What's faulty... My GPU or MOBO?

[morox]

I bought a new computer back last June and it would crash quite often. It said something about the "display drivers crashed". At that point I figured it was a GPU problem but was too dumb to really do anything about it. Fast forward to today... I moved to a new city and had my computer shipped to me and upon turning it on, I was met with white lines all across the screen and it wouldn't boot to desktop. In safe mode, the white lines still appeared. I tried different drivers and that still did nothing. So, I tried the next option:

I installed the GPU into the other SLI slot and that worked (so far). The lines disappeared. I tried reinstalling the GPU into the original SLI slot and once again, the lines reappeared. So, is it safe to assume that my MOBO is faulty? It's an Asus P9X79 and the GPU is an MSI 560ti Twin Frozr. I don't have a second GPU to test the original SLI slot and there's no integrated GPU to test with either.

 

[BikerEcho]

i would believe so yeah. seems like the first PCI-E slot is not function properly.
you might be able to get a replacement via the warranty. if not just use the second PCI-E slot from now on.
it might only be 8X but that should not make a difference on a GTX 560

 

[morox]

There's a slight issue with that as the working slot is right above where my wireless card sits. The GPU is too big to fit and have my wireless card also plugged in.

 

[BikerEcho]

that sux.
i just found a picture of the board. can't you use the blue second color coded PCI-E slot at the bottom of the motherboard?

 

[morox]

Here's a picture:

http://ca.asus.com/websites/Global/products/qozuUIBauoP94eTQ/dlEOG1eOJRg43kys_500.jpg

The bottom slot is too close to the network card to fit.

 

[morox]

Here's a picture:

http://ca.asus.com/websites/Global/products/qozuUIBauoP94eTQ/dlEOG1eOJRg43kys_500.jpg

The bottom slot is too close to the network card slot to fit as it's right above it.

 

[BikerEcho]

ahhh. i see the problem now. the picture i found was different.
i'll say new PCI-E Wifi Card or a new motherboard.

 

[morox]

ahhh. i see the problem now. the picture i found was different.
i'll say new PCI-E Wifi Card or a new motherboard.

I just did some tinkering and figured out the problem (or this may be ANOTHER problem). I held the GPU rather firmly against the MOBO in the slot that didn't work. Apparently there's a connection issue and if I apply a little bit of pressure, the weird lines go away. I tried wobbling it a bit and then the artifacts reappeared. So, that part I solved. Now, I originally had problems with the GPU drivers crashing. Would that be a GPU issue or would an error like that appear from the loose connection to the MOBO? I used to get a blue and purple screen from crashes as well. I am hoping this is all attributed to the MOBO and not both...

 

[BikerEcho]

i think that would be a connection problem from the motherboard. not likely that both hardware are faulty.

 

[Celery]

Look in the slot and see if there is any bent pins.