New installation isn't active, lacks power for external devices; occasionally enters safe mode.
New installation isn't active, lacks power for external devices; occasionally enters safe mode.
Budget (including currency): $2,500 Country: US Games, programs or workloads it will serve: graphic intensive RPGs, fps, programming and compiling Other details (existing components lists, need for any accessories, what you’re upgrading from, intended purchase date, desired resolution and refresh rate, etc.): ASUS Prime Z690-p wifi D4, Intel i7-12700K, Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2x16GB, EVGA 850 G5 Supernova, EVGA GeForce RTX 3070Ti, Intel base cooler, Intel SSD 660P 1TB, case: NZXT H710i. I assembled a test setup with all the parts mentioned above and everything listed. I checked the BIOS but didn’t adjust any settings. After turning it off and back on, I posted again. Once everything was placed in the case, it stopped posting. When I powered on the case fans, CPU fan, and RGB lights came on. No peripherals were receiving power. The keyboard felt dull and unresponsive, the monitor didn’t show anything. I rebooted several times; about one in ten restarts would turn me into safe mode. Sometimes I got a lit-up keyboard or a screen displaying “posted.” However, a few times I reached that point without a connected keyboard, pressing F1 didn’t help, and the screen stayed frozen. I ordered a motherboard speaker to interpret the beeps. What I tried: reinserted the GPU, mounted it horizontally, checked all power connections on the board and PSU, used only one RAM stick (A2 and B2), tested both sticks, ran all three display ports on the GPU, removed CMOS battery for 30 seconds (found this step wasn’t necessary to restart BIOS), left the machine unplugged for a day. Nothing worked. TL;DR: the PC fails to power my monitor or USB devices until it enters safe mode. Suggestions?
I resolved it. It was the most concerning part. TL;DR GPU malfunction, can a vertical mount affect it? During testing on the motherboard case, it started up normally. I faced issues with BIOS setup until I assembled everything correctly. After some trials, I settled for a vertical mount. But I missed placing my USB with the Windows installer, which caused another post failure. Eventually, installing the speaker revealed a VGA defect and red LED warnings. Luckily, I replaced it with a new GPU. Still unsure what damaged my original one—only the vertical mount changed things. A reputable cooler master was used. Anyone have similar stories?
Ensure PCIE is set to Gen 3 manually rather than auto. Test if the system consistently boots. Gen 3 PCIe boosters can create problems between Gen 4 motherboards and Gen 4 GPUs.