[SOLVED] My build is unstable whenever GPU is present

Jul 9, 2020
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Hello. I assembled my first build yesterday after an afternoon riddled with issues trying to get it to run. When it finally did, I found it horribly unstable. Doing a bit of more troubleshooting, I found I had my network drivers out of date, and also that the system ran a lot better after I took out my GPU.
After I took it out, my system ran a lot smoother and I was able to test it by running Minecraft for a while in the highest graphics settings, if that helps. I tried to then connect the GPU back in, but the instability came back full force. I couldn't have Chrome open for much longer before I got bluescreened.
One thing that struck me as odd and maybe dangerous of the building process was that my PSU only provided a 6 + 2 pin PCI-E connector (or rather two but I only have one GPU so) for my 6 pin video card. I didn't read anything for or against this online so I connected them anyway, leaving the four extra pins hanging. Maybe the GPU isn't getting enough power?
In any case, here's my build's specs:
  • MOTHER: Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro WIFI
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G with Radeon iGPU
  • GPU: MSI Nvidia GTX 1650 Super Gaming X
  • RAM: 1x HyperX Fury 16GB 2666MHz RGB (DDR4)
  • PSU: EVGA 500W BR 80+ Bronze
  • HDD: Seagate Skyhawk 1TB
  • SDD: Western Digital Green 240GB
  • CASE: Sentey J20 (has four 12mm LED fans)
I have updated all my drivers and my BIOS as well (as I understand it version F50 should be the latest but if it isn't let me know). I also temporarily disabled the iGPU from the BIOS before it was automatically turned back on again after I removed the GPU for testing.
Please note that I don't have a monitor right now, but I should be receiving one within the week so if you have any tentative solution or suggestion please let me hear it and I'll try it as soon as I can.
If it helps, I tested my build by connecting the motherboard or the GPU, whenever it was present, to my TV via HDMI, at a resolution of 1920x1080.
I also checked the temperature of the components with the BIOS and they never exceeded 30C.
In any case, any help is immensely appreciated. Thank you in advance.
EDIT: Typos and got the numbers of pins wrong.
 
Last edited:
Solution
Hi again! It seems the issue has been resolved now. The two exposed PCI-E pins on the GPU connector were covered with a thin layer of tape, which was messing with the ground wires within. Took the tape out and it's running flawlessly!
Jul 9, 2020
2
0
10
Hi again! It seems the issue has been resolved now. The two exposed PCI-E pins on the GPU connector were covered with a thin layer of tape, which was messing with the ground wires within. Took the tape out and it's running flawlessly!
 
Solution