PC won't run with only single monitor " only works on dual monitor setup"

[mircato]

TL;DR PC freezes with green dots all over the screen when I use single monitor setup but it works absolutely fine when 2 monitors are connected and turned on
Hello, so I got a very weird problem with my GPU
Here's a link with my PC specs and build:
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/mircato/saved/#view=XZHKqs
I bought the GPU like 3 months ago, it's a 3080 gigabyte vision 10G rev 2.0
It all started when I unplugged my second monitor power cable while the PC was on and now the PC won't run on a single monitor.
Initially it would show green dots, and flicker but continue to be usable but now it will just freeze the entire PC forcing me to reboot it but now it immediately shows green dots and freeze after 5-15 seconds after I boot the PC with only one monitor
I could install and uninstall GPU drivers normally before, but now it goes blank when it flickers during installation or uninstallation, I found a workaround to install the drivers but that's not the issue
Here's what I tried so far:
1- removed one new memory kit I added recently
2- removed all extra SSDs and HDDs
3- Reinstalled OS
4- Tried Linux because I thought it might be a windows only issue
5- Tried another GPU on the PC and it worked flawlessly without any issues on one monitor
6- Tried safe mode and it works normally on one monitor
7- Did reset all MB bios settings
8- tried undervolting and underclocking using MSI afterburner
9- tried another monitor
10- tried another DP cable then tried an HDMI cable
11- Tried booting into an OS installed on another SSD
12- Tried different 8 pin cables that came with my PSU
13- Tried a different PCIE-4 slot
14- Tried other electricity sources with and without power strips
15- Unplugged all electric devices in my house except for the case and the monitor to make sure it's not an electricity problem
15- Tried new and old GPU drivers
and nothing worked so far
When the 2 monitors are connected PC works just fine without any issues, Furmark benchmarks are great! and i never faced issues playing my games at highest possible settings at 1440P like Apex Legends, Valorant, ESO, and CS:GO
Some friends recommended RMA'ing it but it would be somewhat difficult because I bought it internationally from Amazon Spain but I live in Africa and that would cost me much to send it for maintenance
so i was hoping to find a fix or a way to know for sure that the GPU is faulty before taking any further actions

 

[Quigly]

my recommendation, for what it's worth, would be to get a live / portable usb build of Ubuntu and test it out there to make sure it's not windows. If issue occurs in linux, try putting the GPU in another system. If it occurs under linux and replicates on another system it's likely hardware and I would RMA (it sounds like hardware tbh - electrical)

Update: Noticed you tried linux already (same issue? you don't specify) so yeah, if you've tried it in another PC, RMA.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Last two options I see:
1. Try in the PCIe 3.0 x4 slot
2. Reduce the PCIe revision in BIOS

Can you give us a screenshot of GPU-Z?

Some friends recommended RMA'ing it but it would be somewhat difficult because I bought it internationally from Amazon Spain but I live in Africa and that would cost me much to send it for maintenance

You should be able to deal directly with Gigabyte, leave Amazon out of it entirely.

 

[qubit]

Sounds like a bad graphics card. RMA it.

When using one monitor and going into the mobo BIOS, does it artefact then?

Did you buy it off an Amazon Marketplace seller? Was it brand new or open box / used?

 

[mircato]

my recommendation, for what it's worth, would be to get a live / portable usb build of Ubuntu and test it out there to make sure it's not windows. If issue occurs in linux, try putting the GPU in another system. If it occurs under linux and replicates on another system it's likely hardware and I would RMA (it sounds like hardware tbh - electrical)

Update: Noticed you tried linux already (same issue? you don't specify) so yeah, if you've tried it in another PC, RMA.

I tried popOS since it's the most Nvidia optimized distro I ever used and had the same issue yeah, I have another PC with b350, ryzen5 1600 and a 700W FSP hydro M PSU but it doesn't boot because it wasn't used for long I will try to fix it and attach the 3080 GPU and check if it works fine, thank you v much.

Last two options I see:
1. Try in the PCIe 3.0 x4 slot
2. Reduce the PCIe revision in BIOS

Can you give us a screenshot of GPU-Z?

I will try both and send you screenshots of GPU-Z as soon as I get home, thank you.

Sounds like a bad graphics card. RMA it.

When using one monitor and going into the mobo BIOS, does it artefact then?

Did you buy it off an Amazon Marketplace seller? Was it brand new or open box / used?

