All the parts, none of the display

atarumoroboshi18

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 9, 2013
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282
Ugh...so I just got all my parts for a cool little Mini-ITX case build:
Gigabyte AB350N Mini-ITX Mobo
2x4GB Corsair Vengeance RAM
Gigabyte 1080 G1 Gaming
250GB Samsung M.2 SSD
Ryzen 1600x + Ryzen Stealth Cooler
SST-ML08B-H-USA Silverstone Mini-ITX Case
650w Seasonic SFX-L PSU

Now, everything looks like it's running fine, but absolutely no display. I can't figure out what is going on for the life of me and I'm wondering if it's the PSU or the Mobo.

Here are the troubleshooting steps I took:
Had 1 RAM in each slot, used an entirely different set of RAM, unplugged numerous non-needed devices(M.2, Front USB, HD Audio), switched out the 1080 with a 1080 Ti(Both the RAM and GPU I swapped out are the ones from my main rig which I'm using to type on), performed a CMOS battery clear, double checked and seated all main cords from PSU(CPU, Mobo, Etc.).

The rig will not show display, I've got more than enough power for a 1080 with a 650w Seasonic, so I'm pretty sure that's not the issue. Any suggestions to get this thing running?
 
Take it out of the case and get to the bare essentials.

And make sure it's all plugged in correctly, CPU power, motherboard power, GPU power, and make sure your monitor is plugged in and set to the right input, and of course, that the display cable is plugged into your graphics card.
 
Take it out of the case and get to the bare essentials.

And make sure it's all plugged in correctly, CPU power, motherboard power, GPU power, and make sure your monitor is plugged in and set to the right input, and of course, that the display cable is plugged into your graphics card.

After going through an exhaustive troubleshooting session, unplugging and replugging anything and everything that's not essential and even moving cables to other spots on the PSU, my guess is that it's the PCIe Riser adapter or it's right angle adapter that's causing the issue(came with the Silverstone case). The whole system seems to be powering on and everything looks like it's working on the board with no error beeps or other problems I can find.

Edit: Decided to reach out to Silverstone and request another pair of Risers to see if this could be the issue.

Edit 2: Also, I do get red LED lights appearing on the underside of the Mobo when I turn it on, but I don't know if that's normal or if showing me that this is an error.

Edit 3: Did a complete CPU reseat, applied new thermal paste, and also checked for bent pins but didn't find any. Seems the Riser is the issue.
 
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Decided to purchase a PCIe Riser cable and will get it tomorrow. I'll see if it's definitively the PCIe risers that came with the case.
 
take it out of the case and bench test like you were already told. take off the adapter and plug the card straight in. it part of troubleshooting 101.

Yep, was hoping to avoid removing the mobo entirely from the case, but it was the PCIe riser. Plugged it directly into the PCIe slot and the system came on just perfect. Still going to keep the order for the riser cable as that will definitely help in future builds.
 
Well. Just used the new riser cable I got and it gave me the same No Display error as the risers. I guess the Mobo I have just will not work with Riser or something...
 
Update the BIOS version and try to drop the PCIE version when using the riser..

I know someone who had wonky PCIE issues with that board.
 
Update the BIOS version and try to drop the PCIE version when using the riser..

I know someone who had wonky PCIE issues with that board.
card and board are only pcie 3. drop it to what?
 
card and board are only pcie 3. drop it to what?

PCIE 2.0. Had an older GTX 780 that wouldn't run with that particular board but after some testing, would run in just about every other Ryzen board I had.

Running PCIE 3.0, the GPU would freeze randomly on the desktop, running PCIE 2.0, the desktop would be fine but would freeze with games. Another GPU would run properly in that setup. The GPU isn't the problem, the setup isn't really the problem - but it's just some weird incompatibility.

The issue I encountered and what OP is encountering may be totally unrelated but given the board is exactly the same, I guess it's worth a shot.

I should have clarified in my original post that my suggestion was a long shot, since it really is.
 
Lowering the PCIe version might work, but it might work in this case because of a grim fact: The PCIe Riser Cable might be PCIe 2.0.
 
Dangit. I may as well just get another Mobo rather than deal with all this. I did find a reddit thread about exactly this issue and they were able to change to PCIe 2.0 and it worked, but I think it's best to get a different mobo instead as I want this case.
 
Dangit. I may as well just get another Mobo rather than deal with all this. I did find a reddit thread about exactly this issue and they were able to change to PCIe 2.0 and it worked, but I think it's best to get a different mobo instead as I want this case.
its not the mobos fault the risers dont work right. it you put the card in the mobo and it works the mobo is just fine.
 
its not the mobos fault the risers dont work right. it you put the card in the mobo and it works the mobo is just fine.
That's not entirely true; poor trace layout or signal isolation could degrade the signal enough to make a pcie riser not work, but still be perfectly fine without the riser. In other words, the riser might work fine on a better designed motherboard.

Unfortunately, the only way to be sure is to either buy an expensive riser, or a more expensive motherboard. Or, test the riser yourself with a multimeter and o-scope...
 
That's not entirely true; poor trace layout or signal isolation could degrade the signal enough to make a pcie riser not work, but still be perfectly fine without the riser. In other words, the riser might work fine on a better designed motherboard.

Unfortunately, the only way to be sure is to either buy an expensive riser, or a more expensive motherboard. Or, test the riser yourself with a multimeter and o-scope...
not sure about that given what I have seen done on yt
 
not sure about that given what I have seen done on yt

Is that the same motherboard?
Edit: nope, and Linus said it himself: "We should have no PCI Express link quality issues" (because they used the highest quality mb they had). Don't think you can conclude that the mb can't be the issue when they only tested with their best motherboard...
 
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It looks a lot like the thermaltake riser in the review here. Almost certainly a different oem, but hopefully the quality isn't too bad. At least it's shielded.
 
its looks decent but i would have chosen one with more than 16 reviews and a brand name like the TT one
 
Dangit, it was a long shot...got the system to POST and went into the BIOS, has one of the latest versions. So that's off the table.
 
Alright, went full steam ahead. Brand new MSI B450i mobo, same identical issue, but with a twist! The PCIe riser works perfectly...as long as the card is NOT powered by from the PSU. I had a much older AMD 7750 that I plugged into it and that worked perfectly with no display issues at all. I'm now questioning if it's the PSU that might be the issue. Any safe method to check if the PSU is supplying enough power to the graphics card?

Edit: Oh and before you ask, I used one of the spare PCIe PSU cables from another Seasonic PSU that I have.
 
Alright, went full steam ahead. Brand new MSI B450i mobo, same identical issue, but with a twist! The PCIe riser works perfectly...as long as the card is NOT powered by from the PSU. I had a much older AMD 7750 that I plugged into it and that worked perfectly with no display issues at all. I'm now questioning if it's the PSU that might be the issue. Any safe method to check if the PSU is supplying enough power to the graphics card?

Edit: Oh and before you ask, I used one of the spare PCIe PSU cables from another Seasonic PSU that I have.

Never borrow cables unless the PSUs are the exact same or you have verified they are compatible. You can easily blow up a component if you don't! If you already checked just disregard this message.
 
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