new pc build gives no vga detected beeps on power up

[TYRipper]

everything lights up all the fans work everything appears to be fitted correctly, but upon starting I get one long beep then three short beeps...can someone pls help

[Azza ☠]

One long beep followed by three short beeps means that either the video card isn't installed or the memory on the video card is bad. Reseating or replacing the video card will typically fix the cause, if not you might have a damaged graphics card. Does removing the graphics card complete solve it? If you don't have a graphics card, but no builtin VGA on motherboard either, then that's another reason.

[TYRipper]

have tried reseating card, its an xfx hd 7870 dd edition 2gb and the mother board is an asus sabetooth 990fx r2.0...is there any way i can tell if the gpu is faulty?

[Azza ☠]

When sitting it, ensure to press the front end down first, then the back till the PCI-e slot clicks and the graphics card is flat. Then connect the 6 or 8 pin power connectors from the PSU directly to the top of the graphics card. Ensure that the PSU wattage is enough and that it can support the 8 pin power if required (6 pin + 2 pin). I believe that card requires one 6 pin + one 8 pin, without this extra juice it might not power correctly? These click in place with some firm but controlled pressure.

That motherboard doesn't use processors with integrated graphics (some newer gaming motherboards do this as it's a waste to have integrated - just slower stuff you shouldn't be using anyways), so you need a dedicated graphics card. However, this can make it harder for your testing, as you have nothing to compare against.

You can use a video memory stress test utility or simply a benchmarking tool to test the graphics card for a long period of time (20 mins or more) to ensure it's stable.

[TYRipper]

I only have one 8 pin power plugged in, there isn't another gpu power supply on my psu. that could be the problem.

[Azza ☠]

Bingo... your not giving enough juice to the card.

What PSU are you using? Is it detactable cables? Semi or Fully Modular? In which case you can attach another 6 pin pcie power connector directly to the 12v rail of the PSU. If not, then you might need to convert two IDE power supplies to make one 6-pin (you can also go via SATA cable instead).

So either:
PSU to 6 Pin PCIe
or
15 pin SATA to 6 Pin PCIe
or
Dual 4 pin IDE to 6 Pin PCIe

These cables either come with the motherboard and/or graphics card - or if missing you can purchase in a computer store.

[_I_]

^what he said

7870s are a higher wattage card, 175w
and amd am3 cpus are 95-125w

make sure you have a quality 500-600w psu for it

[TYRipper]

Think I'm going to buy a new cpu...thanks for your help!

[Azza ☠]

New cpu or gpu or psu? Just to let you know, you can still get your system to work even if you don't have the cables on your PSU available - use the converters as mentioned above. If your confused about the naming of them all - google image search might help you figure it out.

[TYRipper]

Meant psu...my brain is fried!!

[Grey Buddhist]

Newegg recently (not sure if they still do) had some good prices on Corsair power supplies with mail in rebates. As an example the Corsair CX600M 600Watt power supply (SLI and Crossfire ready) is normally $79.99, currently $59.99 after a $20 mail in rebate. It is at newegg.com
Handles my system and video card (msi R7 260X 2GB) easily.

[MrPIN360]

Not for nothing, but if you just want to handle this quickly, Best Buy sells Corsair PSU's and you can have them price match whatever price is on newegg at the time. Or any other website for that matter.

Good job trouble shooting the issue. I was just about to say that you probably didn't plug the power molex connecters directly into the graphics card.

[Grey Buddhist]

Actually check with your local best buy first. That is the first place I went to...and they only had 2 power supplies for sale in store (both cr*ppy Dynex brand). That is the reason I ordered it. :)

[TYRipper]

Cheers guys...I have ordered a replacement psu from Ebuyer.com who have also accepted me returning this psu I have at the moment even though it was my own stupid fault for ordering the wrong thing!! This is my forst self build and would've have probably still be close to tears if it wasn't for you guys!! Thanks again... happy gaming!