• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Sapphire Pulse RX 580 4GB black screens when in PCIE x8 3.0 mode!

Joined
Dec 17, 2021
Messages
235 (0.28/day)
Location
East Malaysia
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard Asrock B450M Steel Legend @ BIOS Version P4.60
Cooling Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Memory PNY Electronics 8192 MB (DDR4-3200 with XMP/DOCP) P/N: 8GBF1X08QFHH38-135-K (x2)
Video Card(s) Colorful Tomahawk/BattleAx RTX 2060 Super
Storage HP SSD EX900 500GB, PNY CS900 960GB
Display(s) Acer QG240Y S3
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Bronze V2 650W, 230V non fullrange
Software Windows 10 Pro
Specs in the drop down menu, I'm using a Sapphire Pulse RX 550 2GB now, for obvious reasons.

I have an old Sapphire Pulse RX 580 4GB that I bought used, that I used while waiting for my Gigabyte RX 5600 XT RMA turnaround (now my seller is saying it'll take 1 month!), and it ran my games almost perfectly fine and crash-free, were it not for the fact that it topped out at PCIE x2 3.0 mode, as checked with GPU-Z. Seeing that this is way lower than the x16 3.0 that it's supposed to be, I cleaned the GPU contacts with isopropyl alcohol and the PCIE slot (only one GPU slot on my MB) with compressed air. At first, when I checked GPU-Z, it still tops out at only x4 3.0, so I did the process again, and behold, it went all the way to x8 3.0. Not quite x16, but acceptable for me.

What's absolutely not acceptable however is when I actually try playing a game with it. On The Witcher 3, I black screened immediately after starting dialogue with the Dandelion guy, black screen as in the monitor loses signal outright, though I still can hear the game music. WinKey+Ctrl+Shift+B did nothing, so I had to cold restart my PC. Note that the fans don't spin at 100% speed, at most it'll spin at the same speed before it crashed, at times it stops outright. After it restarted, I first checked the Event Viewer, where I found only Event 41 Kernel-Powers and "The previous system shutdown at...was unexpected", nothing specifically about graphics drivers. Afterwards I opened GPU-Z and tried the render test thing. At first, it reads that my RX 580 is running at PCIE x8 1.1. No problem, that's just how GPUs work in idle. I started the render test, bus interface now says PCIE x8 3.0, then almost immediately I get a black screen. I reseated the card, unscrewed it from the back of the case, reclean the contacts and the slot, it still black screens immediately after reaching the PCIE x8 3.0 state.

After a few cold restarts, the card ended up running on the MS basic display drivers. I took this opportunity to uninstall graphics drivers with DDU and then reinstalling the drivers. Then as soon as the part of the driver installation where the display flickers comes, the card...black screens again, the display doesn't go back on. It was at this moment that I decided to replace the RX 580 with my spare RX 550 (I bought it new, somehow). The RX 550 card runs flawlessly, though of course it isn't the most powerful GPU. It tops out at PCIE x8 3.0, and it can run x8 3.0 perfectly fine with no black screens whatsoever. Proof in the picture posted.

So now the question is, what is wrong with the RX 580 that it black screens in x8 3.0? Is it the card or something else in the system? What can I do to get it working again?

Also another problem with my PC, which may or may not be related to my RX 580 situation. My PC sometimes fails to wake up properly from hibernation, instead starting up as if it was fully shutdown. Event viewer says "Windows failed to resume from hibernate with error status 0xC0000411."

1670943952922.png
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
Not sure if this for me or the other guy, but if it's for me, does this mean I have to turn on my XMP/DOCP, then manually set my RAM speed to the default 2133?

Btw, my ram is currently set to 2133, no XMP.
both of you, that's the correct advice on how to set the system up

AMD havent updated everything on their website yet but they're adding in more CPU's over time with some extremely useful information, so your 3600 doesnt have this information but a 3400g and 5800x3d do

1675324741716.png
1675324758016.png



Being released in between these two, it's simple enough to estimate the 3600G will have a max speed around 3000, with 2x8GB (99% of 8GB sticks are single rank, and 99% of 16GB and up are dual rank)
Your ram is DDR4 3200

The problem is that with XMP off, your RAM isn't running at the timings and voltages it's designed for, while with XMP on your memory controller is out of spec
The only solution to get everything within spec is to enable XMP which sets the ram to 3200, the voltage to the required 1.35 and sets all the timings and then manually drop that RAM speed to 2933 (there usually isnt a 3000 option)

The plan B is memory overclocking related, except the RAM is in spec at 3200 while the memory controller isnt - so you'd raise your SoC voltage from the stock value and see if its stable at 3200 (it may need upto 1.20v, it may not help at all)


Very similar will likely apply to the other poster and his intel system, I'll see if i can find his maximum recommended RAM speeds


The thing is, the video cards themselves CAN be faulty - but the fact we're seeing PCI-E weirdness on your board implies its either the slot, or the SoC controlling the slot (which is also your DRAM controller)

Yeah, but in my case it is the intel system with Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600 Black - the one who gave me errors.
Continuing from above, your intel system is only rated for 2133 with dual rank memory - even lower than the AMD systems here
Intel® Core™ i7-7700K Processor
1675326892096.png


First result for memory overclocking the 7700K and i got this gem
Overclocking Intel’s Core i7-7700K: Kaby Lake Hits The Desktop! - Tom's Hardware | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)
1675326973308.png

Designed for 2400 with single rank modules (4GB/8GB) and zero guarantees of faster without issues.

