I have a feeling this little PC is going to be the end of what little sanity I have left.
So currently just a bit shy of 48 hours, my GTR has been running nonstop on a single monitor. Still using the original magnetic power adaptor and added the G.Skill memory and both Samsung 980 Pro SSD’s back in before letting it go and it has not once rebooted in that time. I even put PC mark on it yesterday on a continuous loop just to see what would happen and it is still trucking along like a champ today.
So now I am going start testing the two monitors theory with one in HDMI and one in the DisplayPort to see what I find.
Unfortunately to nail this theory down, I am going to have to test 9 or more various combination using DP and HDMI with USB-C adaptors.
In the past AMD did have issue with their discrete GPUs blanking out/crashing when you had an HDMI and DisplayPort monitor plugged in at the same time so it is not to far fetched that this could be an issue.
Just going to suck and be time consuming to test is all.
I kinda wonder IF it only occurs when both are connected at the same time, maybe the DP attached display can be powered off to test easier but not sure if that will work as the cable is still connected.
Ah the issue is time, I have to let it run for awhile in each combination to see if the idle reboot occurs. Then try to reliably reproduce the issue again to verify that combination is or is not a problem.
Also as a side note, I could not get GTR7 to work with just a USB-C power adaptor. I bought two that are USB-C PD certified and they both work on various laptops and two other mini PCs I have on hand that supports USB-C PD. But the GTR7 did not like either. Pugged them in, push the power button, it would power on. Wait about a minute, then power down. Tried all three USB-C ports with both adaptors with the same results. One is 140W and the is 160W. All I can think of is it is waiting for a display signal from a monitor thinking it is plugged in that way and it doesn’t receive it, it just shutdown. Unfortunately a Monitor with USB-C is something I currently do not have available to test in my home lab. I did see ETA Prime power it with a monitor in his review of the GTR7 Pro but again his was a pre-production unit so could be a difference in the production versions.
The default setting in the BIOS was overclocked to 65W. I had the same problem and lowered the TDP to 45W in the BIOS before booting and it booted. I connected it to a 100W charger with a 100W capable cable.
I tried the above-mentioned solutions … the problem disappeared for 8 hours and now the problem is back again after connecting my mac to the same monitors on different HDMI ports … recurrent reboot!! every 10-15 min
Is there any other solution?
I use 2x 4K monitors (HDMI and PD cables) to GTR-7 pro
I am considering returning the unit and requesting a refund
So, I am still working through monitor testing, but my gut is telling it is something with mixing the Native HDMI port and the Native DisplayPort. If possible, Try running both monitors on the GTR7 with one, in the native DisplayPort and the other using DisplayPort to one of the back USB-C ports. Give that a shot and see how it goes.
I also did lower the TDP back to the 55W when testing the USB-C PD but did not go any lower but turns out the issue had nothing to do with the original power adaptor, so I just added two more items to my “pile of things I don’t need” in my home office.
Just an FYI for anyone that hasn’t heard, Beelink announced that they’ll be shipping out a replacement bottom plate with actual ventilation holes (a new invention) that line up with the little fan on the SSD/RAM bracket. You need to contact support to have them ship it out but it seems like it’s free of charge.
Other than the occasional crash which I’m pretty sure is the same issue mentioned in this thread I’ve been loving mine, I got it in orange and really like the way it looks in bright sunlight.
Yep, I already swapped out the memory. I have tried now two different kits, G.Skill 5600 and Samsung OEM kit from a working HP laptop also running 7840HS APU. Both made no impact on the rebooting though. So I know it is not a RAM issue with my unit.
For most people, the reboot issue is related back two items so far, with one being power management issues that was some what addressed in the WHQL Driver from AMD, and the other part needing to be addressed with a BIOS update which BeeLink as acknowledged and says is coming.
The other I am testing right now which is the two monitor Theory with one in the native HDMI port and one in the native DisplayPort. Currently through my testing with only one Monitor being connected to either the HDMI, Displayport or through an adapter for HDMI or DisplayPort in the USB-C ports. MY GTR7 has not rebooted one time in the past week and during this time. It has been on running test for 48hour stretches which was not possible before and only change, is that it is no longer connect to both my 32in main office monitors which one was in the HDMI port and the other was in the DisplayPort.
I am starting the dual monitor testing here soon. I was able to get a hook up from our account manager at our main distributors for some high end monitors and we will use them in our Lab for testing this issue. So we will now have native USB-C monitors to test with and also test the Single cable operation as well over USB-C. Just waiting for them to come back in stock hopefully soon.
I tested with a single monitor connected via the HDMI port and also in the DisplayPort (not the usb-c though, native DisplayPort). It made no difference for me with the reboots.
Where did you see they mention about working in another BIOS after V21? Contacting they support email yesterday they offered to send new RAM sticks or replace the whole PC… they didn’t mention anything about a new incoming BIOS. If they’re working on it, doesn’t look like they are putting so much hopes on that.
I recall him mentioning in one of the reviews that it doesn’t support single cable operation mode.
I’ve also seen reviews saying it doesn’t support it either.
