with the graphics interface card on hand I assemble the Samsung 4k LCD display - it comes with a 6-foot Displayport cable which I plan to use
I normally dislike electronic products that has external power supply but for this 28" monitor it reduce a few ounces of weight on the display which is good since I would eventually mount it on a monitor arm
it is VESA mount ready; note the joystick control at the lower left corner
there are 2 HDMI 2.X ports and a Displayport
the Sapphire Radeon R7 370 graphics card with 4GB
this card is monstrous - it takes up two PC expansion slots; it is the longest card I have ever bought
the back side of the board
this is my existing Nvidea graphics and I thought it is big - it also takes up two slots; it cannot support 4k resolution
the new Radeon (top) and the old Nvidea (bottom)
both cards requires two +12V high current harness from the system power support
As I have mentioned in my previous post I have no disillusion on the potential problem with performing this upgrade. With the new hard in hand I carefully installed it into my Windows 7 desktop machine. It was a lot of work and I wanted to do it right. I was looking forward to be able to eventually eliminate DVI cables. I hate these old D shape connectors with their thumbscrews. The thumbscrews has the tendency to snatch on adjacent cables whenever you try to retrieve or install it.
rather obsolete DVI cables with the new 4k display does not use
Well the whole thing did not go as I envisioned. I knew better not to set up the new monitor and put everything in place. I first performed an initial temporary setup to make sure everything works. I booted up the PC with the new graphic card but have it connected to my existing 1920x1200 Dell monitor. I plan to first install the driver with a lower resolution monitor connected.
I entered BIOS setup to check that the new graphics card is detected, and is indeed configured as PCIe x16 device. It was. I then let it boot to the Windows OS. Immediately I could see something is wrong. While the POST code advanced to 00 (control passed to OS) there is only 00 display on the lower right corner of the display. The Windows graphical UI never appears. I would power down the system and double check that the card is fully seated into the PCIe expansion slot. I also tried both DVI ports, the Displayport connected to the new Samsung 4k monitor all with identical result. I finally even used the DVI-I to VGA adapter to see if for some reason it insisted on booting only to analog VGA interface until the driver is installed. All to no avail. By then I suspected the new card is defective, but why? It displayed the BIOS splash screen as well as the BIOS setup screens.
To be sure, I swapped back in the old Nvidia display card and that booted into the OS - sort of. By then as I have booted and killed the half-boot OS so many time I nearly trashed the OS image. I have to let the OS restore to an older restore point and perform repairs.
I then realize it the graphical engine related defect making it fail to display the Windows OS GUI. The card must be defective. I requested an RMA from Neweggs and it was approved. Before sending the card back I wanted to be more certain it is indeed a defective card. I installed it into two other motherboards that I have with identical results. I packed up the board and prepared it for the RMA return. A lot of work for nothing and I was exhausted. The defective card is no its way back to Neweggs.
here I used a Windows install CD to confirm the know good graphics card boots to the OS GUI but the new defective card does not; this little doubt that the card is defective
At the mean time, I played with the Samsung 28" monitor a bit despite of the problem with the graphics adapter. I use my existing Nvidea video card and can only set it for 1920x1080. I want to check for any stuck-on or stuck-off pixel. The default settings are as you would expect from Samsung. The brightness and many display setting are off the chart like most TVs that you would find displayed in stores. The single joystick-like control is a breath of fresh air for monitor. I have two Samsung displays that uses touch sensitive "buttons" and that kind of interface is the worst. My two business grade Dell monitors with press buttons are only slightly better as the interface designs are very poorly executed.
At the mean time, in a somewhat related or unrelated tech news. Massive data breach is believed to have happened at Yahoo. Fortunately for me I have never feel the company as trustworthy. While I have an account with it. I was careful not to give it any real personal information. The best thing that happen to it is Verizon acquired it - if you know what I mean. Dumb pipe invested in a not so tech company at what appears to be bargain price.
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