Acer Aspire XC-1660G (model D17E6) won't POST after adding AMD GPU (Radeon RX 6400)

smithmal

I'm attempting to upgrade an Acer Aspire SFF PC so I can turn it into a good emulation gaming PC. I purchased a Radeon RX 6400 GPU (low profile). It fits fine and the Aspire does provide power when the PC is turned on (I've noted the GPU fan starting up). Unfortunately once the GPU is added my PC will not POST. It provides no image at all to my display (both from the default as well as the RX 6400 HDMI ports). It works fine without the GPU added. Here's what I've done:

1. Updated BIOS to the latest version
2. Running SATA mode in AHCI
3. Re-installed Windows OS

Here's what I've tried:

1. Tried to change graphics settings in BIOS from onboard to external before adding the GPU (it's grayed out and I can't change it)
2. Tried pre-installing the RX 6400 drivers (driver installer doesn't detect GPU hardware so won't install drivers)
3. Tested the GPU in a different PC and it works without issue

My understanding is the Acer Aspire desktops will automatically use the GPU's video out when it's plugged in and detected but this is not working in my case. I've seen several posts where individuals have updated this Acer Aspire model to a Nvidia GPU without issue (RTX 1650, RTX 1050/1030).

I've read somewhere that other desktop models (Lenovo ThinkCentre M91P for instance) have whitelisted AMD GPUs so they can't be used. Users have figured out a way to hack the BIOS to disable detection of "non-compliant devices" so the AMD GPUs will work. I haven't found any information that Acer is also not allowing AMD GPUs to work in their Aspire model desktops but also haven't found anyone using a AMD low profile GPU either. https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/zkjqqg/rx_6400_gpu_wont_post_on_lenovo_thinkcentre_m91p/

Any information on why I can't get this GPU to work with this PC would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

smithmal

Thanks for your response. I actually figured out what the issue was.

I was doing some research on trouble shooting GPU's that don't allow the PC to POST and found the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQG153s1NIM

After watching this video I remembered that the first thing I did when I obtained the XC-1660G was to upgrade its BIOS. I went from the initial BIOS (which was R01-A1) to the latest (R01-B0). All the BIOS for the XC-1660G are listed here if anyone is interested: https://www.acer.com/us-en/support?search=XC-1660G&filter=global_download&suggest=XC-1660G;0

So, I decided to revert my BIOS back to R01-A1 and WAA-LAH, the RX-6400 works fine.

Initial testing indicates the RX-6400 seems to work fine with the XC-1660G's PSU (which, according to Radeon is under powered (RX-6400 calls for a 350W PSU and the XC-1660G as a 300W one)), but since I'm primarily using this PC to emulate video games I don't think it will be pushing this card very much anyway. I may run a couple benchmarks to see if I hit a PSU issue with this card.