No output from the main PCI-E port. Failure occurs when using the secondary PCI-E port.
No output from the main PCI-E port. Failure occurs when using the secondary PCI-E port.
Custom built PC: Windows 10 Pro Ryzen 5800X RTX 3080 32GB DDR4 3600 Asus TUF B550M-Plus Wi-Fi Mobility About a month and a half ago, my desktop experienced an unexpected crash while it was idle. I left the machine unattended, returned shortly after, and noticed both monitors were completely black. Attempting to restart didn't help; instead, I saw only a black screen. The motherboard LEDs showed no POST errors, which was unusual. I tested each display output individually on the GPU, but still got the same black image. Accessing the BIOS wasn't possible. I replaced the RTX 3080 with an older GTX 1070, which allowed me to boot into Windows and see a persistent black screen with vertical red lines across the display. Device Manager reported a Windows error about device issues. After removing the GPU drivers and installing the newest ones, nothing changed. I checked all motherboard drivers for updates, but they remained unchanged. I then tried the secondary PCI-E slot, which seemed to have similar bandwidth to the primary. Once I reinstalled the RTX 3080, it worked again. However, after several reboots, I encountered frequent BSODs with the message "DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION." A recurring issue was YouTube—within minutes the video would freeze, audio would stutter, then hang, producing a repetitive sound. Occasionally it recovered briefly before crashing again. I used a dump file reader on the six or seven files I downloaded, noticing multiple devices linked to the system: one from Intel's Wi-Fi/Bluetooth device/driver, another from NVIDIA, and a few others. It appeared the crash wasn't consistently tied to a single source. I sent the motherboard back for replacement, but it arrived with the same problems. Now I'm seeing the same issues when using the primary PCI-E slot closest to the CPU. No display output came through the 3080, there were persistent red lines on the screen, and Device Manager kept flagging errors. The situation seems to point toward a motherboard fault, though I'm still unsure. I attempted different RAM sticks one by one, but nothing changed. I swapped two power supplies—a borrowed one and a higher wattage unit—but results remained the same. I tried another GPU in the secondary slot, hoping it would resolve the problem, but even then, the fan obstruction and dust filter issues persisted. The CPU's PCI-E controller appeared to be the culprit, or perhaps something else is affecting its performance. If the system BSOD recurs, I'll share the dump files for further analysis.
Restart your BIOS settings. If you have any overclocks for CPU, GPU, or RAM, temporarily turn them off. Use DDU to reinstall GPU drivers and switch the PCIe mode to auto. If you're unsure about device versions, manually adjust them. Disable Smart Access Memory and Resizable Bar.
I don’t see any visual output, not even during POST tests, and the BIOS screen doesn’t appear when pressing delete during startup. It seems DDU won’t help here. The CMOS was cleared, the BIOS is up to date, and at default it was set to auto. I changed PCI-E to 3 manually, but it didn’t make a difference. SAM/Rebar remains disabled.
Check if your GTX 1070 is producing identical outcomes. Determine the power supply unit you're using and identify the specific error code displayed on the monitor. Note which LED isn't lighting up.
On the main PCI-E port: the GTX 1070 provides video output, yet red vertical lines appear on any screen I use—whether a monitor or an output device—and remain visible at all times, even during POST and BIOS setup. The display does not match the correct resolution when opening Windows, and the Device Manager reports that "Windows has stopped this device because it has detected issues." This indicates a serious malfunction. The RTX 3080 shows no video output on the primary PCI-E slot; instead, it displays a black screen. There are no error lights on the motherboard while using the primary PCI-E slot, though it still powers on and boots normally. I’ve tested both an AX760 and an AX850 PSU with a 550-watt Seasonic unit, but the problems persist across all three. Despite replacing the motherboard, I’m unsure what could be causing this issue.
The MB is a brand new replacement. I just got it, so the CPU was freshly put in after installing the motherboard. I suspect there might be a CPU problem, but it won’t fix itself by re-seating the CPU since the behavior matches what it did before the new PCI-E slot was added. I checked the CPU pins before rebuilding this time to look for any damage or bending, and found none. I’ll probably try putting the CPU back in again. It looks like I might need to file a return merchandise authorization for the CPU as well. Again, I had to RMA the original 5800x because it was dead when it arrived. AMD isn’t giving me much confidence in their products. Before taking that step, I plan to reformat the system with a fresh Windows 10 install to see if the crashes persist in the secondary PCI-E slot.