Sapphire Theaterex 550 problems :(

[justinluck]

Hi,

I received my Sapphire Theaterex 550 card from Newegg yesterday, but I cannot get it to POST in my computer. Everytime I try putting the card in any of the PCI slots of my motherboard (ECS 755-A2), the computer will not boot.

Immediately after turning the computer on, I hear one long beep, followed by two short beeps. I looked up the Award BIOS beep codes and apparently this code represents a video card problem. But I know that my AGP PowerColor Radeon 9600pro works perfectly fine. The computer operates with absolutely no problems without the 550. But if I try plugging the 550 into any of the PCI slots, the computer will not POST.

I tried installing the card in an older computer with an Epox VIA KT333 motherboard and the computer boots fine. So I am thinking that it is a compatibility issue between the Sapphire card and the ECS motherboard's BIOS. I updated my BIOS to the latest version available on the ECS website (1.0G) dated 3/31/2005, but this did not solve the problem.

I know that it is not a problem with my PCI ports because I have a DVICO Fusion HDTV3 card and Belkin wireless card plugged in them with no problems. I uninstalled these PCI cards just in case that would help and put the Sapphire 550 card in by itself, but this did not help. Any suggestions? I really don't want to have to return this card. I have e-mailed ECS and Sapphire about this matter, but I am still waiting for their replies. I was so excited about getting to use this card too

Justin

[Heavensent]

there are some bios that have a setting that tells your computer to search
for a pci video card first.
try to change it to agp if you can.

might work.

as i see it, the bios thinks that your new card is a video card so it tries
to use it, and thats why you get the beeps.
if you can change the option in the bios to make it use only the agp
video card, it might just work.
goodluck.

[redwudz]

I have seen conflicts between ATI chipset video cards discussed on this site in the past. You may be able to pull your AGP card, install the Sapphire card and set the BIOS to use the PCI card.

If this works, just about bet on a conflict between the cards. You might take a look around lordsmurfs site. digitalfaq.com
He has a lot of info on ATI based cards.

I have a DVICO card, a AGP Sapphire 9550, and I've used a AVER tuner card all at the same time with no problems on my PVR computer. Only one ATI based card, though.

[SHS]

redwudz you do not know what talk the Sapphire Theaterex 550 not a video card it a capture card.
I try Heavensent idea first but it dose sound like a BIOS compatibility problem.
If you have a diff video card any try install and see if will boot, also try reset or clearing the bios some time that can helps, if not the most like it a BIOS problem which ECS will need to address good lucky with that after all in my book ECS is by the woste Manufacturer there is.
Also it a good to run stock system setup don't run an overclock system that to can cuases problem to.

[justinluck]

Heavensent, that was a REALLY good suggestion you gave me. I went into my CMOS setup and found the setting: Init Display First. It was set to PCI, so I changed it to AGP. Logically, this really had a good chance of fixing my problem. I was so excited to try it....and...


It didn't work

[Heavensent]

nothing ealse i can think of... sorry

[pfh]

Sounds like maybe the ECS board is incompatible- very odd but the those boards aren't that great. Mainly sell to OEM markets.
Is it too hard to set up your Epox for use with it and then transfer the capture from Epox to ECS? Pain in the butt for sure but a temp. solution.

[justinluck]

Yes, it is unfortunate to have all these problems. The ECS board has served me well over the past year. Infact, out of the four motherboards I have owned, this one has been my favorite with the least problems.

I purchased the ECS board because of all the stellar reviews from anandtech and other respected sites. Here's an excerpt from a review:

"As you see, the performance level of ECS 755-A2 is high, mostly due to the SiS755 chipset, the fastest chipset for the Athlon 64 today. ECS 755-A2 mainboard is faster than ABIT KV8-MAX3 in most cases, although we have considered ABIT KV8-MAX3 to be the fastest mainboard according to our previous tests.
Conclusion

ECS 755-A2 mainboard we have introduced to you today is the first off-the-shelf product on the new SiS755 chipset for the Athlon 64 processor. Although SiS positions its chipsets as solutions for low-cost mainboards, and ECS 755-A2 is exactly this type of product, the chipset is simply wonderful. We have received another proof of its high speed characteristics. Due to SiS755 Elitegroup engineers built a mainboard with all the features a user expects to see in an inexpensive solution. Good functionality, excellent performance and low pricing distinguish ECS 755-A2 from the competitors."

[justinluck]

Grr, I can't begin to say how frustrated I am.

I ended up returning the Sapphire 550 card and crossed my fingers that I had a bad board and decided to order a Powercolor Theater 550 in replacement of the Sapphire.

Well the Powercolor card arrived today, I put it in my computer...and...what happened? SAME beeeeeeep, beep, beep. So now I know it is definitely a incompatiblity problem between the 550 chipset and the motherboard.

So, the first thing I did was call up ECS since they hadn't returned any of my e-mails in the past week. But when I finally get through to someone, they tell me that it is not their fault the card doesn't work in their motherboard and how it is impossible to make a motherboard compatible with all types of hardware devices. I tell him that Gigabyte had a similar problem with one of their boards and that they were able to fix it with a BIOS update. He went on to say that it isn't ECS's responsibility, blah, blah, blah. He then tells me to call Powercolor.

