Problems and one more time problems.

EatMoreChocolate · 10 Apr 2017 at 22:16

Hello everyone.

I bought new system few months ago mostly for gaming, mostly for arma3 and everything was fine till now.
My system is:
i7 7700k
DDR4 Dominator 3600
Asus Rog Maximus Hero 9
Asus Strix GTX 1060
Samsung 850 evo
EVGA 650 psu

For some reason after last startup motherboard integrated led lights are OFF, and they were ON usually even after switching pc OFF.

Gpu lights are ON red fading/breathing effect, and should change colours, at least this is how it was before. When I'm launching any game my GPU is intel graphic 630, not gtx 1060 and screen is shaking a bit. When I'm launching DxDiag it also see only integrated graphic. I tried to switch PCIE16, but without any results. Nvidia control panel doesnt even want to start. Nvidia experience doesnt show any of my games.

My Motherboard Q-code is A0, most of the time, but sometimes 40.

No idea what happened. I was pretty sure it's GPU foult, but I switched to different card Palit gtx970 Jet Stream with exactly same effects.

Please help, I'm extremaly mad now.

Webzta · 11 Apr 2017 at 08:51

Check in the bios and disable the iGPU so it's forced to use your dedicated card perhaps? Does it list your graphics card in device manager?

EatMoreChocolate · 11 Apr 2017 at 08:57

Thanks for the reply Webzta.

I tried that bios trick because in device manager both cards are seen. Didn't work, it still launches iGPU. I have a bit heavy tower cpu cooler and I think maybe it made a crack in motherboard... well that's all I can think of.

Plec · 11 Apr 2017 at 09:15

Have you tried a CMOS reset or even a BIOS update? If not give it a try remembering to apply all your dedicated settings afterwards.

Did you use the same display output cable when testing the 970 - if so try another. It would be a strange symptom but best to rule the easy things out first.

What is the cooler you have strapeded onto the CPU and how much torque did you apply to make you think you might have a crack in the MB?

If you're suspicious of the cooler i would look for signs of warping around the socket and dimm sockets and reapply the heatsink if you think there are any issues. Then recheck...

Edit: and remove any clock you may added - everything set to defaults other than the obvious tuning to make the motherboard complient to your HW and OS.

Edit x 2: welcome to the forums.

Webzta · 11 Apr 2017 at 09:18

EatMoreChocolate said:
Thanks for the reply Webzta.

I tried that bios trick because in device manager both cards are seen. Didn't work, it still launches iGPU. I have a bit heavy tower cpu cooler and I think maybe it made a crack in motherboard... well that's all I can think of.

What about if you disable it within windows?

What you're describing all sounds bios related to me - try Plecs advise and report back.

May be worth running display driver uninstaller too and re-installing the nvidia drivers see if geforce experience picks it up.

EatMoreChocolate · 11 Apr 2017 at 10:53

Thanks for helping guys.

Now I'm at work and can't do anything, just thinking what else can I tell you about the situation.
Everything was working perfectly fine on Friday, then I was moving out from one apartment to another and I loaded PC into a van, but entire journey took us like 30 min and wasn't bumpy - I know because I was in too. But something had to happen then. PC was lying flat on a blanket on a cartoon full of clothes so it was pretty good secured anyway. But this is why I think motherboard might crack at some point. The cooler I'm using is cooler master, don't remember model, but it's a basic cooler, nothing special, I paid 30-40£ for it, big and a bit heavy. I got it just for start and I'm planning to buy water cooling soon.

I took the battery out of motherboard, but didn't help.

I tried to uninstall iGPU in windows, but didn't help.

I installed latest nvidia driver.

I was using same cable and same motherboard port when testing gtx970 and gtx1060. I was testing both pcie16 slots.

I couldn't see any mark, any crack, I've checked it closely, but what makes me think about some sort of crack is lack of led lightening. It can be a crack between pcb layers so I won't be able to see it. But I'm just guessing here.

I haven't tried to update bios, but I think it's up to date, gonna check after work.

Thanks again guys.

Plec · 11 Apr 2017 at 11:40

I'm guessing the Cooler Master Hyper 212 - classic cooler?

They're comparitvely light compared to some beasts but they still put their fair amount of force on the socket.

You're gut may be right - especially if you're not having any success in forcing the system to identify any gpu, in any slot.

Given the your suspicions i would follow your instincts and explore the heatsink theory - but hopefully it's too much stress on the socket rather than crack.

I would lift the motherboard out, lookout for signs of warping, and then take off the HS - have another good look. If nothing obvious jumps out, reassemble outside of the case and see if you can get a response with a skeleton setup.

You've tried most of the obvious diagnostic processes already - may be time to follow your gut. Although it will be time consuming unfortunately..

EatMoreChocolate · 11 Apr 2017 at 17:22

Well, I'm hoping my guts are wrong ^^ and yes it's hyper 212. I'm starting my investigation. Thanks again.

So I striped my pc and assembled it on the desk without case. I updated bios to newest version and that fixed light problem. Now all I need is to make GPU work again, here are some pictures:

https://goo.gl/photos/4oYDkQ1NBjhKb14C6
https://goo.gl/photos/aP5iwe5te2ULNrpRA
https://goo.gl/photos/UDyDAeHLc2AMaVKo7

As you can see, geforce experience can't see my games and I have about 20 of them. It was working perfectly before saturday...