Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti power indicator flashing while playing games

[ahmedbatty]

Summary:

I recently got a Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and the power indicator is flashing on one of the sockets.

 

What I Have:

• CPU: Intel Core i5-8400
• Motherboard: ASUS TUF H370 Pro Gaming Wi-Fi
• RAM: 2x 8GB (Transcend DDR4 2666Mhz)
• Graphics Card: Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC Pro Rev 3.0
• Power Supply: Corsair VS 650W
• Cooler: Cooler Master MasterAir MA410P
• Fans: 2x Be Quiet Pure Wings 2 120mm PWM
• SSD1: HIKVision E100N 128GB M.2
• SSD2: Transcend SSD220S 240GB
• SSD3: Crucial MX500 500GB

 

PSU has 2x 6+2 pin cable for graphics card.

Graphics Card has 8 pin and 6pin power sockets.

I have named A and B for referencing throughout this post. (as shown in pictures)

 

 

 

 

What's Happening:

While playing games the power indicator light above connector B blinks, which according to the Gigabyte graphics card website means 'any power supply abnormality'. (You can check Video1, Video2)

I still went ahead and checked a few things:

• Checked the snugness of the cables. Shut down the computer, turned off the power supply, removed the cables from the card and inserted them again checking if its fitting right. [light still blinking]
• Swapped the power connectors. Connected 8 pins of B and 6 pins of A. [light now blinks above the 8 pin]

I have tested the following games:

• Watch Dogs 2
• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Hot Wheels Unleashed
• Batman: Arkham Knight
• The Witcher 3
• Fallout 4

 

What could be the problem?

• Is 650W less for my PC?
• Is the power supply faulty? (I have been using this PSU since early 2019, used with an ROG STRIX 1060 on the same PC)
• Is there anything else I should check? Do let me know.

Edited August 9, 2022 by ahmedbatty
Added list of games tested for this issue

[Poinkachu]

Tried using 2 separate PCIe cables instead of daisy chain yet ?

[DoctorNick]

Ok so the lights flash? Does it work without crashing? If yes I would suspect voltage spikes. RTX 3000 series is known for this. (this is normal)

Thank you for posting a thread with such great detail and information! (this is rare)

I wouldn't worry too much as long as the PC runs stable.

[DoctorNick]

6 minutes ago, Poinkachu said:

Tried using 2 separate PCIe cables instead of daisy chain yet ?

PSU only has one cable with 2x 6+2

Edit: But yes a fix could be to get a PSU which has 2x2 6+2 PCI-e cables such as RM750 or RM850 @ahmedbatty

[ahmedbatty]

4 minutes ago, Poinkachu said:

Tried using 2 separate PCIe cables instead of daisy chain yet ?

 

2 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

PSU only has one cable with 2x 6+2

Yes, PSU only has one cable. I wish there were more so I could have used 2 different cables.

[Poinkachu]

1 minute ago, ahmedbatty said:

 

Yes, PSU only has one cable. I wish there were more so I could have used 2 different cables.

Yep, sorry, didn't really notice that when I posted a reply. Was too focused on the pics.

If the system runs things stable I doubt it's faulty PSU.
I'm not an expert, but maybe the card detected a big enough voltage drop on the daisy chain & think it's something gone really wrong.

 

[ahmedbatty]

5 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

Ok so the lights flash? Does it work without crashing? If yes I would suspect voltage spikes. RTX 3000 series is known for this. (this is normal)

Light flashes, but I haven't experienced any crashes ever.

Would I be having any problems down the line? or should I just stay with this power supply?

[ahmedbatty]

2 minutes ago, Poinkachu said:

Yep, sorry, didn't really notice that when I posted a reply. Was too focused on the pics.

No problem man, thank you for your reply

[kuchikirukia]

Sounds like bad connector/cable.  Probably too much resistance, so you're getting a voltage drop the card doesn't like.

I'd stop using it since there's actually a potential fire hazard there.

 

You could try a SATA to PCIe adapter.

[Poinkachu]

Just now, kuchikirukia said:

Sounds like bad connector/cable.  Probably too much resistance, so you're getting a voltage drop the card doesn't like.

I'd stop using it since there's actually a potential fire hazard there.

 

You could try a SATA to PCIe adapter.

Um... I advise not.
SATA connector is rated for max 54 watt, PCIe connector is 150 watt.
Unless we really know for sure how many watt the port that we attach the adapter into pulls, it's not a safe thing to do.
Especially with RTX 30 occasional power spikes.

But I do agree with checking the pins inside the connector, just in case.

[DoctorNick]

2 minutes ago, ahmedbatty said:

Light flashes, but I haven't experienced any crashes ever.

Would I be having any problems down the line? or should I just stay with this power supply?

Hard to say. Too bad you dont have a CX650, which has 2 seperate cables. You'll know if you've tripped the PSU. PC will crash. You could try pushing GPU harder to see if you can get it to crash. Personally I would change the PSU, especially if you plan to upgrade CPU and motherboard at some point.

[kuchikirukia]

1 minute ago, Poinkachu said:

Um... I advise not.
SATA connector is rated for max 54 watt, PCIe connector is 150 watt.
Unless we really know for sure how many watt the port that we attach the adapter into pulls, it's not a safe thing to do.
Especially with RTX 30 occasional power spikes.

But I do agree with checking the pins inside the connector, just in case.

6 pin is 75W, and the adapters are 2 SATA connectors to PCIe.

[ahmedbatty]

11 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

Hard to say. Too bad you dont have a CX650, which has 2 seperate cables. You'll know if you've tripped the PSU. PC will crash. You could try pushing GPU harder to see if you can get it to crash. Personally I would change the PSU, especially if you plan to upgrade CPU and motherboard at some point.

Actually I do plan to upgrade the CPU, motherboard and RAM later this year.

I could change the power supply in the next month or so. Could go for something like a 80 Plus Gold semi-modular or modular.

[ahmedbatty]

17 minutes ago, Poinkachu said:

But I do agree with checking the pins inside the connector, just in case.

How would I go about this?

Would I require a multimeter?

Do you have any good articles or videos to direct me to?

[DoctorNick]

1 hour ago, ahmedbatty said:

Actually I do plan to upgrade the CPU, motherboard and RAM later this year.

I could change the power supply in the next month or so. Could go for something like a 80 Plus Gold semi-modular or modular.

Yes RM750/850 is a good choice