[Solved] PCIEX16_1 not working . . . i think

Hi,

I have a new build:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] l-inspiron

CPU: Intel i5 750 @ 2.67ghz
Heatsink/fan: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 (Newegg for $26)
MoBo: ECS BLACK SERIES P55H-AK (Ebay for $99)
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (Newegg for $55)
GPU: Sapphire HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 (Craigslist for $80)
HDD: 750GB - SATA-II 3Gb/s 7200RPM, 16MB Cache
Case: Thermaltake Armor (Craigslist for $80)
Optical: DVR R/W
PSU: Power & Cooling 1000w SR (Craigslist for $40)
Monitors: 3 X Dell U2410 (Refurbished good working order on Ebay for $300, 2 used with small read smudge/dot on scree, Craigslist for $200 each)

Got everything last Friday, assembled the parts, and powered it up. Only had one monitor plugged into the 5850. All fans started up (in case and on 5850), computer was running, but no change to the monitor. Then heard 2 quick beeps (maybe supposed to be one long beep?), and 8 short beeps. Checked the manual and apparently this signifies a "VGA not detected" error. Also when beep sounds, "38" appears on the post panel.

So, switch out the 5850 with old 5450, still received error.

Then think, maybe it is memory issue - switch out the G.SKILL with my old Crucial 4X2GB set, and voila, screen appears.

Exit BIOS, and screen disappears. Restart and error message again.

Try 5850 with Crucial memory, only error message.

Then try 5850 in the PCIEX16_2 slot, and everything works. Replace Crucial 4X2GB memory with G.SKILL 2X4GB memory, fired up windows, update all motherboard and AMD drivers.

Then try again with 5850 in PCIEX16_1 slot - still get error. Also try a Sapphire Extreme 5850 and get same error.

Since I built this to play Battlefield 3, and had all weekend, I plugged in 1 5850 to the PCIEX16_2 slot, and have been running Eyefinity on 3 monitors at medium. Works great, but want more.

Even if I want to just run Crossfire, have to use PCIEX16_1 and 2.

Just got in touch with seller, he has offered to take back the board and pay for shipping - just great service. He said that he tested NVIDIA GEFORCE GT430 and GEFORCE GTX470 in all three slots separately with no problem. I really like this potential and price of the board, but I have 3 5850's and want to run Trifire, so if PCIEX16_1 doesn't work, then the board is not what I need.. .

Does anybody have any other tests for me to see if this slot is defective? Want to make sure without a doubt that this board is defective.

Thanks.