EVGA motherboard owners furious over modern GPU issues — DIY users resort to taping over pins to fix RTX 50 Series problem on Z690 boards

Reports from r/TEAMEVGA and other forums indicate a growing concern regarding boot-up problems with newer RTX 50 GPUs on motherboards from EVGA. The problem lies with extra SMBUS pins on several EVGA motherboards, which create a conflict when paired with GPUs from Nvidia. Without official support, users have resorted to an ingenious fix: physically taping over the pins on the GPU's PCIe connector to silence any unwanted communication, and thus far, this solution has proven successful for several individuals.

Citing conflicts with Nvidia, EVGA withdrew from the GPU market in 2022 and scaled back its other business operations considerably. A direct consequence of this contraction has manifested in the form of lackluster software support, which is likely the cause of these reported boot-up problems. It's likely not a matter of malicious intent, but rather a consequence of EVGA's drastic scale-down, which means they likely don't have enough resources to dedicate to software, assuming those teams still even exist.

According to the Redditor, their EVGA Z690 Classified includes SMBUS pins in the PCIe slot (pins 5 and 6), which are generally left unwired in most consumer-grade alternatives. SMBUS is a small communication line that's largely used by components for lightweight communication, think power management and temperature. It's highly possible that Nvidia's RTX 50 GPUs likely don't expect or cannot handle an SMBUS connection, which effectively halts the system from booting up.

Naturally, users aren't happy. "EVGA is a shadow of its former self and getting BIOS updates for hardware compatibility issues is like pulling teeth," one lamented, "They've basically left their customers out to dry in regards to their motherboards." Others accused EVGA of using Nvidia as a scapegoat and of neglecting its customers

Even if disabling these pins through firmware were an option, EVGA's support has shrunk to Reddit forums, likely mirroring the state of their software teams. The Redditor found a crafty workaround by scouring old forums and identifying the problem's source as pins 5 and pins 6 on the GPU's gold finger, responsible for managing the SMBUS connection.

The solution was to break the connection with the help of a 2mm-wide strip of Kapton tape over the two pins on the PCIe connector, effectively creating a barrier and stopping the SMBUS signals from reaching the GPU. It is a bit finicky, requiring great precision to ensure only those specific pins are blocked, but it works nonetheless.

As a prerequisite, the user suggests cleaning the gold finger with isopropyl alcohol. It is important to note this isn't a widespread issue, since other EVGA motherboards, including some Z690 models and most Z790 models, reportedly remain unaffected. We haven't heard anything official from EVGA on the matter, at least not yet.

Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.