Goddard
Look, if your motherboard won't work when your graphics card is installed, that is not normal.
So, don't you think maybe it just might be worthwhile to update the motherboard's BIOS, just to see if that enables your graphics card to be used?
You can always revert back to an earlier BIOS version if desired, by reflashing it in.
The only risk to updating might be if the BIOS update gets interrupted (e.g. by a power outage or by removing a memory stick storing the new BIOS) before updating is completed.
Speaking of which.....
I updated the BIOS last evening including all driver updates and then tried the HIS graphics card in all 3 slots.....nothing. So, I'm having it replaced.
The good thing about this board comes built with 1 x Main
BIOS and 1 x Recovery
Backup BIOS.So if anything goes wrong with an update, (like you said) I can always revert back very easily. The included software and various options (Windows, Instant Flash, & DOS) on AsRock's site to download also makes this quite easy.
In the past, updating BIOS was not made very user friendly/clear and I was always worried to NOT mess up my MB with an update, but this new software/ease of use made it a very simple process.
Thanks Goddard for all the tips, my DAW is up & running really snappy!! :)