ROG STRIX Z790-F GAMING WIFI II RTX 4090 GPU Not Recognized

[bhughes63]

I have a system I'm building with the Asus ROG Strix Z790-F WiFi II MB and an MSI RTX 4090 Suprim X 24G GPU. I'm getting no display, no fans on GPU, but the GPU lighting is on. The Q-LED for video lights up and I'm unable to access the BIOS in UEFI or CSM mode. My CPU is an i9-14900KF so no integrated graphics to test with. The MB BIOS is the latest revision released last week.

As for troubleshooting:

I've checked the PSU, the 12VHPWR connector looks good, 12 V on all 6 power sockets and the sense pins are grounded so the max power should be available. The PSU is an ATX 3.0 so my cable is a straight thru 12VHPWR and has more than enough wattage.

I tried a GTX 1070 in the same slot, that card works but it doesn't show up properly in the BIOS under PCI devices. I installed Win 11 and installed the Nvidia drivers. The GTX 1070 works fine under Windows. No impact on the RTX 4090 display though when switching back. Under the SA there isn't a graphics configuration menu with either card.

This all led me to think it must be a bad GPU. I sent it in to MSI under warranty. They say it was repaired and ok'd it. I reinstalled it but still no display, no BIOS access.

This all makes me think that either the MB is defective or that it just doesn't have the BIOS to support the MSI RTX 4090. The only thing I haven't tried is pulling the M2 drive that is shared with the GPU slot.

Any suggestions?

[MrAgapiGC]

play with monitor video until post

What cpu you are using?

[bhughes63]

The CPU is an Intel i9-14900KF, unlocked, no integrated graphics.

I'm not sure what you mean by play with monitor until post. I'm using the DP output, tried all 3, and the HDMI output, no video on any. Tried hitting F2 or DEL before and during post. No display, no signal, no BIOS and I get the white VGA light always with the RTX 4090. No display issues with the GTX 1070.

Also, I tried pulling the M.2 SSD but there was no change. I've also reset the BIOS/CMOS with no change either.

[MrAgapiGC]

try this. play with monitor menu when you turn on the pc.( or restart) so is not sleep. let see if post the asus logo.

if not contact support

[bhughes63]

I've already made sure the monitor was active and not asleep when testing. There is no asus logo, no BIOS selection screen and the white LED showing no VGA detected is on.

I pulled out a Dell RTX 3090 and tried that, it worked fine; I could access the BIOS and boot into Win11. I ran GPU-Z and everything looked normal.

I don't think this is an Asus MB issue. On powering up the 3090 the GPU fans ran on full until getting to the BIOS. The 4090 never has its fans running. I'm going to try a new 12VHPWR cable and reopen the ticket with MSI. They claimed they fixed the GPU but never stated what they found.

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @bhughes63 

May I ask if this issue occurred when you first built this PC, or did it appear after some time and specific hardware or software changes?
Have you used an extension cable or adapter to connect the GPU, and have you tried cross-testing different PCIe x16 slots on the ROG STRIX Z790-F GAMING WIFI II to see if it could outputs video correctly?

Regarding your description, "No impact on the RTX 4090 display though when switching back. Under the SA there isn't a graphics configuration menu with either card," does this mean that when using the MSI RTX 4090 Suprim X 24G GPU, there is a display but no corresponding BIOS settings?
We recommend referring to the troubleshooting steps for VGA Q-LED light or No Display issues, which include checking the GPU's gold fingers for damage or dirt.
If possible, please also cross-test the MSI RTX 4090 Suprim X 24G GPU with a different motherboard.

Thank you.

[bhughes63]

Hello,

For your 1st paragraph:

The issue occurred when I first built the PC. I have not used an extension cable or adapter.

I have not tried cross-testing in the G4 x16 slot. I would need to remove the MB from the case for the GPU to fit and since 2 other GPUs have worked in the G5 x16 slot I don't suspect the G5 slot to be bad. It's that my PSU 12VHPWR cable may be defective so I plan to test new cables this weekend. One cable is a 12VHPWR straight thru for my Phanteks PSU, the other cable will work with an EVGA ATX 2.0 PSU I have.

If the cables or PSU aren't faulty, I plan on removing the MB and will test the G4 PCIe slot. My next step would be to try the GPU in an MSI MB I have purchased for another build. If that also doesn't work MSI has stated they will RMA a 2nd time and include a shipping label. The GPU was sent in a few weeks ago and they stated the GPU was repaired and tested ok.

As to your 2nd paragraph:

I was referring to the MB BIOS not showing any PCIe info for my GTX 1070 or RTX 3090 when first tested. Later on I did see that the BIOS was showing a Gen 4 x16 device in the G5 slot when I had the RTX 3090 installed. The MSI GPU isn't detected, the VGA light has always lit up with this GPU and I get no video signal under any conditions. I've tried all the usual things, resetting the CMOS, removing the NVMe SSD from the G5 slot, removing 1 DIMM, switching to CSM mode, etc.

[bhughes63 · Accepted solution]

After doing some additional troubleshooting I have found that my issue was caused by a failure in the 12VHPWR cable. One of the sense cable pins wasn't making contact which causes the GPU to read my PSU as only capable of 300 watts. The GPU does not appear to POST if the PSU is sensed as below 450 watts.

MSI did claim that they found aa damaged component, fixed it and tested it as okay. So it is possible that the GPU didn't work out of the box which complicated troubleshooting.

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @bhughes63 

I'm glad you were able to pinpoint the problem.
We recommended that you check again after GPU repair(if needed) or cross-test with another power cable.
And if you encounter any further difficulties or have any concerns, please feel free to update or PM me anytime.

Thank you.