Theres some voltages from an overclocking guide with the MAXIMUMS you should use on the 7700k system, they will increase heat so if you dont have sufficient cooling, dont. You've already overclocked your CPU which adds more difficulty, as hotter running CPU's make the memory controller less stable - we have no idea if your system is a faulty overclock or not.
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2021
Messages
235 (0.28/day)
Location
East Malaysia
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard Asrock B450M Steel Legend @ BIOS Version P4.60
Cooling Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Memory PNY Electronics 8192 MB (DDR4-3200 with XMP/DOCP) P/N: 8GBF1X08QFHH38-135-K (x2)
Video Card(s) Colorful Tomahawk/BattleAx RTX 2060 Super
Storage HP SSD EX900 500GB, PNY CS900 960GB
Display(s) Acer QG240Y S3
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Bronze V2 650W, 230V non fullrange
Software Windows 10 Pro
The only solution to get everything within spec is to enable XMP which sets the ram to 3200, the voltage to the required 1.35 and sets all the timings and then manually drop that RAM speed to 2933 (there usually isnt a 3000 option)
Thanks for the tip, I'll try it soon. Also a slight nitpick, but it's a Ryzen 5 3600, no G at the end.

That said, any idea why my card suddenly gets to only x8 lanes from x16 lanes? I have not reseated my card since I installed it back, and the only thing I did which could've been related to this is short out two jumpers to reset my BIOS when the card blackscreened again yesterday.
 
Joined
Nov 15, 2021
Messages
2,699 (3.12/day)
Location
Knoxville, TN, USA
System Name Work Computer | Unfinished Computer
Processor Core i7-6700 | Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard Dell Q170 | Gigabyte Aorus Elite Wi-Fi
Cooling A fan? | Truly Custom Loop
Memory 4x4GB Crucial 2133 C17 | 4x8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB 3600 C26
Video Card(s) Dell Radeon R7 450 | RTX 2080 Ti FE
Storage Crucial BX500 2TB | TBD
Display(s) 3x LG QHD 32" GSM5B96 | TBD
Case Dell | Heavily Modified Phanteks P400
Power Supply Dell TFX Non-standard | EVGA BQ 650W
Mouse Monster No-Name $7 Gaming Mouse| TBD
Also a slight nitpick, but it's a Ryzen 5 3600, no G at the end.
That is actually a very important distinction, as the 3600G doesn't happen to exist.

If it did, it would be a very different CPU, being a monolithic Zen+ APU. The 3600, on the other hand, is a chiplet-based CPU with the same I/O die as the 5000 series.
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
Thanks for the tip, I'll try it soon. Also a slight nitpick, but it's a Ryzen 5 3600, no G at the end.

That said, any idea why my card suddenly gets to only x8 lanes from x16 lanes? I have not reseated my card since I installed it back, and the only thing I did which could've been related to this is short out two jumpers to reset my BIOS when the card blackscreened again yesterday.
As i said, there was no information on the AMD website for the 3600 - so i used ones that DID have the info for examples
3600 and 5800 don't have the DRAM information, but 3400G and 5800x3D do - so i used what existed.


resetting your CMOS resets everything - RAM speeds, voltages, overclocks, etc. This normally works, but again not always with higher speed DRAM which was only factory tested at it's XMP voltages and timings.
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2021
Messages
235 (0.28/day)
Location
East Malaysia
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard Asrock B450M Steel Legend @ BIOS Version P4.60
Cooling Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Memory PNY Electronics 8192 MB (DDR4-3200 with XMP/DOCP) P/N: 8GBF1X08QFHH38-135-K (x2)
Video Card(s) Colorful Tomahawk/BattleAx RTX 2060 Super
Storage HP SSD EX900 500GB, PNY CS900 960GB
Display(s) Acer QG240Y S3
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Bronze V2 650W, 230V non fullrange
Software Windows 10 Pro
Today's update: I checked GPU-Z today, it's running at x8 lanes. Then I played Genshin Impact. And it black screened yet again (I just can't with this PC). All my PC lights are still on, I still can hear the game's music, I can even hear a beep when I pressed Win+ctrl+shift+b, but there is no display output on my monitor.

When I checked GPU-Z again after reboot, my card is at PCIE x16...and then it blackscreened again. Another reboot, checked GPU-Z again, it's at x8 again. What even is happening here?

