ASUS Z170-A crashes upon PCIE-GPU load, integrated GPU just fine

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JerryBAndersen

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Sep 15, 2015
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Hi there, first time poster here,
I have a very strange problem with my Asus Z170-A and I cannot find the cause of this whatsoever.
Maybe someone here can see a pattern or notices something I am missing.

So here's my machine:
Asus Z170-A BIOS 0901
Intel i5 6600K
16 GB (4*4GB) Mushkin Redline DDR4 3000
bequiet! Pure Power L8 630W
(also, Enermax Liberty 500W)
Asus NVIDIA 660Ti 2GB
(also, Saphire HD 6870)

This is the software setup:
Windows 8.1 64
(also Ubuntu Gnome 15.04)
NVIDIA driver 355.82
(also, AMD Catalyst 15.8)
GPU-Z, CPU-Z, Unigine Heaven, Furmark

The issue:
If there is a 660Ti in one of the PCIE slots, and once I start a game/benchmark, it will run for a certain amount of time, then fps drop rapidly
and one of three things happen:
# the driver crashes, Windows recovers from it, Windows is stuttering for the rest of the time in half the cases.
# the system crashes to a bluescreen with the message "driver irql not less or equal"
# the system crashes and powers off
If I stay in desktop and run some Prime95 or anything, it will run just fine. Only GPU-bound applications, even Unity-based games will cause crashing.


What I already tried:
# running on the integrated GPU. The integrated GPU runs fine and will benchmark/run games etc. for hours.
I installed the driver (for HD graphics 530) properly.
# different drivers. I tried a version 34x.xx, a version 353.xx and the most recent version 355.82. They only changed the behavior of
recovering from some of the crashes, none of them changed the slow-down and crash
# reinstalling Windows, duh. I did a clean Windows 8.1 64 install with just the NVIDIA driver and the diagnostic software
# using another OS. I have a Live-USB Linux ready with some 3D-games on it, it shows the same results, first slow-down then total crash
in-game. Desktop is fine as usual.
# update BIOS to most recent version 0901
# using another GPU. I got a Radeon HD 6870 from a friend of mine and had the same experience as with the 660ti, except I
couldn't even install the Catalyst driver, it will freeze to a bluescreen/black screen at about half the installation process. I tried it twice.
Normal desktop runs just fine as usual.
# changing the RAM setup. I have tried putting only a single RAM stick in different slots and had the same results. I only have these DIMMs,
so I can't say anything really except that I ran memtest86 successfully on all of them and that they are not on Asus' supported RAM list.
It seems to me the Z170 boards are picky with RAM so I ordered a single 4GB HyperX stick which explictly said "skylake compatible" and is
on Asus compatible list.
# trying a different PSU. I have an old Enermax PSU here which I tried hooking up in the first place, but because it is not compatible with
Intel's new C-states I bought a new one. Anyway, this one shows little difference to the other PSU, the display driver still crashes upon load.

I really hope someone can help out, this is my second Z170 board already
(had a completely dead MSI Pro Gaming before) and RMAing would take another week or so and costs money everytime I send it back.
Thanks in advance!
 
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JerryBAndersen

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Sep 15, 2015
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I don't see how one would go about disabling the iGPU while plugged in the PCIE GPU. It doesn't even show up in the hardware manager and neither in the Nvidia Control Panel.
I do have the newest BIOS (0901) and installed the latest Intel Mainboard drivers from the Asus page.
The GPU is ok, I stress tested it today on another mainboard.
Mainboard and RAM are my concern right now, I really don't know what to RMA.
 
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JerryBAndersen

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Sep 15, 2015
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Well I figured it's set correctly, since there is no output on the iGPU if there is a GPU in the PCIE slot.
I found the setting specifically inside the System Agent submenu and changed it from Auto to PCIE.
It did not change anything at all. The iGPU doesn't even show up in the device manager, it does however, once
I take out the PCIE GPU and plug the display into the iGPU.
The Intel driver is also installed correctly and only recognizes the iGPU when there is no other present.
 
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JerryBAndersen

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Sep 15, 2015
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I installed a Geforce 9800GT and a GTX 680 today. They work flawlessly. The 660 Ti works flawlessly too, but only on a different setup (socket 1150 and 430W PSU). I don't reaally get what's going on, since the Radeon HD 6870 also bluescreened, but I'll just assume some older cards won't work with Z170.
So RAM was ok all along,
PSU was ok all along,
Motherboard was ok all along.
So anyone who has these symptoms, buy a new GPU, I guess.
 
