card have a power connector that needs to be connected? Is it?

[LiveW1R3]

wow! fast reply. Uhm yea it is, and I know the wire is live... nyuk?

I am a little weirded out because there are not enough pins for the whole port/connecter thing. But the types of ports match up. I think this is normal, but it is disconcerting.

Any more thoughts?

Oh the comptuer is built OUTSIDE the case right now. I thought I would preemptively troubleshoot

[doctorgonzo]

Originally Posted by LiveW1R3 I am a little weirded out because there are not enough pins for the whole port/connecter thing. But the types of ports match up. I think this is normal, but it is disconcerting.

Umm, what do you mean by this exactly? This certainly doesn't sound right.

[LiveW1R3]

So, the port is very long PCI-E VGA slot, which is right for the GeForce graphics card that I have. However, one end of the slot is unocupied by the card, ie, no connection to the card

[LiveW1R3]

Oh ****, my video card says that it is EVGA. Do I need to shoot myself immediately???

[doctorgonzo]

No, I'm pretty sure that card is PCI-E. EVGA is a brand, not a connector.

[LiveW1R3]

OK. There are two PCI-E slots but they are entirely too small. The card pretty clearly needs to fit into the PCI-E VGA slot, if any of them, but this still leaves me with a computer that boots without any posts to the monitor

[doctorgonzo]

Are you sure that's the right model number for the motherboard? I can't find anything on that particular number. Could it be a 9NPA+Ultra?

[LiveW1R3]

Yes, typo. 9NPA + Ultra AMD socket 939

[Grater]

The 7800GS is AGP, which that motherboard doesn't have. It has PCI-e.

[LiveW1R3]

Thought I should clarify the problem: everything seems to boot up fine , CD and hard drive, the cpu fan. My LCD display runs through a bunch of numbers and then sits on 75 for a second before switching to 7F (7f means waiting for input?). Everything still seems to be humming but there is no monitor activity and no video card activity.

[LiveW1R3]

Damnit. Yea, I knew something didn;t look right. I should get the GT not the GS. Garbage

Thanks all

[Mesaeus]

um, did you manage to insert an AGP card in a pci-e slot ? I didn't even know that was physically possible. Let's hope nothing was fried...