I’m very certain that the issue doesn’t have anything to do with the RAM either as it’s just too widespread. I should mention that I actually had a similar issue with a different mini PC running a 6900HX chip as well.
@Andre_Dewes So the BIOS update comment was in a really long forum thread at Beelinks official forums which is also where I found the dual monitor theory on like page 18-19 of the thread. Mention of a BIOS update was in the earlier part of that thread that they (BeeLink) was aware of some memory training issues as well as some of the power options in the BIOS were not working as expected and they were working an updated BIOS to address those issue but no ETA was given on when. Also the bios on my unit with date of 06/13/2023 is V14 which I was told from Beelink support was the latest version available when I spoke to them about getting the updated replacement bottom cover. Where did you see a version V21 BIOS at?
Some other items I have seen in other forums you can try that helped some were to set the TDP back to stock 55W. Just set the SmartShift Control option in the BIOS from manual to Auto and that will put it back to AMD’s Default TDP limits and this resolved reboots for some. I think some APUs may not be stable at 65W and that is screwing up some people.
Some others I saw in relation to the updated official AMD Driver. I am taking you are also running the updated AMD WHQL Driver from AMD released on 07/26 and if you are. Did DDU the old beta driver off first before you installed the new or did you upgrade right over the old? If you upgraded right over the old driver, that could be contributing to your reboot issues as well. Did you re-enable Secure boot with the new driver?
As it stand now with my GTR7 unit. It went from sporadic exorcist freaking out and rebooting to the point I thought it had died to now. It has been running non stop for testing since last Monday July 31st and has been completely stable. Not a single reboot and I threw our RMM agent on it so I can log if it does.
The only thing that has change is the monitors that were plugged into it. Still running the new G.Skill memory (Model F5-5600S4040A16GX2-RS) with my two 980 Pro Samsung SSDs with the bottom panel off sitting 1/2in off the desk. Not sure why it is now working normally but I am working every possible condition that may contribute to the random reboots so a proper solution/resolution can be provided to everyone.
@DoublesAdvocate I just went back and watch both of ETA Primes reviews of GTR7 7840 and 7940 Pro and he does not mention anything on using USB-C single cable mode and you can clearly see in the review he has the power cable along with the USB-C cable. The pro review came out the same week I got 10 hours of sleep for the whole week so I was most likely hallucinating at the point I watched it or got it mixed up with one of his other reviews.
It would be nice if single cable op worked as a back up option for the proprietary power adaptor. I do have someone that is looking into the possibility of a replacement power plug on the unit itself as it is just a free wire going to a connector on the motherboard. So in theory, someone should be able to trace out the connections and make a new replacement to say a barrel jack or USB-C as long as there is nothing funny that beelink did with the power circuit on the board.
There were couple of mentions about people using V21 in their GTR7 in the official forums. So I emailed Beelink and they sent me the link for it. So it seems to be latest now… but didn’t change anything about the random reboots even after changing these settings that might be the culprit. But still I would like to see a new BIOS from them with this latest AGESA 1007b/c and so on that other manufacturers are releasing. It seems to improve DDR5 memory stability.
I did perform DDU and even formatted my disk and made a clean Windows 11 installation after AMD released the official drivers for this APU. It seems to improve the situation slightly but still get couple of reboots a day.
Over email, Beelink support mentioned they are now rebuilding a new batch of GTR7 (that’s why it is out of stock currently) and they will offer to replace the faulty units once they’re available. I still think the real problem here is the AMD BIOS/drivers but at least Beelink is being very supportive once you reach them.
@Andre_Dewes Hmmm, tempted to ask if you would mind sending over the link to the updated BIOS but now that my unit is running normally. I am kind of hesitant to attempt updating the BIOS to the v21. In your BIOS screen, what is the build date it shows?
For now, I am going swap my unit back to my main office desk and start using it on the daily to see how it goes while I wait for new test monitors to come back in stock. I will start out as it was in the beginning with one in the HDMI port and one in the DisplayPort and if things start going sideways again. Then I will move the HDMI one to DisplayPort over USB-C an see if it makes a difference.
Also, small update on the new bottom cover. Got the tracking number from BeeLink last night and it is and strangely it originated and shipped from Gardena, CA which is an hour or so away, so hopefully I should have it by tomorrow and can get some updated temp results with the new cover.
I had the device for 1 months
I have 2 BenQ 32 inch monitors ew3270u
I tried in the beginning with one in the HDMI port and one in the DisplayPort … Recurrent reboot … sometimes every 10-15 mins.
I then tried the HDMI port + DisplayPort over USB-C using the original cable by BenQ … The same reboot issues and the USB-C cable died after few days !
All the solutions given by bee-link did not work. Removing the RAM was not possible as I could not do my work with only 16GB of RAM.
I also cannot do my work with only 1 monitor.
Initially, they promised to replace my unit in 2 weeks once they get the new batch they are building now. But this was not a suitable solution for me.
I ended by calling them and they agreed to refund me the full amount upon reception of the unit. I sent it to China 2 days ago and waiting for its reception in order to get a refund.
I bought an Intel NUC 13 Pro with 64GB DDR4 RAM and 2TB SSD. It arrived yesterday and it is working perfectly so far.
