Video card just won't fit

dwein2007 · 09-28-2008, 03:51 AM

Hey everyone

I just bought a Diamond Radeon HD 3850 and it won't fit in my computer. The metal end with the connectors is twice as tall as the one's on my old video card and it is not syching with the PCI-E slot by 1/2 inch. I thought about using some sheet metal cutters and making it fit. Here's a pic of the video card and what I intend to do. I had to use my laptop touch pad to draw the line so it's not straight but you get the idea

I really don't want to return this card because I got a great deal. Does this look doable? any potential problems? Thanks

Method · 09-28-2008, 04:04 AM

What case do you have.

Can you get us some pics of the case? Is it a dell or pre built jobby?

I had the same problem with my 9800GTX, but my case had about 5 or so slots that are removable, I just had to take two out and cut the piece of metal gapping between the two.

dwein2007 · 09-28-2008, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Method

What case do you have.

Can you get us some pics of the case? Is it a dell or pre built jobby?

I had the same problem with my 9800GTX, but my case had about 5 or so slots that are removable, I just had to take two out and cut the piece of metal gapping between the two.

It's a Dell. here's a pic of the setup. Sorry it's dark but all I have is a camera phone. You can see the pci-e syncs up with the top gap and anything taller is gonna bang up on the network slot.

philbar71 · 09-28-2008, 01:49 PM

is the case lowprofile? if it is then you can get a lowprofile bracket and put it on the card.

dwein2007 · 09-28-2008, 04:10 PM

ok I got a low profile bracket and it fit in perfectly. Now I have a new problem. When Windows starts, it detects the new video card but the mouse and keyboard do not work (wireless Logitech) but on system boot it will let me type in the system password. I tried plugging in a wired mouse and still no luck. The motherboard does not have PS2 connections, only USB. It leads me to believe something is disabled on the USB connections. Is there something I can do to fix it with system settings on initial boot?

Thanks everyone for your help.

philbar71 · 09-28-2008, 04:11 PM

go in to bios and enable usb keyboard and usb mouse.

dwein2007 · 09-28-2008, 08:40 PM

i got it to fit fine and the mouse and keyboard are working. Now, the driver installation. Installation from the cd from Windows yielded an error like "Setup failed installation". I ran the Diamond ATI CD on safe mode and it says "Setup did not find a driver compatible with your current hardware or operating system". I then downloaded drivers direct from ATI.com and it still had the same error.

I went to device manager and updated the driver using the INF file on the
CD. It recognized my video card and rebooted. Now, it gets the Windows loading screen with the bar and goes black.

This new card requires a 450 Watt power supply with a 75 Watt PCIe connector. I looked at my current power and it says 305Watts of DC power. Is the black screen due to insufficient power? It ran my Radeon X1900 GT just fine.

Thanks

stalin90 · 09-29-2008, 04:58 AM

a 3850 is gonna pull alot mroe power then a x1900, ya i think u need to upgrade ur psu,

but i dont think that would stop it from installing the drivers, also i dont think it would stop ur pc from laoding windows so leads me to believe u messed up a driver install.

philbar71 · 09-29-2008, 04:29 PM

have you uninstalled previous video card drivers? and a 350 watt psu wont do a 3850. you need a upgrde

dwein2007 · 10-03-2008, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philbar71

have you uninstalled previous video card drivers? and a 350 watt psu wont do a 3850. you need a upgrde

I decided to return the card. I had to take off the fan's outer casing to fit inside the computer and it just didnt look right to me. I decided on a Sapphire 3870 HD. I don't have to modify anything. It's the same size as my x1900 GT.

Thanks for your help everyone.

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