Asus 8800GT not supported by Asrock 775dual / via chipsets

[djgandy]

Official response from Asrock.


Dear Sir,

The nVidia 8800GT PCIE VGA card is GEN2 mode VGA card.
Unfortunately VIA PT880 PRO/Ultra chipset does not support GEN2 mode VGA card.
The only solution is to set 8800GT PCIE VGA card to GEN1mode.
We have tested ASUS 8800GT PCIE VGA card. After flashing GEN1 mode BIOS for ASUS 8800GT,
it works fine on PT880 PRO/Ultra chipset motherboard.

Please contact VGA card vender to get the VGA BIOS with GEN1 mode for your 8800GT PCIE VGA card.

BR,

ASRock

Apparently this is not just asrock boards.


Well the PSU is a Antec Neo HE500. I went and bought a Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L and the same thing happened. Fans spin no post no beeps nothing. Took the card to a friends house that has a ASRock DualCore-VSTA the board that was before my 4Core. Same issue no post no boot nothing just fans spinning. He has a 600watt OCZ PSU. So I took the card back to Fry's. They couldnt get it to boot either in there test bed. So they got another new card. Same thing. The guy got a returned Asus motherboard and both cards booted just fine. I'm at a loss on this situation.

Only connection I see here is Asus. Now i have to hunt for people with asus 8800's working on non asus mobos.

[Jonny2Bad]

jeez thats rubbish!! So still no hardcore gaming for u yet buddy no good!! What u gonna do?

[Taxation]

they are telling you to flash your gfx card's bios!!
thats silly, alot more risky than a mobo's bios

[djgandy]

bought a P5KR :P and some corsair XMS. novatech didnt hvae the gigabyte boards I wanted in stock, nor do they sell any good memory :(

[Jonny2Bad]

Are you finalyy sorted then buddy? Playing some hardcore games finally on a brand new system lol!!

[Jleagle]

How can you find out weather a mobo supports GEN2?

[Jonny2Bad]

I think you'll find that most of the newer mobo's will be ok with this gfx card I have a feeling dj may have just been unlucky with that 1!!

[polsapple]

Hiya there (anybody)
I've also got a Asrock 4core dual vista and got myself a 8800GT yesterday only to find out now that the m/b does not support it.
:(
I've also mailed Asrock but get the same response as others.- "Change BIOS from Gen2 to Gen1".!!
I'm no expert but what is the difference between GENeration2 and GENeration1??. A slower speed, less lanes available.?
Any help would be truly appreciated.
Thanks from a newbie poster.

[djgandy]

The chances of you flashing your cards bios is next to 0. You'd have to email the card maker and then find a system you can temporarily use to flash it.

DDR2 is dirt cheap at the moment, pickup a P35 + 2GB of DDR2. Can probably squeeze that under £100

[teknokid]

let us know when you got your gear, get a few benchies done :)

[Jonny2Bad]

The chances of you flashing your cards bios is next to 0. You'd have to email the card maker and then find a system you can temporarily use to flash it.

DDR2 is dirt cheap at the moment, pickup a P35 + 2GB of DDR2. Can probably squeeze that under £100
Hoiw dodgy is that the chances of it actually working are not good can you imagine ruining the card ouch. Do as dj says and get a new mobo and ram not even worth considering trying to flash your nice shiny new 8800

[polsapple]

Thanks for input all. I wont be going out for a while to save a few more pennies.
:?
I'll let you know.
Ty

[teknokid]

lol, i dont believe card flashing is that bad, as long as you read a guide its pretty hard to ruine your card

[polsapple]

Result!!
Borrowed a mobo with PCIE 16xlane slot, installed the 8800GT,ensured it worked, backed up original BIOS(just in case) and then replaced original with an ASUS GEN1 Bios using Nvflash. New drivers installed- 169.02 and all is well.
Yippee.
Ty.
:)

[system7]

Nice work! :D

I think Asrock support were pretty good there. VIA chipsets often have issues that need prior testing.

Of course it's no big secret that Asus, Asrock and Gigabyte are the same company. So your Asus card helped you get a solution.

BTW: Any idea what GEN2 actually means? :?

[polsapple]

I managed to source the ASUS bios from the mvktech website.(Lots of handy BIOS's there). My card is actually a Leadtek 8800GT so when flashing it there were a few scary moments. But as they're all based around a 'standard' reference design I had good idea it would work. When I boot up now it just says I have an ASUS card installed!! I can live with that. :)
GENeration2(?) I'm presuming as the VIA chipset on the 'dodgy' boards only supports 4 PCIE lanes it something to do with the maximun throughput/bandwidth of the Gfx cards. Asrock website lists all the current Gfx cards the mobo supports and the majority of them all seem be not as powerful of the 8800GT. From bits and pieces I've managed to put together my card will not be running at full steam due to the BIOS now being 'limited' to support just 4x PCIE lanes. :cry:
But honestly, I dont really know. :?:
:)

[djgandy]

The asrock supports the GTS's. Gen2 is something to do with how the video card initialises. I emailed asus for the bios and they wouldnt give it to me :(
Oh well. I needed the upgrade anyway.

[teknokid]

oh, just noticed you got some ballist1x, how they going? i love my tracers...

[polsapple]

@ Dj. Your right the ASUS does support a few of the higher end cards, but not many and no 8800GTs'. Very odd methinks. :!:
Do you need the GEN1 bios for your ASUS 8800GT PCIE 521Mb?
Readily available at mvktech.net along with modded ones and originals. I'll put the pressure on Leadtech to try and get an official Gen1 bios from them.
regrads
:?

[djgandy]

@ Dj. Your right the ASUS does support a few of the higher end cards, but not many and no 8800GTs'. Very odd methinks. :!:
Do you need the GEN1 bios for your ASUS 8800GT PCIE 521Mb?
Readily available at mvktech.net along with modded ones and originals. I'll put the pressure on Leadtech to try and get an official Gen1 bios from them.
regrads
:?

I don't need the gen1 bios anymore. I upgraded my mobo a month or so ago.



oh, just noticed you got some ballist1x, how they going? i love my tracers...

yeah they are fine, they arent running at high speeds though since I don't think my xms2's would be able to keep up.