HELP! New graphics card, computer pulsing on and off

[DaemonOfMaxwell]

I'm attempting to upgrade my computer's graphics card from an old AMD R7 to a new ASUS ROG STRIX RTX2070-08G-GAMING I just bought on New-Egg.

 

I also had to upgrade my 13 year old 430W power supply as it doesn't have enough oomph for the new card; got a new EVGA SUPERNOVA 750W G3.

 

My Motherboard is an ASUS ROG GENE VIII, about 2 years old.  I picked the ASUS ROG STRIX partly thinking it would be the least likely to have problems with my motherboard... boy was I wrong.

 

I switched the computer over the new power supply; no problems so far.  That includes powering my old AMD R7 off a 6/8 pin connector.

 

But when I have the new graphics card inserted my whole computer pulses on and off about once per second!  GPU RGB lights flashing, all fans PULSING (case, power supply AND GPU), power supply clicking, On and off, on and off.  Not enough time for an error code on the mother board or anything to show up on the monitor.  Just on/off/on/off/on/off @ ~ 60bpm.

 

I contacted ASUS and they suggested I get a replacement card from New-Egg.  I received the new card today and it does the exact same thing.

 

1. I've updated my BIOS, no luck, same behavior.
2. Tried many different combinations of cables and ports on the power supply; no luck, same behavior.
3. Tried using the other PCI Express Slot; no luck, same behavior.
4. Tried booting with the power cables to the graphics card disconnected - SAME BEHAVIOR?!... seems to indicate a power issue...
5. Reconnected the old power supply (only has 1 6-pin so I can't power the new 2070), tried to boot with GPU power disconnected; SAME BEHAVIOR, though my old power supply didn't click as loudly as the new EVGA one when pulsing on and off.
6. Tried reconnecting the AMD R7 instead... still fine; I haven't fried the system.

 

I'm at a bit of a loss here.  Do I have two cards that are bad the same way in a row?  Is my new power supply somehow able to power the 6-pin R7, but not the 8+6-pin STRIX?

 

Suggestions anyone?!!

[191x7]

I guess you're using the PCI-E 6+2 PIN power cables? I've seen people trying to use 8-pin CPU EPS on a graphics card and having such issues.

[DaemonOfMaxwell]

10 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

I guess you're using the PCI-E 6+2 PIN power cables? I've seen people trying to use 8-pin CPU EPS on a graphics card and having such issues.

Correct, PCI-E 6+2 PIN power cables.  Not the 4+4 pin CPU cables.

[Burnedice25]

I would say that 1. you got two bad cards in a row or 2. something on your motherboard is broken. Maybe put the new card into another system? see what happens

[191x7]

29 minutes ago, DaemonOfMaxwell said:

Correct, PCI-E 6+2 PIN power cables.  Not the 4+4 pin CPU cables.

Can you take everything out of the case and connect all the most basic/necessary stuff only?

The PSU, MBO, CPU, 1 RAM stick and the GPU. Try and see.

[DaemonOfMaxwell]

7 hours ago, Burnedice25 said:

I would say that 1. you got two bad cards in a row or 2. something on your motherboard is broken. Maybe put the new card into another system? see what happens

Putting the card in another system is a very good suggestion.  I think I may have a though time finding one that is suitable and can power it though...

[Fasauceome]

1 hour ago, DaemonOfMaxwell said:

Putting the card in another system is a very good suggestion.  I think I may have a though time finding one that is suitable and can power it though...

You really only need 450 watts for a 2070 system and a reasonable CPU

[DaemonOfMaxwell]

18 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

You really only need 450 watts for a 2070 system and a reasonable CPU

It has to be a PC with enough space for the (very large) GPU card and 6+8 pin power connectors.  Most computers I have access to right now are macs, laptops, cloud servers, or small form factor PCs :-(

[DaemonOfMaxwell]

I was able to bring the card to try it out in a different PC yesterday.  It loaded up fine.  It seems the problem is with my Motherboard, or perhaps the power supply, though that seems unlikely.

 

Are there BIOS settings which could be causing a problem?  Do I need something other than the default values?

[ubm3d]

Make sure the 6+2 VGA power cables are connected to the right ports on the PSU. (try VGA1 & VGA 2, if that does not work, use VGA 3+ VGA 4 ports. even try powering your old graphic card with different ports (VGA 1-4) from the new psu to see if one ofthem is faulty.

[DaemonOfMaxwell]

On 4/19/2019 at 1:07 PM, ubm3d said:

Make sure the 6+2 VGA power cables are connected to the right ports on the PSU. (try VGA1 & VGA 2, if that does not work, use VGA 3+ VGA 4 ports. even try powering your old graphic card with different ports (VGA 1-4) from the new psu to see if one ofthem is faulty.

I get positive power indicator LEDs on the graphics card, and I have already tried quite a few combinations.  It seems that it is my Motherboard itself that is not delivering power?

[DaemonOfMaxwell]

FYI this issue was never resolved (has stumped ASUS Level 2 tech support and they have been ignoring me/it), but seems to be some kind of Motherboard-GPU compatibility affecting power to the GPU?  After extensive testing (including booting with bare minimal components, clearing CMOS, etc.)  I ended up just upgrading to a new ASRock Motherboard and Ryzen 2600X processor.  The same ASUS 2070 I was having trouble with my ASUS motherboard works fine on the new board.

[Cassie N]

Solution:

 

Gigabyte cards have a 'semi passive' option which you have to switch to active. You do this by downloading their video card add on program Aorus and there is a weird button for this on the bottom right of the front screen.

 

The other option for me was to just take the cover off of the computer - it is the other components heating up the graphics card during web browsing that causes the card to reach the trigger temperature.

 

The final option is to use Aorus to not activate the fans until the card is pretty warm.