ASUS TUF 4070ti: no DisplayPort signal at boot until OS startup

[duckargent]

Hello.

I have changed my monitor + GPU combo: my new setup is an Asus PG259QNR 360Hz Nvidia G-sync chip + Asus TUF 4070ti OC. When I boot my PC, I get 5 short beeps, no DisplayPort signal, black screen but the system boots normally to Windows where I finally get the image. This error I experience on a cold boot (more than 30 min off). On system restart, or short boot (system off, 1-5-10 min, system on), everything runs normally. The other components are: Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Master, 10900k, 32GB 3200 CL14 B-die. These components, with my old GTX 1080 have run flawlessly since 2020 (with not even 1 system crash/error).

 

The connection is through a DisplayPort cable, the original cable which came with my monitor.

 

The 5 beeps error message is misleading. It seems that Gigabyte's FAQ states that 5 beeps mean CPU error but this is wrong since this error arrived when I installed these 2 new components (GPU and monitor). Other users on the internet have confirmed that this 5 beeps message comes also when there is no display/GPU signal.

 

I updated to the V1 BIOS found on ASUS' support page (Notes: "Update VBIOS to improve the compatibility") but it hasn't solved the issue, so I reverted back to the original BIOS.

 

Maybe I should add that I changed now also the PSU (Seasonic 850W 80+ Titanium), due to wattage requirement, but I don't see what effect a PSU can have regarding this display issue. I don't have any overclocking applied in my system (CPU or GPU). Just to rule out an install error, I took out the GPU, and the 12VHPWR connector/adapter and I connected them once again: no improvement. The 12VHPWR adapter gets 2 separate PCIe cables from the PSU (no daisy chain). I have the latest F21 Gigabyte motherboard BIOS. Also, I tried to update the Nvidia firmware (this specifically solved the no DisplayPort signal error) but obviously, there was no update needed, as that update is for older 10xx cards.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[emosun]

it's more than likely an issue between the firmware on the board and card not properly handshaking on boot. which isn't a solvable issue unless you know how to create your own firmware. it can happen if the board manufacturer is unaware of an issue between this specific card and board.

if it bothers you enough you can try a different 4070 and see if it's more compatible with the board.

[duckargent]

16 minutes ago, emosun said:

if it bothers you enough you can try a different 4070 and see if it's more compatible with the board.

Well, having 5 beeps at boot is not something very nice in the long run (at least I have the option to remove the system speaker). Regarding the blank screen, I can live with that. Should I open a ticket with Asus, would it help? I thought to keep the card and to wait for a vBIOS update which may (or may not) fix the issue.

 

Do you think I should keep the board or to return it? I am in the last days of the return period and I don't think I have the time to try out a new card.

[emosun]

3 minutes ago, duckargent said:

Should I open a ticket with Asus, would it help? I thought to keep the card and to wait for a vBIOS update which may (or may not) fix the issue.

it'll only help if they get enough complaints , otherwise they'll tell you the same thing and say try another card.

actually , any company will try their hardest to pass blame and not help , it's rather annoying.

4 minutes ago, duckargent said:

Do you think I should keep the board or to return it? I am in the last days of the return period and I don't think I have the time to try out a new card.

well your board is functional so if it were me i'd try a different brand/model of card.

keep in mind this firmware issue is a theory that needs to be tested and might not be the problem , it's just what i assume is the problem.

[duckargent]

17 hours ago, emosun said:

keep in mind this firmware issue is a theory that needs to be tested and might not be the problem , it's just what i assume is the problem.

Hello.

 

I tried something else. I remember reading somewhere on the internet from someone advising to turn on the monitor prior to booting up the computer (the issue was the same "no DisplayPort signal", but without beeps).

 

So, what I did was to press a button on the monitor prior to booting up. These were the steps: I pressed one button on the monitor, it turned on with the ASUS logo on the screen (along with the "DisplayPort" center message, instead of the "no DisplayPort signal"); I pressed the computer button to power it on; the computer started and I was greeted with the BIOS Gigabyte boot logo; without any beeps/system error audio cues, the computer booted to the OS, while the monitor retained the image along the way. The boot sequence was now normal, without any audio error messages.

