Hey folks! I've been having some serious issues with my GPU and I need your advice on whether it's a software problem or if the hardware is toast. Here's the scoop:
I'm running an ASUS TUF Gaming X570-PLUS motherboard with an AMD Ryzen 9 3900X CPU, 32GB of RAM, and a Corsair RM850x PSU. My main GPU is an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (16GB, XFX Merc 319), which isn't working right now, while I have an older NVIDIA GTX 1660 Super (6GB) as a backup that's currently doing the job.
Everything was fine until a couple of weeks ago when, while gaming (playing Deathloop), my screens went black and the AMD GPU fans cranked up to full speed. I ended up having to force shutdown my PC. The next few times it happened, it progressively got worse until now, I just can't get any display from the AMD GPU at all – not even to the BIOS screen! My motherboard's debug lights show a white light on the VGA indicator, which isn't promising.
I've ruled out the PSU since I swapped it out with an older one and everything worked fine. I've also tried a bunch of other troubleshooting steps like changing PCIe slots and power cables. The AMD software on my system throws an Error 182 saying it doesn't support the graphical hardware. It's like my AMD GPU isn't being detected at all.
Now I'm stuck and don't know if there's any hope for fixing my GPU. Should I consider updating the GPU BIOS? If it's not even detected, how can I do that? Any help would be incredibly appreciated!
1 Answer
It sounds like you're dealing with a classic GPU failure scenario. Given what you’ve described, particularly the fact that it’s not visible in Device Manager and the debug light on your motherboard is lit, it’s most likely a hardware issue. However, it might be worth doing a clean reinstall of your drivers before calling it quits. Here’s a quick rundown:
1. Remove the AMD GPU from your rig completely.
2. Grab Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) and the latest AMD drivers but don’t install them just yet.
3. Boot your PC into Safe Mode and run DDU to clean out all previous drivers. There’s an option for uninstalling previous graphics cards as well.
4. Then, power off and switch back to your AMD GPU, making sure both power cables are connected directly to it (no splitters!).
Power it up and see if you get any video. If you get display, go ahead and install those AMD drivers. If not, then it’s probably time to look into repairs or a replacement for your GPU.
Totally agree with you, GamerGuru. It sounds like a hardware failure but giving the drivers a proper cleanse might help too. If the reinstall doesn’t work, you could also check if there's any visible damage to the GPU like burnt components.