[SOLVED] Newly built custom PC failing to recognize GPU after activating XMP in the BIOS ?

[Bubonic Metal]

First off, heres the specs
Ryzen 7 3800X
Gigabyte x570 Aorus pro wifi
Corsair Vengeance 16Gb(8x2)
650W EVGA 650GT PSU
EVGA RTX 3070 XC3 ULTRA
WD 250GB SSD (With OS on it)
Gigabyte Aorus 1TB SSD
Windows 10 Home 64 bit OS
Coolermaster Masterliquid ML240 V2 CPU Cooler w/ Thermal grizzly
x2 Corsair SP140 RGB Pro


So I built my first PC ever this weekend and everything was going great! I booted it up for the first time with no hiccups, managed to install Windows from Flash Drive w/ creation tool, did all the updates for windows, and then I shut the computer off. Turned it back on so I could enter the BIOS to activate XMP for my corsair ram sticks since it was at 2100 mhz or so and wanted to go higher. Once I clicked the XMP button it recognized my ram sticks and their mhz rating, so I clicked the save and exit button.

The screen went black and I figured I would wait a couple minutes to see if it did anything or shut off. It never did so I held power button to shut off. When I turn the PC back on now my monitor never even connects and no POST occurs, just a black screen. The PC however turns on, all the lights on everything glow, fans are spinning at normal speeds, light on graphics card is on, etc. The alarm code is one long beep followed by three short ones which seems to be a VGA issue from what I have read unless I was mistaken, and the status light for VGA is bright red also confirming it is a graphics issue...?

It just wont seem to recognize my RTX 3070 anymore after that BIOS event... I tried reseating it multiple times, checked power cables, the EVGA letters light up every time, tried plugging it into the PCie 8 instead of the 16, moved my ram sticks into different slots, even pulled nearly everything out and reinstalled... I honestly have no clue why turning on XMP has made my graphics card unrecognizable.

I also reset motherboard to try and clear what I had done by first unplugging power supply, removing the small button battery, shorting CMOS posts with screwdriver, and holding power button. I feel like I'm overlooking something super simple or maybe I'm doing things in the wrong order... I never once did a BIOS update, simply entered BIOS and clicked on XMP. Windows booted up fine previous to all of that.

In addition to all of that, I figured I would try a POST test by plugging an HDMI into the motherboard port without the graphics card. 3800X doesnt have onboard graphics though and I assume thats why it failed as well. I tested my monitor on my laptop and it auto-recognized the hdmi connection immediately, I've got both VGA power cables plugged into my GPU firmly, checked connection at PSU and its also firm. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

One of the things to always do is make sure you're on the latest BIOS update for your motherboard before you enable X.M.P or perform any upgrades/additions of ram or M.2 SSD's. In your scenario, you should see if you can manually input the timings, frequency and voltages as opposed to using X.M.P.

You might want to see if you source a higher wattage, reliably built PSU for testing...from a friend or neighbor. EVGA have a history of having hit or miss products with the same lineup, meaning you can find duds in their best lineup of PSU's. I'd advise in seeing you can source something from Seasonic.

Which slots did you occupy on your motherboard(as labelled on the motherboard's PCB)? I'd try and breadboard the system, after disconnecting from the wall socket and leaving the battery out of the board for at least 30 minutes before replacing the battery, using one stick of ram and the discrete GPU and reconnecting to the wall outlet

 

[Bubonic Metal]

Thanks for responding so promptly! I will try this 'breadboarding' method this Friday when work isn't so hectic. I was afraid someone may mention my PSU being too weak or insufficient... Rtx 3070's recommend a 650W psu and I have exactly that... So I'm wondering if maybe it's just not good enough. the pc ran windows fine before the XMP but that was a short amount of run time. I just wanted to go out on a limb and ask, is it a good sign that my pc is turning on at all? Like, is my issue surely something that's easily fixable or something that's just overlooked?

On a side note, the word EVGA lights up but the fans on the GPU do not spin I've noticed. I'll report my luck this Friday, I have a 750W psu my friend can loan and I'll breadboard before I try that. Thanks again.

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

One of the things to always do is make sure you're on the latest BIOS update for your motherboard before you enable X.M.P or perform any upgrades/additions of ram or M.2 SSD's. In your scenario, you should see if you can manually input the timings, frequency and voltages as opposed to using X.M.P.

You might want to see if you source a higher wattage, reliably built PSU for testing...from a friend or neighbor. EVGA have a history of having hit or miss products with the same lineup, meaning you can find duds in their best lineup of PSU's. I'd advise in seeing you can source something from Seasonic.

Which slots did you occupy on your motherboard(as labelled on the motherboard's PCB)? I'd try and breadboard the system, after disconnecting from the wall socket and leaving the battery out of the board for at least 30 minutes before replacing the battery, using one stick of ram and the discrete GPU and reconnecting to the wall outlet

 

[Bubonic Metal]

Update
I have removed every component besides the CPU, a single ram stick in the first spot as required and labeled in the motherboard manual, and the GPU. I am still getting a lit up VGA light and long beep with three short beeps(indicative of a vga recognition issue). Smashed delete key, no post.

Graphics card fans still don't spin, but the EVGA letters still light up. This Monday I am going to buy a more-than-beefy PSU from best buy to try, and from there if no luck I will be going to a friend's on friday to plug my GPU into their rig.

Questions for the community
If the graphics card works in their rig, what should I do from there? Should I swap there GPU into mine and do anything in my BIOS if I get a post with their GPU? I have an additional CPU power connection called ATX 12v1 or something like that and read that having this plugged up can help provide additional power for heavy graphics card power draws, don't know if that's worth mentioning. I haven't even over clocked the CPU and have reset CMOS sufficiently. Could use some insight, thanks for reading!

 

[Bubonic Metal]

UPDATE: I used my old graphics card in my build and it turned right on. In addition to that I even bought a beefier 850W Gold Plus Corsair PSU. I booted up windows, installed motherboard drivers, and restarted computer. After restart, everything was working fine.

I tried to install drivers for my EVGA RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra but the installer would not allow me to install drivers UNLESS the actual card it was for was installed... I was hoping that it would. There are also drivers directly from Nvidia's website as well but idk if I need brand specific drivers for EVGA or if downloading Nvidia drivers would work...

After everything seemed to be working fine I decided to swap back over to the RTX 3070 with my fingers crossed. Once again, VGA status light lit up, One long beep followed by three short, and a red light slowly blinking where the restart button on front panel is.

At this point I'm thinking of returning/RMA'ing my graphics card. I am slightly disappointed and confused as to how turning on XMP could have bricked the graphics card... if I should try something else before returning it please give me some pointers. Thanks