[SOLVED] GPU Crashing when plugging in peripherals into front panel

Arduinoman12345

Reputable
Jun 20, 2015
4
0
4,510
Every time I plug any USB device into the front panel my computer blackscreens. Although, The PC still functions normally after the black screen as far as I can tell. The power light stays on, fans keep running, etc... The only thing that seems to get effected by me plugging in something to the front panel is the GPU. The 'activity lights' on the GPU even turn off.

For some context, I upgraded a couple months ago from a GTX 970 to an AMD RX VEGA 56 (Powercolor's Red Devil Edition to be exact). This problem never used to happen on the GTX 970, so it leads me to believe this a GPU specific thing, but I could be wrong.

Full spec list:
Motherboard : Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 R5
CPU: AMD FX-8350
GPU: AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (PowerColor Red Devil)
RAM: 2xG.Skill 8GB
 
Solution
Most things are now made with a built in EOL (End of Life). At some point, usage will lead (by design) to failure.

Maybe all at once or via some slow degradation that presents intermittent problems and performance issues.

That is true for PSUs and all the more so if the PSU is continually providing max wattage to the host PC during gaming or other intensive computing activities.

If rolling back to a less demanding power configuration ends or reduces the GPU crashes then that, to me anyway, makes the PSU quite suspect.

A short cannot be ruled out so take a close look, as has been suggested, at the GPU's installation. No sagging, no twisting, all cables fully and firmly in place, etc..

And I would be remiss if I did not mention...

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
PSU: Make, model, wattage, age, condition?

Inspect the front panel USB ports. Inside and out. Look for signs of some metal to metal contact that could be occurring and causing an electrical short.

Check the connection cables to the USB port(s). Ensure that they are fully and firmly in place.
 

Arduinoman12345

Reputable
Jun 20, 2015
4
0
4,510
PSU: Make, model, wattage, age, condition?

Inspect the front panel USB ports. Inside and out. Look for signs of some metal to metal contact that could be occurring and causing an electrical short.

Check the connection cables to the USB port(s). Ensure that they are fully and firmly in place.
I did this multiple times, and I'm at least 99% sure it's not a short. I have more evidence to back this up.

I have a scarlett 2i2 audio interface plugged into the back panel. When I was messing around with it I found that I could make the GPU black out when I plugged in an audio cable. This is especially interesting because although the audio cable plugged into the interface could make it crash, the usb cable that connected it to the back panel could not.

I switched back my old GTX 970 and its not giving me any problems anymore. With further inspection I believe that the problem may have been my PSU not being able to provide enough power, which doesn't make a ton of sense given that I've been able to play games and do other power-heavy tasks in the past with no problem.

If it helps, I have an EVGA 850 B2
 

bryanc723

Distinguished
Jan 1, 2015
237
23
18,615
This sounds like it could be an issue with your mobo as well. Is there any chance you can move the usb to a different port on the mobo?(move where it's plugged in to the mobo to another header)
It definitely sounds like a short or PSU issue. You definitely have the juice tho. Perhapse it could be your gpu touching something grounding itsself to the case, which is also the ground for your usb jacks. It might even be worth it to slap some electrical tape around your graphics card at the back panel where it connects to the case.
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Most things are now made with a built in EOL (End of Life). At some point, usage will lead (by design) to failure.

Maybe all at once or via some slow degradation that presents intermittent problems and performance issues.

That is true for PSUs and all the more so if the PSU is continually providing max wattage to the host PC during gaming or other intensive computing activities.

If rolling back to a less demanding power configuration ends or reduces the GPU crashes then that, to me anyway, makes the PSU quite suspect.

A short cannot be ruled out so take a close look, as has been suggested, at the GPU's installation. No sagging, no twisting, all cables fully and firmly in place, etc..

And I would be remiss if I did not mention the scarlett 2i2 audio interface you are using.

Try doing some testing to determine if the GPU crashes occur with just USB devices, just the Scarlett, or both are needed.
 
Solution