 

So, to summarize:

1. If I don't press any button on the monitor: the monitor is powered down; I power on the system, "no DisplayPort signal" message, 5 short system beeps, blank screen (no boot logo or anything written on the screen) until the W10 desktop appears, after which everything runs normal.

2. If I press a button on the monitor: the monitor starts up, ASUS logo on the screen, "DisplayPort" message in the center; I power up the system, no beeps, the Gigabyte boot logo immediately shows on the screen, the W10 desktop appears, this looks like a normal boot sequence.

 

Now, I don't know what to understand from this. I get that this monitor (PG259QNR) is kind of "special", that is 360Hz/G-sync, but I don't think that it needs a "warming period". It looks like the GPU cannot start the monitor up fast enough for a proper boot, hence the "no DisplayPort" error. And I don't think the panel needs a warming period because there is a minimum signal on the screen: the "no DisplayPort signal" message in the center.

 

The monitor is set on the default setting "Deep sleep - ON". This is an excerpt from the manual:

DisplayPort Deep Sleep: Puts the DisplayPort port into deep sleep.

HDMI Deep Sleep: Puts the HDMI port into deep sleep.

If the monitor cannot wake up after going into deep sleep, do one of the followings:

- Press any button (except the power button) on the monitor to wake it up.

- Disable the Deep Sleep function.

[duckargent]

In the meantime, I found these threads:

 

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?123111-XG279Q-NEEDS-firmware-update-to-remove-deep-sleep#:~:text=DisplayPort Deep Sleep makes the,Deep Sleep on the monitor.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/a11j7y/to_all_asus_pg279q_owners/?ref=share&ref_source=embed&utm_content=body&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_name=086547f31a35469abb8115baf3973053&utm_source=embedly&utm_term=a11j7y

 

"DisplayPort Deep Sleep makes the monitor take an eternity to wake up so you can boot your PC, turn on the monitor, and by the time the monitor finally wakes up, the graphics card is already skipping the bios because it thinks no monitor is hooked up. This issue goes away if you can turn off Deep Sleep on the monitor."

"Does your monitor take a long time to turn on? Does it experience sleep issues? If so, I too had these issues and have recently discovered a super simple solution. ... Deep Sleep Press in on the joystick to disable them"

 

I am thinking now to disable the deep sleep option and to see how it performs. I will report back.

 

[duckargent]

Hello.

 

I have found the problem. The culprit seems to be the Asus PG259QNR monitor: I disabled the power management feature "DisplayPort deep sleep" and the issue is gone. Basically with this option enabled, the monitor is "hard to wake", that is, it is waking with a delay, thus making the GPU think that there is no display attached to it, hence the only logical step would be the "No DisplayPort signal". Or, to rephrase it, by the time the monitor wakes up, the system is already logged in the Windows, making the GPU think along the way that there is no monitor connected.

 

Now, with that function disabled, I press the power on button and after 2-3 seconds I get the boot logo and everything goes normal from here.

 

The worst part is that this function is enabled by default on these monitors, hence it is hard to debug without someone else's knowledge; if I had not found the above articles, I would have still remained with my belief that the GPU may be the culprit. Also, this power management feature should keep the monitor in a "deep sleep" state which should be an always on state, so the monitor should basically wake up faster; on the contrary, with this set to ON, the monitor is actually waking up slower, which leads me to believe that this might be a firmware error.

 

To anyone reading this, I repeat: in case of "No DisplayPort signal" error at boot, followed by a blank screen until the Windows desktop appears, disable the monitor power management feature "DisplayPort (or HDMI) deep sleep". This problem may or may be not peculiar to Asus, as I remember another user having the same issue on a Samsung Odyssey monitor.

 

I hope this helps.