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Shaun82

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Jan 7, 2016
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I have the same issue on my Asus Z170-AR motherboard. When running my EVGA GTX670 on the first PCIEx16 slot in games I get a lot of static and robotic audio and the framerate drops significantly. Exiting back to Windows and it lags badly until I get a message that the Nvidia display driver stopped responding. At first I thought my video card was faulty but when I plugged it into the 2nd PCIEx16 slot it works fine with no issues at all and I can play games for hours.

Just tested setting the PCIE slot to Gen 2 instead of Auto in the System Agent menu and it seems to work fine now in games. If I manually select Gen 3 then I get the same audio & stuttering issues as before.
 
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memay131

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Jan 6, 2016
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My issue was tricky. 3dMark Fire Strike would sometimes pass (at 9800), sometimes "exit unexpectedly" during the Combined Test.

Having spent many hours running prime95, memtest, uninstall/reinstall drivers, swap GPU to different PCI ports, and up'ing my PSU from 650 to 1000W... I was left thinking my GPU has issues.

Also, all I've really played is Starcraft 2. And there are a couple posts waiting for Blizzard to explain "lost D3D9 device" or similar errors while playing.

Now I just debate whether to live with it or receive a replacement card from Newegg. Not much in the ways of options!
 
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Shaun82

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Jan 7, 2016
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Have you tried setting the PCIE x16_1 slot to Gen 2 or Gen 1 instead of Gen 3 in the BIOS? That seems to have worked for me. But still not sure at this stage if it's the video card or the motherboard. I never had this issue with my old motherboard but that was only PCIE 2 not 3. Running the card in the 2nd slot at 8x Gen 3 seems to be ok as well. I'll need to test the card in another PC to see if the same thing happens.
 
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A

ael00

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Feb 12, 2013
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try updating the bios so we can rule that out. the 0901 bios is back from september.

The latest version of the bios is 1402.

I was thinking of upgrading myself but as its working fine currently I am hesitant to tinker with it.

edit: just saw you solved it. good to know, nvm me :D
 
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Sinsecato

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Jan 19, 2016
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I have the same issue

Asus Z170 Pro Gaming
EVGA GTX 670 FTW
win10 64

When the 670 is in PCIE_1:
Computer runs as normal, browses internet, memtest passes etc, until I run a graphic intensive programs such as a game or graphics benchmark. Then framerates crash and computer usually just locks up, most of the time no BSOD and task manager won't open, I just have to manually turn off the computer

When I use the iGPU or put the 670 in PCIE_2 slot, games play fine. I even returned my original Mobo for the same model and have the same problem on the new one.

I'll try setting PCIE_1 to Gen2 as Shaun recommends, see if that works for me and report back. I'll also post this on the Asus/Nvidia forums and link it here, and see if we can get this resolved eventually in a Bios/Driver update.

Does this specific seem to be limited to the GTX 600 series cards, as far as we know? But it seems you got a 680 to work in the primary slot?

Update: Setting PCIE_1 to Gen2 has fixed the problem
 
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Vlkoun

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Jan 26, 2016
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Same problem here.

Gigabyte Z170-D3H
i7-6700K
16GB RAM
Gigabyte GTX 670 OC
x16 - FPS drops within 30s after GPU load
x4 - just fine
x16 PCIE set to version 2, everything is ok
 
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Zerk2012

Zerk2012

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Oct 6, 2014
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From what you said your trying to run both cards at one time in the PC ???
Even if not you have both drivers installed you need to run one or the other not both and get rid of the other driver.
Your just probably having driver issues with both types installed.
SCRATCH EVERYTHING I SAID JUST SEEN SOMBODY JUST PULLED UP YOUR OLD THREAD>>>>>
 
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Vlkoun

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Jan 26, 2016
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Well I hoped changing pciex from 3 to version 2 would help.
I still have an issue with power director. It crashes everytime I load my old projects. Ive teied my bought 12 version. I pve tried trial 14 version. Reinstaliing win 7 onky wih drivers and updaes. It still crashes.
When I take out that vga card and use skylakes gpu instead, everything works fine.
That is annoying. I will have to buy a new one sadly.
 
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Shaun82

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Jan 7, 2016
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Just an update with this. I took my video card to a friends place and it seemed to run fine on an Asus H87 motherboard and also another PC with an Asus H170 Pro Gaming motherboard. They didn't have many games installed to test so I just ran the latest 3DMark demo. Both computers were set at PCIE 3.0 and it ran through the demo without any problems. So it would seem that the video card itself is fine. I tested my PC again with the same 3DMark demo at PCIE 3.0 and it was extremely choppy, basically turned into a slideshow before crashing.

