I've had repeated hardware problems with this PC over the last four years. It originally used an RTX 3090 that developed worsening artifacts and eventually stopped displaying video. That was replaced with an RTX 4090, which later failed in the same way. The RMA replacement is a refurbished Gigabyte Windforce OC RTX 5090, and the packaging had clearly been opened and damaged.
There was also an existing memory-related problem. Occasionally, the system reports that the previous overclock failed and enters UEFI. The RAM is shown at 4800 MHz even though the 6200 MHz XMP profile remains selected, so I normally exit without changing anything and it boots successfully.
The new GPU does not seem to fully engage the motherboard's PCIe retention clip. The slot locks normally when empty, but with the card installed and secured to the case, the clip feels loose and may not reach the locked position. The system uses two PCIe cables with daisy-chained connectors going into the GPU's 12VHPWR adapter. I'm replacing that setup with a proper 12V-2x6 cable, although I'm not sure it will solve everything.
On the first boot, the DRAM debug LED came on and there was no display until I reseated the memory. Now the computer reaches the operating system, but after a few minutes the display cuts out, the fans become extremely loud, and the VGA debug LED lights up. The fans sometimes stop after a few seconds, but usually keep running until I force the system off.
The system contains an Intel Core i9-12900K, MSI PRO Z690-A WiFi motherboard, 32 GB Corsair DDR5-6200 memory, Gigabyte RTX 5090 Windforce OC, Corsair RM1000X 1000W PSU, and Corsair 5000X case. What should I check first, and could the motherboard, BIOS, memory settings, power supply, or PCIe connection be responsible?
5 Answers
The GPU needs to be completely seated before troubleshooting anything else. If the retention clip cannot reach its locked position, something may be obstructing the card, the bracket may be misaligned, or the card may not be inserted far enough. Check for interference around the slot and I/O shield, and don’t rely on the case screw to pull the card into position. A partially seated card can easily cause the VGA light and black screens.
Set the PCIe slot manually to Gen 4 in UEFI as a diagnostic step. The performance difference is negligible, while some systems are more stable at Gen 4 than Gen 5. Also use a proper PSU-to-12V-2x6 cable designed for that power supply instead of daisy-chained connectors, and make sure every connector is fully inserted and has no sharp bend near the plug. The 1000W supply should generally be adequate, but a failing PSU, motherboard issue, or poor mains power could explain multiple graphics cards dying over time.
Because two previous GPUs reportedly failed in a similar way, I would stop repeatedly testing this refurbished card until the motherboard, slot alignment, PSU, and BIOS are checked. Inspect the board for incorrect case standoffs or physical damage, verify that the GPU is not being forced against the case, and test with another known-good power supply if possible. The repeated failures point to a system-level problem rather than simply bad luck with graphics cards.
Test the memory separately instead of assuming the graphics card is responsible for the DRAM errors. Run a thorough memory test, and if possible test one stick at a time in the recommended slot. The overclock-failed message suggests the memory profile may be unstable, and unstable RAM can cause crashes that look like GPU or motherboard failures.
Update the motherboard BIOS before drawing conclusions about the new GPU. A Z690 board predates this graphics generation, and newer BIOS versions can improve PCIe compatibility and DDR5 stability. After updating, load defaults and test without XMP first. If that works, try a less aggressive manual memory setting such as 6000 MT/s with appropriate timings rather than immediately using 6200 XMP.
A quick memory test may miss intermittent errors, so use a long test or a more demanding utility rather than stopping after one short pass.