The problem is caused by rogue SMBUS pins on several EVGA boards, most notably the Z690 Classified, which appear to short-circuit the GPU’s expectations and halt the boot process entirely.
It’s the sort of hardware drama that would usually prompt a swift BIOS fix or driver update. But EVGA, which flounced out of the GPU market in 2022 citing "conflicts" with Nvidia, is barely maintaining a skeleton crew these days. That means customers are left to fend for themselves with software support so poor it might as well not exist.
As one user on Reddit put it, “EVGA is a shadow of its former self and getting BIOS updates for hardware compatibility issues is like pulling teeth. They’ve basically left their customers out to dry in regards to their motherboards.”
In this case, the culprit appears to be SMBUS pins 5 and 6 on the PCIe slot, which are typically left floating in most consumer-grade boards. These lanes are reserved for low-level chatter like power management, but the RTX 50 GPUs don’t seem to take kindly to unexpected small talk.
With official support missing in action, some particularly desperate users have turned to sticky tape. By placing a 2mm strip of Kapton tape over the corresponding pins on the GPU’s gold connector, they’ve managed to block the errant SMBUS signal, sidestepping the boot issue entirely. It’s fiddly and not exactly elegant, but for now, it’s the only thing keeping some high-end rigs alive.
As the Redditor who discovered the fix explained, cleaning the contact area with isopropyl alcohol first helps ensure a clean stick. Other EVGA boards, including several Z690 variants and most Z790 models, seem immune though that’s of little comfort to users who now need lab-grade precision and some tape just to start their PCs.
EVGA hasn’t issued an official statement, and given the company’s sharp retreat from anything resembling customer service, no one’s holding their breath. With Nvidia unlikely to tweak its hardware for a former partner it barely acknowledges anymore, it’s clear where the support burden now rests.
