GPU Sag Causing Problems

[dbennett1027]

So I figured I would post this to see if this is a common problem or not but I have come to believe that my GPU may have damaged my PCIe slot. I'll give some background information... I have a full custom waterloop so my GPU has a water block on it so it is not heavy by any means compared to air cooled cards. And the card does not sag that much but it is slightly visible. The motherboard is an Asus ROG Maximus Hero XI, which has reinforced PCIe slots. I came across the issue randomly when I was having weird performance issues and infrequent crashes. I tried everything software side to fix the issues before I realised in the bios that the card was running at PCIe x4 mode, which it was not before. So I figured I would reseat the GPU and clean the slot. To my surprise after reseating it the card was in PCIe x2 mode. So I tried to lift up on the card slightly and restart the PC back and to bios.. now it was registering x1 mode. I finally managed to tinker with it enough that it is working properly now in x16 mode. I am afraid that any amount of movement or vibration will cause it to mess up again. Sorry for the long story but I was wondering if anyone has had this problem before or has any input? I was planning on getting a GPU support brace to help with the small amount of sag or would someone recommend using another PCIe slot in case the current slot is damaged? I would try another slot right now but that means running new hard-line tubes in my loop which is inconvenient. So I figured I'd post my situation and get some insight.

[LIGISTX]

2 minutes ago, dbennett1027 said:

So I figured I would post this to see if this is a common problem or not but I have come to believe that my GPU may have damaged my PCIe slot. I'll give some background information... I have a full custom waterloop so my GPU has a water block on it so it is not heavy by any means compared to air cooled cards. And the card does not sag that much but it is slightly visible. The motherboard is an Asus ROG Maximus Hero XI, which has reinforced PCIe slots. I came across the issue randomly when I was having weird performance issues and infrequent crashes. I tried everything software side to fix the issues before I realised in the bios that the card was running at PCIe x4 mode, which it was not before. So I figured I would reseat the GPU and clean the slot. To my surprise after reseating it the card was in PCIe x2 mode. So I tried to lift up on the card slightly and restart the PC back and to bios.. now it was registering x1 mode. I finally managed to tinker with it enough that it is working properly now in x16 mode. I am afraid that any amount of movement or vibration will cause it to mess up again. Sorry for the long story but I was wondering if anyone has had this problem before or has any input? I was planning on getting a GPU support brace to help with the small amount of sag or would someone recommend using another PCIe slot in case the current slot is damaged? I would try another slot right now but that means running new hard-line tubes in my loop which is inconvenient. So I figured I'd post my situation and get some insight.

What CPU? Its possible the CPU isn't seated perfectly and not making good contact with the PCIe lane pins/pads.

 

Beyond that, I would suggest trying a different slot as a first step. Its possible to damage a slot, but if its not sagging badly, I doubt that is the issue, or at least doubt that was the cause of the issue. You can always post a pic here as well if you want us to take a look.

[dbennett1027]

19 minutes ago, LIGISTX said:

What CPU? Its possible the CPU isn't seated perfectly and not making good contact with the PCIe lane pins/pads.

 

Beyond that, I would suggest trying a different slot as a first step. Its possible to damage a slot, but if its not sagging badly, I doubt that is the issue, or at least doubt that was the cause of the issue. You can always post a pic here as well if you want us to take a look.

It is a 9900k with a EK monoblock. I have had the current setup for at least 6 months without issue. So I'm hoping it's not a CPU problem as this has only just started happening. I can take a picture when I get a chance, and will probably try another slot when I get around to running new tubes. If it is a damaged slot do you think an RMA would be advisable?

[LIGISTX]

24 minutes ago, dbennett1027 said:

It is a 9900k with a EK monoblock. I have had the current setup for at least 6 months without issue. So I'm hoping it's not a CPU problem as this has only just started happening. I can take a picture when I get a chance, and will probably try another slot when I get around to running new tubes. If it is a damaged slot do you think an RMA would be advisable?

If its a bad slot, I highly highly doubt it died from sag, at least based on how you described it. With a pic, we can easily tell you what seems normal vs abnormal. If it all looks normal, and it died on you, yea RMA would be a good option. 

[dbennett1027]

19 hours ago, LIGISTX said:

If its a bad slot, I highly highly doubt it died from sag, at least based on how you described it. With a pic, we can easily tell you what seems normal vs abnormal. If it all looks normal, and it died on you, yea RMA would be a good option. 

I couldnt really get a great pic to show the sag clearly. But I did try the second PCIe slot and it seems its working fine now. It is only a x8 slot but its been staying at x8 all day so I believe the 1st slot is damaged. I might try to RMA the board which sucks because ASUS lol but it isnt that big a deal because I have a 3950x and Asus ROG Crosshair VIII HERO w/ monoblock just casually sitting next to me in their boxes lol, so I guess I will be switching to a Ryzen gaming PC. And my wife will inherit the 9900k in her pc (from a 9600k)

[dbennett1027]

20 hours ago, LIGISTX said:

If its a bad slot, I highly highly doubt it died from sag, at least based on how you described it. With a pic, we can easily tell you what seems normal vs abnormal. If it all looks normal, and it died on you, yea RMA would be a good option. 

Actually upon further inspection I do notice something weird going on with the slot. this is the best photo I could take but it looks like there is discoloration or something? Does that look normal?

[LIGISTX]

3 hours ago, dbennett1027 said:

I couldnt really get a great pic to show the sag clearly. But I did try the second PCIe slot and it seems its working fine now. It is only a x8 slot but its been staying at x8 all day so I believe the 1st slot is damaged. I might try to RMA the board which sucks because ASUS lol but it isnt that big a deal because I have a 3950x and Asus ROG Crosshair VIII HERO w/ monoblock just casually sitting next to me in their boxes lol, so I guess I will be switching to a Ryzen gaming PC. And my wife will inherit the 9900k in her pc (from a 9600k)

I have RMAed a few things with ASUS, I have had good experiences. For gaming though, the 9900k will do better.... 

 

Ask for advanced RMA, they will cross ship. So no down time at all. 

3 hours ago, dbennett1027 said:

Actually upon further inspection I do notice something weird going on with the slot. this is the best photo I could take but it looks like there is discoloration or something? Does that look normal?

Hard to tell in the pic... but maybe?

[dbennett1027]

2 hours ago, LIGISTX said:

I have RMAed a few things with ASUS, I have had good experiences. For gaming though, the 9900k will do better.... 

 

Ask for advanced RMA, they will cross ship. So no down time at all. 

Hard to tell in the pic... but maybe?

Here, I managed to get a better angle.. there is definitely something built up in the slot and I have no idea what it is.

[LIGISTX]

1 hour ago, dbennett1027 said:

Here, I managed to get a better angle.. there is definitely something built up in the slot and I have no idea what it is.

Weird. Likely just dust. But yea if it’s a bad slot, RMA it.