Sabertooth Z87 weird intermittent graphics issue

[Akele]

Hi all

I thought I'd post this here just in case anyone has experienced the same problem / has any suggestions. I'm probably going to return the board, but just in case I'm missing something obvious I though I'd run this by you all.

Anyway... my Asus Sabertooth Z87 motherboard only intermittently recognises my Asus GTX 770 graphics card when it's installed in the topmost PCI-E 16x slot. When booting from cold, the PC always reverts to the integrated Intel HD 4600 graphics. This is despite me changing the ‘Primary Display’ setting in the BIOS from 'Auto' to 'PCIE'. There's no BIOS setting that I can see to completely disable the integrated graphics.

The strange thing is when I reset the computer the motherboard will sometimes, but not always, recognise the graphics card and use it instead of the integrated graphics. Also, when I put the graphics card in the second PCI-E 16x slot the motherboard always recognises the graphics card and the PC runs completely fine, albeit with the graphics at PCI-E 8x rather than 16x.

I'm guessing that the primary PCI-E 16x slot is probably faulty and that I should return the motherboard, but I’m open to suggestions. I’ve only had the motherboard for 3 days and most of that time has been tinkering with BIOS settings, trying different component combos and reading forums in an effort to get it working properly. Oh, and I’m using the latest BIOS for the board (1205).

Many thanks for any suggestions!

Here are my system specs:
* Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth Z87
* Processor: Intel Core i7 4770K
* RAM: Corsair DDR3 Vengeance CL9 16GB (4x4GB)
* Graphics: Asus GTX 770 DirectCU II OC
* PSU: Seasonic Platinum 760W
* Monitor: NEC SpectraView 232

Cheers!

 

[TY-1]

It does sound like the first PCI-E 16x slot is faulty. If it was the GPU itself I would've expected you to have similar issues when trying it in the second PCI-E slot.

I would suggest contacting ASUS to see if they recognize the problem or if it has come up before with other Sabertooth Z87 boards; definitely check the ASUS forums to see if other users are having a similar issue. If nothing else then RMA the motherboard; shouldn't be hard given that you have only had it for 3 days and the issue came up almost immediately.

 

[Akele]

Thanks for the suggestion TY-1. I've contacted Asus tech support via their site and I've posted a thread on their forums.

One thing that make me suspicious the board may well be faulty (aside from the fact it's not working properly) is that it appears to have been a customer return. When I received the motherboard box it wasn't sealed and all the internal packaging had clearly been opened. Also, when I when to register the motherboard serial no on the Asus website I got a message saying that it had already been registered.

For whatever reason, I think the board has been used by someone, returned to the retailer (Scan) and they've resold it to me as new. However, I'll wait and see what Asus / Asus forums have to suggest before I RMA the board.

Cheers

 

[john3850]

Go to the bios northbridge Disable IGPU multi monitor.
I know you cant disable the IGPU but if you set the bios as above gpu-z and windows will not see it.
Also set pci-e speed to auto if possible.

 

[TY-1]

Thanks for the suggestion TY-1. I've contacted Asus tech support via their site and I've posted a thread on their forums.

One thing that make me suspicious the board may well be faulty (aside from the fact it's not working properly) is that it appears to have been a customer return. When I received the motherboard box it wasn't sealed and all the internal packaging had clearly been opened. Also, when I when to register the motherboard serial no on the Asus website I got a message saying that it had already been registered.

For whatever reason, I think the board has been used by someone, returned to the retailer (Scan) and they've resold it to me as new. However, I'll wait and see what Asus / Asus forums have to suggest before I RMA the board.

Cheers

When you purchased it was it listed as new or did it have any qualifiers on the listing, like "refurbished". If you got the board and it was listed as new with no qualifiers then you should have no problem with an RMA should you need to do so. However, if it had any qualifiers in the listing, such as "refurbished", then you may not be able to RMA it. Double check your order and any receipts you may have to make sure that what you received matches with what you actually ordered because it sounds like you may have received a "refurbished" board. This may have been done completely on accident or you may have accidentally ordered the wrong board by mistake. Double check to be sure.

Also, try what john3850 suggested. That may solve the issue. If it doesn't then I would say it is definitely a faulty PCI-E.

 

[Akele]

Go to the bios northbridge Disable IGPU multi monitor.
I know you cant disable the IGPU but if you set the bios as above gpu-z and windows will not see it.
Also set pci-e speed to auto if possible.

Hi John

Thanks for your suggestion. I've checked the BIOs and iGPU Multi-Monitor is set as disabled by default. Also, the PCIx16 Link speed it auto by default. I tried setting it to Gen3, but this stopped the motherboard from recognising the graphics card.

I've posted the issue over at the Asus ROG forums and after trying a few things I discovered there is a pattern to whether or not the motherboard recognises the graphics card. It is:

Very Cold boot (power off at wall) - Motherboard doesn't recognise GTX 770 and reverts to Intel HD 4600 graphics
Cold boot - Motherboard recognised and uses GTX 770
Windows Restart - Motherboard doesn't recognise GTX 770 and reverts to Intel HD 4600 graphics

This test was run with the BIOs settings as standard after CMOS cleared. I'm pretty sure that yesterday, after turning off fast boot in the BIOS, the PC would use the GTX 770 some of the time after restarting windows, but not always.

 

[Akele]

When you purchased it was it listed as new or did it have any qualifiers on the listing, like "refurbished". If you got the board and it was listed as new with no qualifiers then you should have no problem with an RMA should you need to do so. However, if it had any qualifiers in the listing, such as "refurbished", then you may not be able to RMA it. Double check your order and any receipts you may have to make sure that what you received matches with what you actually ordered because it sounds like you may have received a "refurbished" board. This may have been done completely on accident or you may have accidentally ordered the wrong board by mistake. Double check to be sure.

