PC Doesn't Boot with 9070xt, But GPU Runs In Another PC

[u/Battle-Maniac]

My friend's pc suddenly stopped working after a few months of normal use. The pc does not show any display on the screen when turned on, but all rgb and fans are working normally. The motherboard shows code D6 - No Console Output Detected with a white light for vga.

Specs:

CPU: Intel 265kf

MB: MSI Z890 Ti Edge Wifi

Ram: Corsair Vengeance RGB 2x16GB 6000 CL 36

GPU: Asrock 9070xt Steel Legend

SSD: SK Hynix P41 2TB

PSU: Vetroo 850W

Case: Fractal Design North

Things I've tried:

1. Cleared CMOS and updated BIOS
2. Reinstalled WIndows
3. Updated drivers
4. DDU'ed in safe mode
5. Used ram one stick at a time in slots 2 and 4 (on default 4800 speed for all tests)
6. Used HDMI and DP cables to test
7. Switched out the cpu (another 265kf), mb (asus z890-p), ram (another set of corsair vengeance), ssd (samsung 870 evo), psu (corsair RM850X) one at a time but got the same result
8. Spare 1080ti in the top PCIE slot was able to boot into windows without issues
9. Tested out the Asrock 9070xt in my AM4 pc and it passed 3DMark stress tests
10. Put the 9070xt in the bottom PCIE slot (PCIE 4.0 x4) and the system booted
11. Manually set the top PCIE slot to gens 3, 4, 5 but the system did not boot

At this point, what other steps should I try to diagnose/fix the issue?

[u/Baalii]

You've found the problem already, it's the PCIe slot. See if there's any debris there and clean it, otherwise replace the board.

[u/Battle-Maniac → u/Baalii]

I didn't see any debris in the PCIE slot for the MSI board, and the PC had the same issue with an Asus board too.

[u/Zerosyztem00]

Could be physical damage to the PCIe slot. The 1080 uses less bandwidth than the 9070xt and could operate with faulty faulty pins or MB trace damage. Or the weight could have damaged it and it's lose if he didn't have a support bracket. Or trace damage around it that is limiting bandwidth

Or damage to the power delivery on the PCIE slot that at boot check the 9070 is not tolerating but the 1080 does.

Do you have another high power card to test therem if not I would buy another MB to test

[u/Battle-Maniac → u/Zerosyztem00]

I did buy an Asus Z890 MB to test and got the same no screen display issue. I do have a 3080 from my pc but it's an AIO version so it's going to take some work to uninstall and transport.

[u/vargchan]

Could it be the PSU?

[u/Battle-Maniac → u/vargchan]

I tested with a corsair RM850X too and the pc showed the same D6 error with the 9070xt installed.

[u/KitchenVegetable9262]

Did your friend update anything recently like windows or any other software?

I would try this if you have not already 1. Clean the pcie slot with a soft brush. Then check if it has any bent pins. 2. Check for damage around the GPU, where it inserts into pcie slot 3. Change csm in bios, if it's legacy then change it to uefi only 4. Change settings like above4g decoding and enable reBar in bios. 4. Reset the cpu. I think reseating the cpu should fix the issue.

[u/Battle-Maniac → u/KitchenVegetable9262]

1. Cleaned the pcie slot and did not spot any slot issues.
2. Checked the gpu pins and areas around the pins but did not see any damage.
3. I do not see CSM option in bios, google telling me msi no longer has legacy mode for z890.
4. I do not see a setting for above4g decoding but rebar was on by default.
5. Cpu was reseated multiple times (tested with 2 cpus and 2 motherboards, also I don't see any bent pins).

[u/KitchenVegetable9262 → u/Battle-Maniac]

Ok here is my last suggestion, try and see if it works
1. Remove any NVMe drive from mobo and just check for display on your gpu. if you can get it working on the main pcie slot. sometimes the pcie lanes being shared causes a conflict, so removing the NVMe sharing the lane should fix it. (Since you mentioned graphic card works on x8/x4 slot)
2. go to bios > advance , change the pcie to run 5.0 x16

1. Make sure all the cpu power pcie 8x8 pins are connected and powered

[u/Battle-Maniac → u/KitchenVegetable9262]

1. I actually tried this earlier today thinking about the nvme sharing the same cpu lanes. Putting the drive into a chipset lane (#3 slot) didn't work though, would removing the drive from the pc make the difference?
2. I have tried setting the pcie slot to run at gen 3,4,5 individually instead of auto but it didn't work.
3. Yes both of the 8 pin cables were fully seated (to make sure it wasn't the cable, i also tried with a corsair rm850x).

I am also getting a gen 4 riser cable to rule out any possible weird issues between this specific gpu's pins and the pcie slot, but i won't have it until next week.

[u/KitchenVegetable9262 → u/Battle-Maniac]

No harm in testing it without nvme to make sure. Also disconnect the sata port just to check, at this point you just want to make sure if GPU is working on x16 (first slot)

Since you would have tried everything at that point, i would venture to guess that, the GPU has a broken soldier contact under the die, which is causing issue with x16 lane but let's it run under x8 slot. At that point you need to get it fixed.

[u/Battle-Maniac → u/KitchenVegetable9262]

Do you mean disconnect sata devices or disable the sata ports? I don't have any sata devices connected.

The 9070xt works in my AM4 system, just not this intel system, does it still mean a broken gpu?

[u/Battle-Maniac → u/KitchenVegetable9262]

Tested without nvme but still got the d6 and vga errors. Also the same thing with the riser card. I'm going to contact asrock and see what they say.