Question MSI B450 Tomahawk first PCIe slot doesn't work with GTX 970?

[Lethalcube]

Hey all, I recently changed my motherboard, cpu and ram and everything works fine if I insert the GPU into the 4th PCI slot but the VGA light comes on and stays on in the first slot.

Full build is
Ryzen 5 2600
2x8gb of G.skill ripjaws V series ddr 4 2400 ram
Evga GTX 970
MSI B450 Tomahawk
Rosewill 600w Glacier PSU
and a barracuda 2tb harddrive

Any specific reason for this? I'm updating the drivers and bios in a bit so could that be the cause?

 

[norcalsc]

did you reinstall windows? if not you should

 

[sizzling]

My first thought is either a bent cpu pin or defective pcie slot.

 

[Lethalcube]

My first thought is either a bent cpu pin or defective pcie slot.

Would it be fine to leave the gpu in the second slot ? or should I RMA the board

 

[sizzling]

Would it be fine to leave the gpu in the second slot ? or should I RMA the board

The second slot is pcie 2.0, the first slot is 3.0. 2.0 has lower bandwidth but I have no idea how much if any difference that will make. Personally if it’s not working in the first slot and there are no bent cpu pins I would contact MSI support. They may be able to suggest something but otherwise you want a fully working motherboard, that is what you paid for.

 

[Ferimer]

You dont need to reinstall windows. As that is hard drive based. You could but it wont fix your problem. What exactly happens when you plugged it into the first slot? Black screen ? Error message ? No need to update BIOS the drivers wouldnt make a difference for the hardware and that stuff is software.

 

[Lethalcube]

You dont need to reinstall windows. As that is hard drive based. You could but it wont fix your problem. What exactly happens when you plugged it into the first slot? Black screen ? Error message ? No need to update BIOS the drivers wouldnt make a difference for the hardware and that stuff is software.

When I plugged the GPU into the first slot, the fan would spin but the VGA light on the motherboard would stay lit red and nothing else would happen. No error messages or black screens.

 

[Ferimer]

When I plugged the GPU into the first slot, the fan would spin but the VGA light on the motherboard would stay lit red and nothing else would happen. No error messages or black screens.

And nothing booted up ? Usually that boot light comes on when the mobo is going through its boot options. Nothing shows up for you at all even after waiting ? Have you tried plugging dvi in to the mobo while the gpu is installed to see if it's just picking up the Integrated and not from PCIE 1?

 

[Lethalcube]

And nothing booted up ? Usually that boot light comes on when the mobo is going through its boot options. Nothing shows up for you at all even after waiting ? Have you tried plugging dvi in to the mobo while the gpu is installed to see if it's just picking up the Integrated and not from PCIE 1?

Haven't tried that but asked for a replacement board from amazon which is coming monday. I think I will wait for the new board and test everything to see if it's just the board or something else. Also I thought there were no integrated graphics on this build.

 

[Ferimer]

Haven't tried that but asked for a replacement board from amazon which is coming monday. I think I will wait for the new board and test everything to see if it's just the board or something else. Also I thought there were no integrated graphics on this build.

you're right no integrated on that. well sine you ordered a replacement then there is nothing we can do for yah. sometimes its just better to replace then to try and mess around with it to damage it further.