Also, try what john3850 suggested. That may solve the issue. If it doesn't then I would say it is definitely a faulty PCI-E.

Hi TY-1

No, when I bought the motherboard I bought it at full price as new. Here's the link I used: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus...ta-iii-sata-raid-pcie-30-(x16)-dport-hdmi-atx

I've checked the packing slip and the invoice and there's nothing on it to indicate that the board is refurbished. Also, the serial number on the packing slip matches the number on the motherboard box.

I think you're right. I think the PCI-E is just faulty. Hopefully the retailer (Scan) will be swift in arranging a return for me. Thanks for your help.

 

[john3850]

I would suggest trying any different pci-e card to be sure its the mb and not the card.
A few GF cards that I did rma would show only 4 or 8 lanes instead of the 16 lanes it was in.

 

[Akele]

Well... if my motherboard wasn't broken before it is now. In a rather unfortunate turn of events I have inadvertently destroyed several of the pins in the CPU socket. Here's the sad story of how my motherboard met its demise:

I contacted Scan, the retailer of my motherboard, about the problem with the PCI-E slot not always recognising my GTX 770 / running at x8 bandwith and they agreed to raise an RMA. In the process of repacking the motherboard for posting back to Scan, I made a very bad job of replacing the plastic CPU socket protector. I though the socket protector was the under the metal CPU cover type, when it was actually the over the metal cover type.

See here for examples:
Under: http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/articles/2012/07/28095612603l.JPG
Over: http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/articles/2012/07/27121307242l.JPG

I put in the socket protector, pressed down the lever and heard a horrible scraping noise. I guess there's something humorously ironic about destroying the CPU socket with the CPU socket protector, but I wasn't thinking that at the time. I made a desperate effort to bend back the pins with tweezers, but they were beyond saving. I felt sick. I was certain that I'd written off £188 worth of motherboard, so I contacted Scan to let them know of my mistake and to ask them to cancel the RMA. Thankfully, the guy at the Scan returns department offered to post the board back to Asus for repair / replacement for a nominal fee of £25. What a relief!

I've just posted by poor abused motherboard back to Scan. Apparently the turnaround time for repair / replacement can be up to 28 days, as the board needs to go to the Asus repair centre in the Netherlands. Even so, that's a whole lot better a situation than the one I thought I was facing when I saw the results of my error with the socket cover. I'll never make that mistake again. I felt like such an idiot.

Thanks everyone for your advice about fixing the intermittent graphics problem. In the end, I wasn't able to get the Sabertooth Z87 to work properly with my GTX 770. I also tried the board with a GTX 560, which seemed to work better, but didn't run at full x16 bandwith. I also tried running my GTX 770 in my venerable old DFI Lanparty nf4 sli-dr board (circa 2005) and it worked perfectly with all x16 lanes showing in CPU-Z.

I'll post back when I have a new / repaired Sabertooth Z87 board and let you know if the graphics issue has been resolved. Thanks again for your help!

 

[TY-1]

Wow, that is some seriously bad luck there, breaking the pins like that.

However, at the same time that is some pretty good luck that Scan was willing to send it back to Asus for repair/replacement for so little.

I hope that when you get your board back it works properly for you.

 

[blackened23]

I would return that board ASAP. A merchant selling a used item as new is never acceptable. I don't know how the UK treats such things, but I would never accept this and demand an exchange for a new unit.

 

[Ketchup]

I would return that board ASAP. A merchant selling a used item as new is never acceptable. I don't know how the UK treats such things, but I would never accept this and demand an exchange for a new unit.

Yeah, I am not surprised they were willing to take it back and send it to Asus for you. They either have good customer service and the used board was an honest mistake, or they are trying to hide what they tried to pull. At this point I don't know if you would want to be proactive, or wait and see if you get a new board back. I wouldn't feel the need to bring up your accident with the pins since they sold you a faulty used board as new in the first place.

But if you paid them to take it back, and have to be without a board for 28 days, I would try a legal method of making them make this right. Did you snap any pics of the "returned" nature of this board before you gave it back to them?

Edit: after looking at some online reviews, I am thinking this could have been an honest mistake on their part. Did you mention the returned nature of the board when you gave it back to Scan?

 

[Akele]

Quote:
Originally Posted by blackened23
I would return that board ASAP. A merchant selling a used item as new is never acceptable. I don't know how the UK treats such things, but I would never accept this and demand an exchange for a new unit.
Yeah, I am not surprised they were willing to take it back and send it to Asus for you. They either have good customer service and the used board was an honest mistake, or they are trying to hide what they tried to pull. At this point I don't know if you would want to be proactive, or wait and see if you get a new board back. I wouldn't feel the need to bring up your accident with the pins since they sold you a faulty used board as new in the first place.

But if you paid them to take it back, and have to be without a board for 28 days, I would try a legal method of making them make this right. Did you snap any pics of the "returned" nature of this board before you gave it back to them?

Edit: after looking at some online reviews, I am thinking this could have been an honest mistake on their part. Did you mention the returned nature of the board when you gave it back to Scan?

Yes, I wasn't exactly happy to find that Scan had sent a pre-used board. I've ordered plenty of PC components from Scan in the past and have never been sent preused goods. I probably should have just returned the MB straight away when I saw that it wasn't new; however, I had all the components ready for the system and though I might as well build it.

I contacted Scan about the graphics issue, then again to explain about the pins. They've been quite good to be honest. They are one of the better UK online retailers, hence the reason I ordered from them in the first place and my surprise at being sent a preused MB.

Hopefully my luck will be better from now on in. It's just all part of the excitement of building your own system!