Not so much an answer as adding a larger story with more potential tags to this thread as finding it would have saved me a lot of time, money and headache =)
I brought my two boys' computers to Thailand from the states. Before I left I switched out the RAM in one, but didn't check to see if the PC was working with new RAM since ram was fine in a similar machine. When I arrived, one pc was working, but the one with the new ram wasn't.
Both have identical asus strix gtx1060 graphics cards so I switched them. Same thing: machine with the new RAM wasn't working (I couldn't swap RAM because the not working machine was ddr3, the working machine was ddr4). I tried hooking up the onboard graphics with the hdmi on the mobo, still no signal.
I tried two different HDMI cables that both worked on the Xbox and neither worked with the PC. So I had the old RAM mailed form the states (after looking for similar ddr3 RAM in Thailand, shipping was cheaper). The RAM arrived, and the display (Aconatic 24” TV) still said "no signal".
After trying several more things to get the it working I couldn't get a signal, so I thought maybe something on the mobo was damaged on the flight in checked luggage (I left my POST checking speaker at home). That machine was due for an upgrade anyway so I replaced the mobo, cpu and RAM with new parts. Still couldn't get a signal.
I tried hooking up the onboard graphics with the new mobo using VGA becuase there was no hdmi out on it, and no DVI in on the monitor. This worked, so I knew the new mobo/cpu/ram was good. I knew the g-card was good because it worked in the other machine. At this point I decided it must be the monitor. After digging down that path I found out about the DVI-D not being compatible with VGA via adapter cables, and thought maybe I was having a similar problem with hdmi. Perhaps my cheap TV was doing some D to A conversion inside that wasn't working.
So I set out to buy a new monitor. I found a used one with hdmi in at a local shop. I brought the PC in with all my cables to hook it up and see if it worked. Much to my disappointment, it did not. I was out of options as far as I knew. The salesman then grabbed another hdmi to try that. I knew it wouldn't work because I had tried two cables already, both of which worked with the xbox but not that pc, but I was too tired and language barrier exhausted to tell him. He swapped out the cable and all of a sudden I see the login screen come up on the new-used monitor.
This was a tiny offbeat shop with some really old components and the hdmi cable didn't exactly look new. He threw it in for free with the monitor. When I got home I tested out that "new" hdmi cable with the original monitor. It worked too. So the real culprit was the hdmi cable(s) all along. I couldn't believe it, but at the same time I had to.
Does anybody know why this might be? What's the difference between the cables? Why does it work with xbox and not the pc? I'd like to know after everything I've gone through.
I hope this helps somebody else out much earlier in the process =)
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