[SUCCESS] Gigabyte Designare Z390 (Thunderbolt 3) + i7-9700K + AMD RX 580

[CaseySJ]

Can someone recommend a PCI Thunderbolt card for this build for additional Thunderbolt ports? Thanks.

Please note that Thunderbolt is daisy-chainable up to 6 devices per port. This does depend on connected devices having a daisy-chain port.

Have you already maxed out the two existing ports?

 

[bugsyraz]

Thanks @CaseySJ for being so active and helpful! I can't appreciate this enough.

My system has been running smoothly except sometimes when starting it up with a projector connected, one screen is black and only works if I turn it off and on. We've talked about this in a previous post. Then also DRM content won't work with a projector connected but will work with two 4k monitors.

After a while of use, I started getting random system freezes. Last night it froze completely while cursor is still moveable and sound still playing but I couldn't do anything else. Keyboard didn't work, mouse clicks didn't do anything. Had to hard restart, then the freeze happened a second time.

Today I've had a similar freeze with the loading icon spinning, behavior was the same as previous freezez BUT it came back to its senses after 20-30 seconds.

I wonder what could be causing this.

 

[CaseySJ]

Thanks @CaseySJ for being so active and helpful! I can't appreciate this enough.

My system has been running smoothly except sometimes when starting it up with a projector connected, one screen is black and only works if I turn it off and on. We've talked about this in a previous post. Then also DRM content won't work with a projector connected but will work with two 4k monitors.

After a while of use, I started getting random system freezes. Last night it froze completely while cursor is still moveable and sound still playing but I couldn't do anything else. Keyboard didn't work, mouse clicks didn't do anything. Had to hard restart, then the freeze happened a second time.

Today I've had a similar freeze with the loading icon spinning, behavior was the same as previous freezez BUT it came back to its senses after 20-30 seconds.

I wonder what could be causing this.

Hello @bugsyraz,

I'd like to see if Process of Elimination can help to isolate the cause. Some questions:

• If the projector is not connected at all, does the system work reliably time and time again with only the two 4K monitors connected?
• Please remind me again:
  • Are the 4K monitors connected to RX 580?
  • If so, are both of them connected via DisplayPort?
  • Is the projector being used via on-board HDMI instead of RX 580's HDMI port?
• Are the random freezes occurring (a) with projector connected or (b) if projector has been connected and subsequently disconnected?
• Does the system freeze if projector is never connected?

 

[bugsyraz]

Hello @bugsyraz,

I'd like to see if Process of Elimination can help to isolate the cause. Some questions:

• If the projector is not connected at all, does the system work reliably time and time again with only the two 4K monitors connected?
• Please remind me again:
  • Are the 4K monitors connected to RX 580?
  • If so, are both of them connected via DisplayPort?
  • Is the projector being used via on-board HDMI instead of RX 580's HDMI port?
• Are the random freezes occurring (a) with projector connected or (b) if projector has been connected and subsequently disconnected?
• Does the system freeze if projector is never connected?

Thanks for the quick reply, @CaseySJ

I'll keep the projector disconnected and closely observe how the system behaves.

The 4K monitors are indeed connected to the RX580 through DisplayPort.
The projector is also connected to the RX580 through HDMI.
I'm not using the iGPU at all since I'm using the iMacPro 1,1 SMBIOS.

The random freezes did happen with the projector connected. As for (b), I'll have to watch how the system behaves and report back.

I have another observation to make though. When the projector is connected and I boot, the Clover shows up full screen on both 4K monitors.
When it's not connected and I boot, Clover shows up smaller in the center of the screen with black borders up/down and left/right. It's like clover scales up when projector is connected and it doesn't scale at all when it's not.I hope this means something.

Thanks so much!

 

[tdcam]

Please note that Thunderbolt is daisy-chainable up to 6 devices per port. This does depend on connected devices having a daisy-chain port.

Have you already maxed out the two existing ports?

Hi thanks I’m giving the machine to someone and they want 4 ports but I told them they could daisy chain them . Also a thunderbolt dock could be used correct ?

 

[Malenca]

Regarding the 5700XT....any big difference on compatibility between the XT and VII....As I said before I lost my VII and I'm using the Vega64 on temporary base...So, I'm looking for the pros and cons on both ones regarding stability and performance on our machine....Saw in your profile that you are using the XT....

thank you

 

[bugsyraz]

Thanks for the quick reply, @CaseySJ

I'll keep the projector disconnected and closely observe how the system behaves.

The 4K monitors are indeed connected to the RX580 through DisplayPort.
The projector is also connected to the RX580 through HDMI.
I'm not using the iGPU at all since I'm using the iMacPro 1,1 SMBIOS.

The random freezes did happen with the projector connected. As for (b), I'll have to watch how the system behaves and report back.

I have another observation to make though. When the projector is connected and I boot, the Clover shows up full screen on both 4K monitors.
When it's not connected and I boot, Clover shows up smaller in the center of the screen with black borders up/down and left/right. It's like clover scales up when projector is connected and it doesn't scale at all when it's not.I hope this means something.

Thanks so much!

UPDATE: I've had a freeze without the projector connected. This was a freeze that recovered after 20-30 seconds.

 

[CaseySJ]

UPDATE: I've had a freeze without the projector connected. This was a freeze that recovered after 20-30 seconds.

Did this happen when running a specific application or performing a specific task? If so, is the freeze repeatable under the same circumstances?

 

[CaseySJ]

Hi thanks I’m giving the machine to someone and they want 4 ports but I told them they could daisy chain them . Also a thunderbolt dock could be used correct ?

Sure, a dock can be used. Most but not all Thunderbolt 3 docks have two Thunderbolt ports, where one port connects to computer and the other is used for daisy chaining. If buying a dock, always check that it has a second Thunderbolt port (with the lightning logo).

 

[CaseySJ]

Regarding the 5700XT....any big difference on compatibility between the XT and VII....As I said before I lost my VII and I'm using the Vega64 on temporary base...So, I'm looking for the pros and cons on both ones regarding stability and performance on our machine....Saw in your profile that you are using the XT....

thank you

The Radeon VII is faster than the 5700 XT on nearly all Pro apps that take advantage of GPUs. So the choice between 5700 XT and Radeon VII depends very much on your needs and your budget.