[SOLVED] ASUS TUF X570-Plus white light after BIOS update for Ryzen 5000 series

Nov 30, 2020
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Hi, I need a little help getting my build off the ground. Last time I put a PC together was a budget build about 5 years ago.

Mobo: ASUS TUF X570-Plus (wifi) ATX AM4
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
GPU: ASUS GeForce RTX 3080
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x16
PSU: EVGA G3 850 modular ATX
No OS at the moment


I knew ahead of time I would probably need to update the BIOS in order to get the CPU to work with this mobo. Sure enough, it arrived with version 2407 (version 2608 or later works with Ryzen 5000 series chips). I got a Ryzen 3 3200G and put it in the board with out the GPU installed. The BIOS came up and I was able to update to BIOS version 2802 from a flashdrive I prepared ahead of time. I restarted the computer to verify version 2802 flashed correctly. I then powered everything down and put in the 5800X and installed the GPU. Next time I boot up to get the OS going and nothing comes up on screen. The white VGA light is now on the board as well as the BOOT light above it.

The monitor doesn't register any output from the mobo hdmi nor GPU hdmi. I completely removed the GPU, still white VGA. I unplugged/replugged all power connections on the board and PSU (w/o GPU installed), still white VGA. I have not yet tried to reseat the 5800X and I also returned the 3200G since I figured I didn't need it anymore. I intend to get it back as well as a display cable tomorrow to try getting back into the BIOS.

What are some additional steps I can try to get this going? Did making the BIOS update ruin my board?
 
Nov 30, 2020
3
1
15
Try changing the PCI-E setting in the BIOS (Change it from 4.0 or Auto to 3.0).
I just helped another 3080 owner and that's what he had to do to get the BIOS to recognize the 3080.
And make SURE the HDMI or DP cable is plugged into the GPU NOT the MB.
Read through this thread:
Question - RTX 3080s have to output? Please help! | Tom's Hardware Forum

At this time I am unable to get into the BIOS to make those changes. Nothing appears on my monitor even when I hit F2/DEL. All fans and accent lights turn on when the power button is hit. The mobo cycles through the 4 Q-LEDs, but stops at the VGA one with no video output.
 
Nov 30, 2020
3
1
15
Try changing the PCI-E setting in the BIOS (Change it from 4.0 or Auto to 3.0).
I just helped another 3080 owner and that's what he had to do to get the BIOS to recognize the 3080.
And make SURE the HDMI or DP cable is plugged into the GPU NOT the MB.
Read through this thread:
Question - RTX 3080s have to output? Please help! | Tom's Hardware Forum

Your comment on changing the PCI-E made me curious if the other GPU slot would work. I had it in the upper one which is PCIE 4.0/3.0. The lower is just 4.0. With e GPU in and hdmi connected to the GPU I can now boot to the BIOS. The VGA light is off too. Why did changing the PCIE slot work?
 
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DMAN999

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Your comment on changing the PCI-E made me curious if the other GPU slot would work. I had it in the upper one which is PCIE 4.0/3.0. The lower is just 4.0. With e GPU in and hdmi connected to the GPU I can now boot to the BIOS. The VGA light is off too. Why did changing the PCIE slot work?
Glad to hear you can boot now.
I would guess it is a buggy BIOS that struggles to recognize the PCI-E 4.0 card when using the auto setting for the 4.0/3/0 slot.
Also one slots uses the CPU for PCI-E 4.0 and the other uses the chipset, so that is most likely where the issue originates.
Hopefully a future BIOS update will fix that issue.
 

Karadjgne

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It has to do with the cpu. The top slot is pcie lanes from cpu. The secondary slot has pcie lanes from a seperate controller chip. For some odd reason, it's basically only on Asus boards that the 'White Light of Death' vga error happens, the cpu doesn't recognise the pcie slot on post. Normally temporarily swapping the ports will solve it once it's booted into Windows and the cpu finally recognises the gpu.