So I call PowerColor and they tell me what I just told the ECS guy. Gigabyte had an issue with the 550 chipset, but fixed it with a BIOS update. He said the only way I will get this card to work on an ECS board is if I convice the ECS guys to look into the matter and update their BIOS.

Well, I call ECS back up, but this time, they refused to take my call unless I had a case number which I can only get from a replied e-mail. But ECS DOESN'T RETURN MY E-MAILS!

What makes me sad is that before all this, I really thought ECS was a good company.

Last July, when I had bought this board, I did tons of research to find the best socket 754 board available for me. I had always been a VIA chipset fan. But after much reading, I learned that both VIA and nVidia produce extraordinarily hot running chipsets and there can be heat issues if the cases don't have an adequate number of fans. I also learned that the 755 SiS chipset ran remarkably cool and was infact just as fast as the other offerings.

So after reading many stellar reviews of the ECS SiS board, I went ahead and made the purchase. I can say that I was stunned how good quality the board seemed to be because I had previously viewed ECS as a budget type manufacturer. My opinion changed after I received the board and soon discovered that this SiS board ran more stable than any VIA motherboard I had ever owned. I also loved the fact that my computer stayed at 28C with no case fans. Only one 120mm fan in the PSU, and the stock HSF.

BUT NOW!.....Now I know that not everything is so heavenly. The techsupport and incompatibility of a major TV Tuner card with no fix in sight make me feel very uncomfortable in trusting ECS in the future.

Hopefully ECS does something soon that will change that opinion...

[greymalkin]

why should ECS support it, ATI doesn't even support it!

:P

[pfh]

justinluck:
Just happened across some user reviews on Newegg.com that stated they could not get this card to work unless they removed the SATA drivers and went to using a PATA setup. One guy had an Asus mobo and the other had a DFI mobo.
Just thought I'd let you know............

This is another reason I won't go SATA yet- it hasn't matured enough and little incmpatabilties exist that don't get fixed right away.

[justinluck]

Thanks for the tip.

However, I don't use SATA and one of the first things I tried was disabling the onboard SATA controller. This is a problem that can only be fixed with a BIOS update from ECS. Gigabyte owners were fortunate enough to have their own BIOS updated to fix the exact same problem that I'm having.

[pfh]

I have to ask, did you remove all files/drivers associated with the SATA as well?

[aaronrus]

two things.. first, make sure in the bios that it looks for an AGP card first, not PCI, and secondly, make sure that you are not using the pci slot directly below yoru agp slot, as they often will default to the same IRQ setting

[justinluck]

Yep, did all that. I wouldn't want to ever put a card next to my video card. It would trap all the heat!

I've done extensive reading about the problem, and while nobody on the various support forums knows what the exact problem is, there is a general consensus that the 550 chipset has major compatibility issues with the SiS and nForce3/4 chipsets. No one with a VIA chipset has mentioned a problem. The boards that have been mentioned as incomatible with the 550 card include brands such as Abit, Asus, Gigabyte, and ECS.

PS: I really do appreciate all of your suggestions!!! I ordered a new motherboard this past Thursday. Let's see if that helps

[pfh]

I've done extensive reading about the problem, and while nobody on the various support forums knows what the exact problem is, there is a general consensus that the 550 chipset has major compatibility issues with the SiS and nForce3/4 chipsets. No one with a VIA chipset has mentioned a problem.

I suppose Intel chipsets are ok too.? At least I know when mine gets here from Newegg it will work (using a Via board)

[justinluck]

Isn't ECS techsupport so wonderful?

Scroll down for reply

Hi,

I called the technical support line, but they say I need a case number first through e-mail. This is my third e-mail in the past two weeks.

My problem is with a tv tuner card (ATI Theater 550) and the 755-A2 (rev 1.0) motherboard. I have the 1.0G BIOS version dated 3/31/2005. I have tried two tv tuners with the same chipset, but from different companies, and both tuner cards give the same problem. When I place either of the cards in a PCI slot, the computer will not boot. Instead, I hear one long beep, followed by two short beeps. Nothing is displayed on screen. The video card is an Powercolor ATI Radeon 9600pro and one of tv tuners is a Powercolor 550. I tried a Sapphire version of the tv tuner and had the same result. I pulled out all of the other cards from the computer to minimize conflicts, but the computer still would only boot if I pulled the tv tuner card out.

I called the techsupport line for Powercolor, and they told me that Gigabyte had a similar problem with one of their boards. Gigabyte requested a Powercolor board for testing and was able to resolve the issue with a BIOS update. Would ECS be willing to do the same? I really like your company, but will be forced to purchase a motherboard from a different company if I can't get this tv tuner to work properly.

Thank you so much for your time, I really appreciate your help,

Justin

Their reply a week later...

Dear Valued Customer:



This board used SIS755 chipset, it will support any standard of PCI card in the current market.

Please try remove other board PCI device first, and double check your power supply then try again, change new and more power of power supply if necessary.

Please contact your PCI card vendor to find out does they have any compatibility issued with SIS755 chipset.



Thank you for using ECS products


ECSUSA Technical Support
nl

Aren't they oh so helpful?

[greymalkin]

thats their USA support?

You'd think they'd have someone who could speak english. That support person probably had english as his 3rd language