When using one monitor into the mobo BIOS it works normally and same for windows safe mode and normal windows when no GPU driver is installed, but the moment windows install GPU driver on its own I get the green dots n lines and PC freezes
I bought it brand new and the seller was amazon itself

 

[pavle]

When using one monitor into the mobo BIOS it works normally and same for windows safe mode and normal windows when no GPU driver is installed, but the moment windows install GPU driver on its own I get the green dots n lines and PC freezes
I bought it brand new and the seller was amazon itself

Oh my, that's not good, looks like the graphics card really is faulty. As said by

You should be able to deal directly with Gigabyte, leave Amazon out of it entirely.

try contacting Gigabyte.

 

[qubit]

You've done everything right, I think you're just unlucky with it.

I had a mobo network card once that could be seen by Windows XP, but the driver refused to see it. It used to work previously, too.

 

[mircato]

You've done everything right, I think you're just unlucky with it.

I had a mobo network card once that could be seen by Windows XP, but the driver refused to see it. It used to work previously, too.

What's really irritating me is that it works without any issues on dual monitors, great benchmarks, highest fps possible in games on max settings, no stutters, no crashes, no BSODs
And the only thing holding me back from RMAing it is the shipping costs because it would cost me around $200+ to ship it from Egypt and that's a month's salary
I haven't slept in 3 days trying to find a fix

 

[The King]

Maybe try getting one of those dummy hdmi plugs to have connected on the other port when you are running 1 monitor.

This HDMI Dummy Plug is a small device that acts as a display emulator. Once it's plugged into the video output socket on your device or computer, the plug punks the operating system into detecting a connected display, and voilà! Now you have unimpeded access to your graphics card hardware.

https://www.amazon.in/PiPlusTM-HDMI-Dummy-Plug-Resolution/dp/B093XZYYT7

 

[qubit]

What's really irritating me is that it works without any issues on dual monitors, great benchmarks, highest fps possible in games on max settings, no stutters, no crashes, no BSODs
And the only thing holding me back from RMAing it is the shipping costs because it would cost me around $200+ to ship it from Egypt and that's a month's salary
I haven't slept in 3 days trying to find a fix

$200, that's huge. Don't know what to suggest.
Have you tried contacting customer services to see if they can help you out with the cost?

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Maybe try getting one of those dummy hdmi plugs to have connected on the other port when you are running 1 monitor.

https://www.amazon.in/PiPlusTM-HDMI-Dummy-Plug-Resolution/dp/B093XZYYT7

That could work.

@mircato I would try contacting Gigabyte directly, they may have a location closer to you than you think.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Quick Qeustion: do you have the monitors set as a single display instead of extended?

 

[bug]

Obviously something's amiss with that video card. Try to RMA, pray you didn't short it somehow.
All you needed to do was test with a different GPU (bet you wish you had an IGP now), the other steps were not really necessary.

 

[Quigly]

I can understand trying to avoid RMA due to the cost, that is hefty. The reason I suggested linux was specifically to try avoid using nvidia drivers to see if generic drivers also reproduce this problem.

AFAIK artifacts often mean bad memory, why it would happen on single vs dual head - not sure. Either way, it seems hardware related and if it is, it's unlikely to improve with time. Your goal at this stage should be to increase your confidence on this being a hardware issue (specifically GPU hardware) rather than on trying to resolve it. RMA is a lot of money for you, but a new videocard is probably even more. Chalk it up to experience and bad luck. It happens to all of us.

 

[mircato]

Obviously something's amiss with that video card. Try to RMA, pray you didn't short it somehow.
All you needed to do was test with a different GPU (bet you wish you had an IGP now), the other steps were not really necessary.

I tried another GPU and it works normally without an issue " my gtx 1060 6gb"

Quick Qeustion: do you have the monitors set as a single display instead of extended?

when i set it to single display it freezes immediately

 

[bug]

I tried another GPU and it works normally without an issue " my gtx 1060 6gb"

Yes, but if you had an IGP, you could diagnose this without opening up the case.

Anyway, RMA that card, if it somehow shorted, you may damage it further using it in a bad condition. A friend of mine had something similar and the tiny electric arc that happened in his case eventually ate into the PCB.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

I tried another GPU and it works normally without an issue " my gtx 1060 6gb"

when i set it to single display it freezes immediately

ok so your not trying to use extended desktop?