Question GPU suddenly not being picked up in PCI-E slot.

[HXNTER]

Hi all,

THE SHORT:

• GPU (GTX 970) stopped working mid-game, and I assumed it was the card that had decided to give up after all these years.
• Decided to test the GPU before buying a new one, but it turns out the card is fine in my brother's PC.
• Tried my brother's GPU (RX 480) in my PC and that too, would not work.
• Believed then that it may be the slot on the board that is the issue.
• Decided to try a different method of power from the PSU just in case.
• Changed from the proprietary 6+2 PCI-e power cable to a molex to 8-pin adapter, and this actually worked and all seemed fine.
• Decided that it was probably just a faulty modular cable from the PSU, but then the same thing happened with the 480 not 10 minutes later.

ADDITONAL INFO:

• Bios updated this morning
• RX 480 LEDs light up but fans don't spin (even without PSU power supplied directly)
• I was able to get the RX 480 to work a second time, by just removing it and plugging it back in, but ended with the same result after a few minutes.
• Rest of PC works perfectly fine with on-board graphics.
• Relatively new upgrade done to CPU, RAM and MoBo, (around Feb) but there was no issue for a couple of months of use.
• Even in the old setup, the GPU would do random 2 - 3 second black screens while under load.

CURRENTLY:
I am using my PC exactly the way I usually would outside of gaming, like graphic design and video editing. It is only the described issue that is the problem.
I don't know whether this is a motherboard or PSU issue, and I need to resolve the issue before I can go ahead and buy a new GPU, or it'll just keep happening.

SPECS:

• Intel 12700K
• ASUS ROG Strix Z690-F Gaming WiFi
• Adata 16GB DDR5-5200 XPG Lancer
• Galax GTX 970 / Sapphire RX 480 currently installed for testing
• Corsair 850W RM Series Modular Power Supply (CP-9020056-EU) [This model is from 2014, I believe and is also the oldest component in my setup]
• SAMSUNG 850 EVO 500GB

I've never had an in-betweener problem like this. In my experience motherboards and PSUs either work or they don't. Though, I don't know if those are
necessarily the issue. Just makes the most sense to me personally. I hope someone can make more sense of this based on the information I've given.

Thanks in advance for any possible suggestions and solutions. 🙏

 

[Ralston18]

Windows may be capturing some error codes, warnings, or even informational events related to the GPU(s) stopping.

Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer.

Reliability History is much easier to navigate and understand so begin there. Plus it presents a time line format that can be very revealing.

Increasing numbers of errors and varying errors are an indication of a problem PSU.

An 8 year old PSU is very likely nearing or even beyond its' designed in EOL (End of LIfe) and is starting to falter and fail.

Remember PSUs provide three different voltages (3, 5, and 12) to various system components. A failure with any one voltage can result in any number of problems.

Overall thought being that the PSU may be at a point where it is simply unable to keep up with peak wattage demands. The necessary wattage and/or ramping up to that wattage.

Try swapping in a known working PSU that meets the wattage requirements of your build.

Be sure to use the modular cables that come with that PSU.

 

[HXNTER]

Overall thought being that the PSU may be at a point where it is simply unable to keep up with peak wattage demands. The necessary wattage and/or ramping up to that wattage.

Thanks so much for the reply and info.

I checked in Reliability History and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary and the only issues that were consistent was windows being shut down improperly.

Also, I went ahead and tried my brother's PSU (it's all I have on hand and is a small 550W), it powered my system, but the same issue persists. So, now I'm as confused as I could possibly be.

I also found a few people with the same issue with the Z690-F (my board) and the Z690-E, but those people didn't have any solutions to their problem, or rather they didn't post whether they had found a solution or not. The only exception is one guy that said he used his PCIe3 slot instead of PCIe5 slot, which firstly I don't want to have to do, since there shouldn't be anything wrong with a board this new, and secondly my PCIe3 slot is right at the bottom of my board and a graphics card won't fit there for two reasons, 1; my board is against the PSU shroud of my case, and even without the shroud there wouldn't be enough space, and 2; the PCIe3 slot is also in line with my front panel header so the cables for my front panel are in the way.

I really don't know what the issue is now, but it seems like this being some kind of issue with my board could be considered as others have had the same issue with the same or similar ASUS board. - I even did a fresh install of Windows just to cover all bases and hoped that maaaaybe this would be a weird software issue, because I saw another person having issues with his board (not the same issue, but also graphics related), and he attributed his issue to .NET Framework updates done by Windows that he had worked around with a format and reinstall... buuut that didn't work either.

I don't know what to think. Any ideas?

 

[Ralston18]

I think trying your brother's PSU was worth the effort.

Unfortunately if power is the issue going backwards from 850 watts to 550 watts may not be a practical test.

Of note is "the only issues that were consistent was windows being shut down improperly. "

If you are not shutting down the system yourself (which may be forced in some cases) then it is likely that there is some hardware problem.

May well be the host PCIe slot. Even new motherboards (or any other new device for that matter) can have problems.

This motherboard?

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...65_ROG_STRIX_Z690-F_GAMING_WIFI_UM_V2_WEB.pdf

(Verify that I found the correct User Manual.)

First, refer to the User Manual to check all installed components and connections.

Second, take a look at Section 2.1.9 (Page 2-18) regarding PCIe installations. Determine if you can find or otherwise work out a way, even if temporary, to test the GPU in the other slot.

Objective being to determine if there is a problem with the current PCIe slot. Then you can RMA the motherboard.

Also curious about the shroud and front panel being in the way of things. What case are you using?

Are you able to take a couple of photographs showing the current configuration? If so, do so, and post the photographs here via imgur (ww.imgur.com).

Someone may be able to provide additional ideas and suggestions based on the photographs.

 

[HXNTER]

Unfortunately if power is the issue going backwards from 850 watts to 550 watts may not be a practical test.

Yeah, I figured this wasn't gonna be of much help, but glad I tried anyway.

If you are not shutting down the system yourself (which may be forced in some cases) then it is likely that there is some hardware problem.

Fair, but it would be negligent of me to not mention that I live in a country -- and more specifically an area -- where power outages are extremely common.
People have told me I should try and get myself a UPS and inverter and I have not yet done so.

This motherboard?

That is exactly my motherboard, yes!

Determine if you can find or otherwise work out a way, even if temporary, to test the GPU in the other slot.

The only way I could probably get a card to work in there is to get a riser cable, which isn't a huge issue, and can probably do that.

Objective being to determine if there is a problem with the current PCIe slot. Then you can RMA the motherboard.

This is the absolute worst case scenario, to be honest, but if that's the case then so be it.

Also curious about the shroud and front panel being in the way of things. What case are you using?

I use a Corsair SPEC OMEGA RGB

Are you able to take a couple of photographs showing the current configuration? If so, do so, and post the photographs here via imgur (ww.imgur.com).

I can do this, albeit not right now. Any specific areas I should focus on when taking the photos?

I just also wanted to clarify that this setup had been working perfectly fine since around 20th Jan (I checked the purchase date of my upgraded parts) until around late March, and only decided to check what was wrong this past weekend because of ignorance and general assumptions, I guess.

Also, interestingly, if you have time for a YouTube video, someone pointed me to this and it is VERY similar to the issue I'm having;