Travelling ITX workstation - dual 10 GigE, 5700 XT, Ryzen 3700X in SM560

forvak

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Oct 14, 2019
22
13
So, I did not need to take the motherboard out! The GPU is detected just fine with the BIOS configured to *not* bifurcate the x16 slot and the GPU in either of the two riser slots. Windows 10 installed on the SSD using UEFI, BIOS updated to the latest, latest drivers installed for both the Zotac GTX 1070 and Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx. Loaded the XMP profile and the RAM is happily up at 3200 rates.

Using Ryzen Master and HWINFO I've done some checkouts and the CPU's not cooking itself. No point saying much about thermals (47C idle, 75C fully loaded for 60 seconds) since the case is still open, cables everywhere, etc and I haven't done real checks.

However, I can only get the GPU to work in Windows when *either*:

1) GPU in either riser slot, Motherboard set to x16 (non-bifurcation)
2) GPU in first riser slot, Motherboard set to x8x8 bifurcation

The GPU does function to display the BIOS in all PCIe configurations. I'm not sure how to even start debugging this issue so I'm posting here and then off to read up more. Any advice very welcome.
 

forvak

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Oct 14, 2019
22
13
Yeah, the NIC is one slot wide and the GPU two and a bit. The riser has two adjacent slots so the NIC has to go in slot 1.
 

ermac318

King of Cable Management
Mar 10, 2019
655
510
Yeah, the NIC is one slot wide and the GPU two and a bit. The riser has two adjacent slots so the NIC has to go in slot 1.
Have you asked Sliger about who manufacturers their risers? Maybe they can help you troubleshoot. It might also be an AsRock board problem.
 

forvak

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Oct 14, 2019
22
13
Sliger uses Ameri-Rack ARC1-PELY423-C3V3 risers. I've posted on the ASRock forum, hopefully someone there can share their experience with the motherboard and bifurcation.

I'm going to email ASRock and Sliger to see what advice they have about debugging this. I'll email Ameri-Rack if Sliger recommends it. I've worked support before and know it can sometimes be annoying on both sides when a user goes direct to a supplier.

On the cooler side, I tried closing up the case and hit two issues. The cables don't pack in well, I'll either need custom cables or at least a fan grill so I can jam cables in over one of the bottom fans. Also the CPU cooler seems to be too tall, possibly as a result of hitting the RAM. I'm a bit confused about this since Sliger does have the IS-60 on their compatibility list and the Corsair Vengence LPX is low profile. *shug*? Since I took a saw to the IS-60 (oops) I'm guessing that few folks will want it second hand. Once I get a new cooler though it's available to the best offer. ;)

Cryorig C7 seems a solid choice. (base £30 / Copper £55 / "G" £65)
Noctua NH-L9i also seems reasonable, especially with a fan duct (£46)

I need to wait a bit before I can order a cooler so will focus on getting the PCIe sorted out.
 

rfarmer

Spatial Philosopher
Jul 7, 2017
2,588
2,702
Sliger uses Ameri-Rack ARC1-PELY423-C3V3 risers. I've posted on the ASRock forum, hopefully someone there can share their experience with the motherboard and bifurcation.

I'm going to email ASRock and Sliger to see what advice they have about debugging this. I'll email Ameri-Rack if Sliger recommends it. I've worked support before and know it can sometimes be annoying on both sides when a user goes direct to a supplier.

On the cooler side, I tried closing up the case and hit two issues. The cables don't pack in well, I'll either need custom cables or at least a fan grill so I can jam cables in over one of the bottom fans. Also the CPU cooler seems to be too tall, possibly as a result of hitting the RAM. I'm a bit confused about this since Sliger does have the IS-60 on their compatibility list and the Corsair Vengence LPX is low profile. *shug*? Since I took a saw to the IS-60 (oops) I'm guessing that few folks will want it second hand. Once I get a new cooler though it's available to the best offer. ;)

Cryorig C7 seems a solid choice. (base £30 / Copper £55 / "G" £65)
Noctua NH-L9i also seems reasonable, especially with a fan duct (£46)

I need to wait a bit before I can order a cooler so will focus on getting the PCIe sorted out.
I have the IS-60 and your cooler is hitting the ram because it needs to be rotated 90 degrees. It has cutouts on 2 sides of the cooler and 1 needs to be over the ram. I know you had a hard time fitting that in with your motherboard. I am using an Asrock B450 and Corsair Vengeance LPX and it fits fine.
 

forvak

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Oct 14, 2019
22
13
@rfarmer Ha. Ha. Ha. I see! ? Rotating the cooler definitely won't work on this motherboard, the chipset coolers are really tall. Cryorig C7 incoming!

@ermac318 That's a beautiful little board. I really want to see motherboard manufacturers take up this type of design. I'm going to repack the case when the cooler and a fan guard arrives, but if that still doesn't fit well that board could be a great option. Thanks for sharing it.

