N2U400A +Radeon 8500 DV = not good?

[anony4656]

not sure if this is the right place, buuut here I go...

i've bought several comp parts from fry's sales looong time ago and thought it would be time to put them together...part of what I ended up getting is ECS' N2U400 mobo/AMD 2600 barton combo (keep in mind I got these parts starting from months ago) and the radeon 8500dv video card. now i'm not a gamer and just to explain the logic behind the 8500 dv, I just want to try out video editing for cheap.

the problem is that everything is hooked up properly but there's still no video coming out. From what I read there is an issue with this specific mobo where the ATX12v power connector HAS to be connected to the power supply, which it is in my situation...

now there is a section in the mobo manual/guide that says some add-on cards to work, drivers/softwares have be installed...this might sound dumb, but since the ECS board that I have does not have onboard video, would I need to buy a different (cheap) video card just so I can set everything up, and then install the radeon 8500 dv?

 

[jackschmittusa]

Do you have 2 power connectors hooked up to the mb? No you shpuld not need another vid card to set it up, something else is wrong. What does happen when you hit the power switch?

 

[anony4656]

hey jack, yea, there's 2 power connectors hooked up...both the 4 pin (ATX2 mobo label) and the 20 pin (ATX1 label)...when I hit the power switch everything seems to run (lights, fans turning, etc...)
although looking at old messages (again) one possibility that I just realized is maybe it could be the PS? it's a generic 300w that came with the cheap case (did I mention I wanted to build a cheap pc for my first try? )
when I get back home later today I'll probably try to bench test it (is that the right term?) and just hook up the mobo, and vid card to the PS. If not, then I'll definitely be back to this forum which has been very helpful to tons of people.
btw, this is what I have hooked up to the PS, maybe someone will definitely agree and let me know to get a new PS:
2 dvd drives (dvd rw, and dvd rom), 120 gig hd, radeon 8500 dv, case fan that came with the case, processor fan (no floppy drive...yet...still figuring out if I need it)

 

[jackschmittusa]

I can't seem to find the manual for your mb on the site. When you test it on the bench, try resetting the cmos first. If you have more than 1 stick of ram, try just one stick. A 50¢ plastic placemat is a good thing to set the mb on. Though I am leery of your psu, since it is new (not deteriorated yet) and your rig is not especially power-hungry, I would think it would at least start the system. Re-check any jumpers on the board.

 

[anony4656]

yes! resetting the cmos worked! never would have thought of that...thanks Jack!