GPUs and Motherboards: A Run-In with EVGA
Frustrated EVGA Motherboard Owners Address RTX 50 Series GPU Malfunctions on Z690 Boards - DIY Users Turn to Pin-Taping as a Workaround
In the tech world, a troubling issue has arisen surrounding newer RTX 50 GPUs and certain EVGA motherboards. It seems there's a clash due to extra SMBUS pins on some EVGA motherboards, which create a compatibility issue when paired with Nvidia's GPUs. With no official assistance, users have come up with a creative solution: covering the offending pins on the GPU's PCIe connector with Kapton tape, effectively halting any unwanted communication and successfully resolving the issue for many.
Last year, EVGA made waves by withdrawing from the GPU market and scaling back its other business operations significantly. This downsizing has led to a noticeable lack of software support, which may well be the culprit behind these boot-up problems. It's not a case of malicious intent but rather the result of EVGA's drastic reduction in resources, possibly meaning that the relevant teams no longer exist.
A Redditor points out that their EVGA Z690 Classified includes SMBUS pins in the PCIe slot (pins 5 and 6), typically left unconnected in most consumer-grade alternatives. SMBUS is a small communication line primarily used for lightweight communication such as power management and temperature control. It's plausible that Nvidia's RTX 50 GPUs might not handle an SMBUS connection, which prevents the system from booting up.
Users certainly aren't pleased. "EVGA is a mere shred of its former self," one user lamented, "getting BIOS updates for hardware compatibility issues is like pulling teeth. They've basically left their customers out in the cold when it comes to their motherboards." Others have accused EVGA of passing the blame onto Nvidia and neglecting its customers.
Should it be possible to disable these pins via firmware, EVGA's support seems to have shrunk to the realm of Reddit forums. This Redditor discovered a workaround by digging through old forums, identifying the problem's source as pins 5 and 6 on the GPU's gold finger, responsible for managing the SMBUS connection.
The remedy involved using a 2mm-wide strip of Kapton tape to create a barrier over the two pins on the PCIe connector, blocking the SMBUS signals from reaching the GPU. It's a delicate process, as precision is key to ensure only those specific pins are obstructed, but it does seem to work.
Prior to attempting this fix, the user advises cleaning the gold finger with isopropyl alcohol. Importantly, this issue doesn't seem to be widespread, with other EVGA motherboards, including some Z690 models and most Z790 models, reportedly remaining unaffected. As of yet, there's been no official word from EVGA on the matter.
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- Users have found a creative solution to a compatibility issue between Nvidia's RTX 50 GPUs and certain EVGA motherboards, such as the EVGA Z690 Classified, by covering the offending SMBUS pins on the GPU's PCIe connector with Kapton tape.
- In the tech world, there's a growing notion that EVGA's lack of software support might be the root cause of the troubling boot-up problems, particularly with their newer EVGA Z690 Classified motherboards, which include SMBUS pins in the PCIe slot.