Another update, 4 Feb 23:
I turned on x8/x8 bifurcation in BIOS thinking that if I can force the card to run only at x8 lanes, the black screens will stop. I played Elden Ring for about an hour, then it blackscreened YET again with the usual symptoms of lights still on, game sounds still on, which means that didn't work either. Temps were at 70C, which is less than 75C in reviews, so it wasn't overheating either. (I plugged my monitor to the other HDMI port, the one that was not physically broken before I sent it for repair.)

No way am I able to game on this card at this point. I have another card, a 2nd hand Gigabyte RX 5600 XT on its way back to me from warranty. If that card works perfectly when it arrives back, I'll consider selling this RX 580, most probably sold as defective for parts. Can't in good conscience sell this as working well.

Bump

At this time I'm also considering getting another motherboard, one with 2 graphics cards slot if I can. I'm beginning to think the PCIe lanes going back and forth between x8 and x16 is a mobo issue. Would like to know your opinion on this.
 
Last edited:

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
I'm beginning to think the PCIe lanes going back and forth between x8 and x16 is a mobo issue.
yet again, those lanes are from your CPU and not from the motherboard chipset

dual slot boards run 16/0 or 8/8 so you cant just use a second slot to avoid running 8x
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2021
Messages
235 (0.28/day)
Location
East Malaysia
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard Asrock B450M Steel Legend @ BIOS Version P4.60
Cooling Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Memory PNY Electronics 8192 MB (DDR4-3200 with XMP/DOCP) P/N: 8GBF1X08QFHH38-135-K (x2)
Video Card(s) Colorful Tomahawk/BattleAx RTX 2060 Super
Storage HP SSD EX900 500GB, PNY CS900 960GB
Display(s) Acer QG240Y S3
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Bronze V2 650W, 230V non fullrange
Software Windows 10 Pro
yet again, those lanes are from your CPU and not from the motherboard chipset

dual slot boards run 16/0 or 8/8 so you cant just use a second slot to avoid running 8x
Oops, I have to clarify, the motherboard has only GPU one slot, and the card keeps going back and forth from x16 to x8 while sitting in the same slot.

Also if you may, I have started a new thread, where I talk about black screen issues with this card and another card of mine, an RX 5600 XT that just arrived from RMA. I have a suspicion that it could be a PSU or motherboard issue by now.
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2022
Messages
1,447 (2.63/day)
Location
Brazil
System Name G-Station 1.16 FINAL
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming 7 Wi-Fi
Cooling DeepCool AK620 Digital
Memory Asgard Bragi DDR4-3600CL14 2x16GB
Video Card(s) Sapphire Pulse RX 7900 XTX
Storage 240GB Samsung 840 Evo, 1TB Asgard AN2, 2TB Hiksemi FUTURE-LITE, 320GB+1TB 7200RPM HDD
Display(s) Samsung 34" Odyssey OLED G8
Case Thermaltake Level 20 MT
Audio Device(s) Astro A40 TR + MixAmp
Power Supply EVGA 750 GQ
Mouse Razer Viper Ultimate
Keyboard Razer Huntsman Elite (Red)
Software Windows 11 Pro
Oops, I have to clarify, the motherboard has only GPU one slot, and the card keeps going back and forth from x16 to x8 while sitting in the same slot.

Also if you may, I have started a new thread, where I talk about black screen issues with this card and another card of mine, an RX 5600 XT that just arrived from RMA. I have a suspicion that it could be a PSU or motherboard issue by now.
Another card showing similar issues when installed on the same mb? That's what I'd call common denominator.
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2021
Messages
235 (0.28/day)
Location
East Malaysia
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard Asrock B450M Steel Legend @ BIOS Version P4.60
Cooling Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Memory PNY Electronics 8192 MB (DDR4-3200 with XMP/DOCP) P/N: 8GBF1X08QFHH38-135-K (x2)
Video Card(s) Colorful Tomahawk/BattleAx RTX 2060 Super
Storage HP SSD EX900 500GB, PNY CS900 960GB
Display(s) Acer QG240Y S3
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Bronze V2 650W, 230V non fullrange
Software Windows 10 Pro
Another card showing similar issues when installed on the same mb? That's what I'd call common denominator.
Actually that lane changing issue only happens with the RX 580. The other card crashes in a different way, it hasn't changed from x16 to x8 lanes...yet.
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
Oops, I have to clarify, the motherboard has only GPU one slot, and the card keeps going back and forth from x16 to x8 while sitting in the same slot.

Also if you may, I have started a new thread, where I talk about black screen issues with this card and another card of mine, an RX 5600 XT that just arrived from RMA. I have a suspicion that it could be a PSU or motherboard issue by now.
You did clarify that in this thread, but it's the CPU that controls those lanes and the lane splitting - normally they're split to a second GPU slot or NVME slot, which you dont have.


Yes, the board can be faulty - but so can the CPU here, as they cant be tested seperately until you get more spare parts. Even a dirty contact pin or contamination in the socket can do this.
 
Top