I am also still using my Enermax Galaxy power supply from 2008, I'm not sure if that's causing any issues so I'll try testing with a different PSU to see what happens.
 
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hankkillinger

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Feb 11, 2016
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Opened an account to say I'm experiencing similar problems. I recently did a cpu/mobo/mem swap
i5-6600k
asus z170-a (updated to current bios 1602)
CMK16GX4M2A2666C16

I carried over the GTX 670 (EVGA 02G-P4-2670-KR) from the previous Sandy Bridge build.

So far I've only experienced the problem in games. Pillars of Eternity and now Fallout 4. I'll be playing and suddenly the sound will start to stutter and chop, then cut out entirely. The framerate will drop to less than 1 frame per second. Soon after the nvidia driver will crash. Some times the driver recovers fully, leaving me at the desktop (the game crashes when this occurs. Other times it seems to continue crashing and recovering in a loop and I have to reboot via keyboard commands. The odd part is that it occurs somewhat rarely. Some days I'll play for a few hours and it won't happen. Others it'll happen multiple times. In Pillars of Eternity it only happened frequently in a particular dungeon (Endless Paths). In fallout it seems to happen most in the workshop menus.

It's nice to see I'm not the only one with this issue. I thought maybe I busted my gpu during the build. Perhaps this is a compatibility problem that will get worked out by a bios update.
 
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joaogjgabriel

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Feb 20, 2016
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Someone fix the problem?

I have a Z170-AR and my GPU began to freeze and the computer still connected with locked audio and screen "turned off". Tested power supply, memory, everything. Finally I plugged the card into another PCI-E (4x) and it worked.

You sent the warranty?
 
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T

Tedabc

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Feb 24, 2016
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MSI Z170A GAMING PRO + MSI GeForce GTX 660 Ti exactly the same problems, change settings on the pci-e 2gen and works well ...
Z170 chipset is bad ?? BIOS updates every minute and further trouble.
The integrated GPU when set DDR4 3000 Mhz monitor blinking and off for 1-2 seconds, setting DDR 2133 MHz Intel HD 530 works perfectly.
WTF Intel really ... a zero compatibility some memory and graphics card do not work at all without updating the BIOS.
The only hope in a good bios update,or carefully choose tested parts.
 
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Shaun82

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Jan 7, 2016
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I tried changing my power supply but still hasn't solved the issue. Although with the new power supply the audio just cuts out now doesn't distort and the PC/display driver doesn't crash. Just as a comparison I ran the 3DMark Fire Strike Demo on each PCI generation and got the following scores:
Gen 1 - 5876
Gen 2 - 5876
Gen 3 - 4042

I emailed Asus about the problem, outlined all the troubleshooting I've done and linked them to this thread. They suggested that I RMA the motherboard back at the retailer. I don't really want to pull everything out if the replacement board will have the same problem. One thing I have yet to try is another video card but I don't know anyone with a spare PCIE 3 video card laying around.

I'm also wondering as well if it is something to do with the Z170 chipset or if it's the unlocked K CPU's? I tested in a friends PC with a H170 and it seemed fine but he has also non K CPU.
 
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Tedabc

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Feb 24, 2016
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Personally, I think that this was a huge problem with the chipset Z170.

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hrMlv2Wg_8"][/video]
LINK communities.intel

Too many types of motherboards and memory module types,the companies will not be able to fix all the bios in a short time.Just a MSI counted 18 motherboards Z170 chipset.


Small update, EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked ACX 2.0+ PCI-E Gen3 on, no problems result when a small overclock (card only) in 3DMark Fire Strike 16600.
 
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hankkillinger

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Feb 11, 2016
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A month ago, I did a fresh Windows 10 install (I carried over the install from the previous Sandy Bridge config) and updated my BIOS and Nvidia drivers. I experienced a couple gpu driver crashes in fallout. The crashes seemed random during gameplay and pretty infrequent (maybe 1 for every 15hrs of gameplay). I'm playing XCOM2 now without issue. I plan to update to Pascal GPU this summer, hopefully that resolves the issue.
 
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Benoit_454

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May 9, 2016
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Benoit_454

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May 9, 2016
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I have exactely the same issue with my GTX 670 gigabyte + MSI Z170A Gaming Pro+6700k processor.
I changed the mobo but still had the issue.
How did you solve it?

 
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