Have questions about why your Asus motherboard isn't recognizing VGA?
Have questions about why your Asus motherboard isn't recognizing VGA?
I need the collective opinion of this group as it has been keeping me busy all summer. I tend to improve my PC gradually and got an Intel i5 LGA 1700 processor last Christmas. Considering the recent high prices for graphics cards, I opted to upgrade in stages around my current one, building a system with these parts:
Asus TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi (new)
Intel i5-12400F, LGA 1700 (no integrated graphics) (new)
G. Skill Ripjaws S5 DDR5 RAM (XMP compatible) (new)
Samsung 2TB 980 PRO PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD (new)
EVGA GTX1060 (old)
OCZ 750W PSU (old)
Cyberpower 1500 VA with SineWave UPS
I planned to update the BIOS immediately, avoid overclocking, and only enabled XMP in BIOS. Everything functioned well for over a month until I noticed the white QLED display and the long beep sequence signaling a VGA detection problem on the motherboard. Following forum advice, I tried re-seating the GPU and DRAM without success, verified all PSU connections, tested an older MSI GTX 1050 GPU but faced the same issue. Someone else shared a workaround by connecting the display cable to a different port on the GPU, which resolved the problem temporarily. Eventually, it stopped working again.
I reached out to Asus support, explaining my use of older graphics cards and being asked to replace them. They suggested purchasing a new one and testing it, which I did—an Asus RTX 3060 Dual OC worked initially but returned the next day, requiring repeated cable adjustments until it failed completely.
Amazon allowed me to return the motherboard within the one-month window for a 20% restocking fee, along with the RTX 3060, citing a possibility of defect. A month later, after thorough research and reading another user’s experience about TUF Gaming boards, I upgraded to an Asus ROG STRIX Z790-H WiFi motherboard and an XPG Core Reactor 850W PSU. All components stayed unchanged except the board.
Amazon first tried sending a used motherboard, but after four days of functionality, it failed again. This motherboard felt more stable, and everything operated smoothly for four days until I turned it on at night and saw the VGA not detected beeps. Before contacting Asus, I had previously bought a Zotac RTX 3060 OC 12 GB, which also suffered from the same issue.
I called Asus again, this time informing them of another defective board and requesting an RMA. They advised testing all components on a different motherboard. I only had the used one Amazon sent, so I was unsure if it worked. I tried it, but it still didn’t detect VGA from the start. Since I wasn’t certain why the spare board was returned, I wasn’t convinced. Asus insisted on RMAing the new board, but since I only kept it for four days, I ended up returning both the board and the second GPU.
So, am I the unluckiest person to encounter multiple faulty motherboards? Is it a recurring issue with Asus boards, or could this problem stem from one of the other parts I haven’t changed yet—the CPU, RAM, or SSD? Might one of these being defective be responsible for this situation?
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!
This OCZ 750W PSU is quite an old model—likely from a time when systems weren’t updated in 2023.
It’s worth checking the CPU socket for any bent or damaged pins. Also, look at which RAM slots are being filled on the motherboard.
Thanks for your prompt response!
The OCZ 750W PSU is quite outdated—honestly, it shouldn't fit into a system designed for 2023. I'm sure this unit was around 8 or 9 years old. It seemed to work with the Z690 board because it had an 8 + 4 pin connection, which matched what the power supply required. After reviewing the specs for the Z790 board (which uses 8 + 8 pins) and considering its age, I decided to go with the XPG Core Reactor II 850W PSU instead. That’s why the OCZ PSU wasn’t needed for my second build.
I might want to check the CPU socket for any bent or broken pins.
I didn’t plan to test the Z690 board before installing it, but since it was failing intermittently, I installed an Intel utility from the Microsoft Store that checks the CPU during testing. It passed without issues. I wasn’t sure if this would catch problems caused by a bent pin, though. Looking back, especially after getting a used motherboard later, I should have inspected the Z690 board for any physical damage before and after installing the CPU.
On the new Z790 board, I carefully examined the CPU socket before and after installation and didn’t find any bent or missing pins.
Which RAM slots are used on the motherboard?
I’ve always used Asus motherboards, so I follow their manual for proper RAM installation. With two 16 GB sticks, I placed them in slots A2 and B2 as recommended. Since I didn’t have spares, I tried one stick at a time in slot A2, just like the manual suggested, but unfortunately, it didn’t work.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the Z790 board. It would have been helpful to post so you could adjust the BIOS settings yourself. I tried clearing the CMOS but it didn’t resolve the problem. I also tested it on an older Z690, which had unexpected behavior after updating the BIOS—XMP was off initially and stayed that way until the board stopped detecting VGA. I considered turning it off again, but the issue persisted until the board failed. If I can overcome this latest problem, I plan to leave it disabled.
It seems I should have started with the simplest common factor first. I reassembled the parts and switched to a different Display Port cable, and everything is now functioning properly again. I think I can still hold some responsibility for Asus, since the Display Port cable I used when the problem occurred was less than a year old and came with the Asus Pro Art monitor I purchased at the end of last year.