I got the PCIe x8x8 Bifurcation working last night. I'm not 100% sure what the fix was so anyone reading this take it with a pinch of salt. I think I removed the NIC before updating the BIOS, then only tested with the GPU and the other slot empty. It looks like that might have some effect since I could never get that working. Putting in the second card immediately made the system work with the updated BIOS (1.90)

BIOS Settings:
PCIe x16 Slot Rate (Auto, Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 3, Gen 4)Auto
PCIe Bifurcation (x16, x8x8)x8x8

I have seen an issue with the BIOS clearing itself. This might be an actual issue.

So, just sorting the cooler and cable mess then onto the RGB. :D
 

forvak

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Oct 14, 2019
22
13
Huzzah. A bit of wrangling and it all fits. I need to get some black zipties and a bit of RGB strip but I'm calling it done for now. The GPU is currently a 1070 but will get swapped for a 5700 XT sometime in the spring. I'm looking at laser etching a logo into the front panel. I need now to find a bag/case for this and associated accessories. :)




Thanks for following along and the advice!
 
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ermac318

King of Cable Management
Mar 10, 2019
655
510
I got the PCIe x8x8 Bifurcation working last night. I'm not 100% sure what the fix was so anyone reading this take it with a pinch of salt. I think I removed the NIC before updating the BIOS, then only tested with the GPU and the other slot empty. It looks like that might have some effect since I could never get that working. Putting in the second card immediately made the system work with the updated BIOS (1.90)

BIOS Settings:
PCIe x16 Slot Rate (Auto, Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 3, Gen 4)Auto
PCIe Bifurcation (x16, x8x8)x8x8
Hey @forvak is there a test that you could run for me? I'm considering getting a PCIe Bifurcation riser, but not filling both slots to begin with. In your testing, you were saying that you could get a single slot working at 16x in the riser, with the second slot disable. Is that right? Could I buy the riser but then not use the second slot and still get the full 16x speed, as long as the BIOS is not set to bifurcate?
 

cloudcrypt

Efficiency Noob
Jul 20, 2019
7
1
Hey @forvak is there a test that you could run for me? I'm considering getting a PCIe Bifurcation riser, but not filling both slots to begin with. In your testing, you were saying that you could get a single slot working at 16x in the riser, with the second slot disable. Is that right? Could I buy the riser but then not use the second slot and still get the full 16x speed, as long as the BIOS is not set to bifurcate?

This is exactly how I'm currently running it. GPU is in the slot closest to the side panel, the other slot is empty. All PCIe and bifurcation settings are at default. No issues so far.
 

forvak

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Oct 14, 2019
22
13
Yup, that's what it means. Thanks for checking!

Sorry for the long delay, I took the PC on holidays and hid offline for two weeks. So nice...

No, the bifurcation riser is electrically two x8 slots. It is not possible to get the full x16 speeds, but very few cards need the full x16. In my situation the GPU cannot fully saturate an x8 Gen 3 slot nor can the 50 Gigabit Ethernet card.

There appears to be a BIOS/AMD AGESA bug that is preventing the GPU from working when in the second riser slot (closest to the side panel) when the BIOS is set to x8x8 bifurcation, but it does work when set to x16 (non-bifurcation). The card runs at x8 speeds since that's all the electrical lanes it has. This points pretty strongly for it being an initialization issue connected to device enumeration. It works fine in either mode in the first slot.

I still have an issue with the BIOS settings resetting unexpectedly. I need to figure out what's causing that (XMP profile?) or how to overwrite the default profile to be x8x8 bifurcation so the GPU keeps working.
 
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ermac318

King of Cable Management
Mar 10, 2019
655
510
T
Sorry for the long delay, I took the PC on holidays and hid offline for two weeks. So nice...

No, the bifurcation riser is electrically two x8 slots. It is not possible to get the full x16 speeds, but very few cards need the full x16. In my situation the GPU cannot fully saturate an x8 Gen 3 slot nor can the 50 Gigabit Ethernet card.

There appears to be a BIOS/AMD AGESA bug that is preventing the GPU from working when in the second riser slot (closest to the side panel) when the BIOS is set to x8x8 bifurcation, but it does work when set to x16 (non-bifurcation). The card runs at x8 speeds since that's all the electrical lanes it has. This points pretty strongly for it being an initialization issue connected to device enumeration. It works fine in either mode in the first slot.

I still have an issue with the BIOS settings resetting unexpectedly. I need to figure out what's causing that (XMP profile?) or how to overwrite the default profile to be x8x8 bifurcation so the GPU keeps working.
Thanks for the update, hope it worked well on vacation!

I believe one of the slots is electrically 8x but some risers have the "primary" slot as 16x, see the traces on this one.
 

Novanlor

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
May 25, 2020
4
0
excuse my ignorance, but could someone inform me why you needed the shim for your power supply? Im looking at the Asrock B550i Phantom and thought i'd be fine with the silverstone cables alone.
 

murtoz

Cable Smoosher
Aug 27, 2017
10
5
excuse my ignorance, but could someone inform me why you needed the shim for your power supply? Im looking at the Asrock B550i Phantom and thought i'd be fine with the silverstone cables alone.

it's to get clearance for plugging two sata cables into the mainboard. without the shim the psu would be too close to the ports. If you look in the pictures the PSU is still touching the sata cables even after having been shifted sideways by 4mm.