GA-Z170X-UD5: no video output on HDMI port with internal Intel HD Graphics

[kintrupf]

For starters I want to use the internal Intel HD Graphics of my Core i7 Skylake with the HDMI port on the backplate of the motherboard. However, the monitor stays black, no video output at all

The board seems to boot up all right, at least as far as I can tell with no video output.
When I unplug the HDMI cable from the backplate of the GA-Z170X-UD5 and plug it into my notebook's HDMI port I immediately get an image on my monitor, so the monitor side seems to be fine.

I do not have an Thunderbolt to DVI adapter, so I cannot test the other video ports on the motherboard.
Any thoughts?

[dmdilks]

I do not have an Thunderbolt to DVI adapter, so I cannot test the other video ports on the motherboard.
Any thoughts?

I don't under stand the Thunderbolt to DVI adapter. You have a Display port, HDMI, & DVI. So what you are saying you don't have a DVI cables.

[kintrupf]

I don't under stand the Thunderbolt to DVI adapter. You have a Display port, HDMI, & DVI. So what you are saying you don't have a DVI cables.

The backpanel has one standard HDMI port (which I try to use) and two USB type C ports which are listed as "Standard DisplayPort/Thunderbolt" in the manual, but no DVI port. The manual says you can connect a standard DisplayPort/Thunderbolt monitor to these USB-C ports with an adapter, but there was no adapter in the box.
I do have a DVI cable, but there is no port for it

[dmdilks]

You sure we are talking about the same board GA-Z170X-UD5. All the pictures I look at you a DVI port on top of the Display port.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5480#ov

[kintrupf]

You sure we are talking about the same board GA-Z170X-UD5. All the pictures I look at you a DVI port on top of the Display port.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5480#ov

My bad. I've got a GA-Z170X-UD5 TH, which is the Thunderbolt version.
When ordering I had no idea there were two different versions, and the TH was the one included in the package.
However, this still does not solve the problem about the apparently non-working HDMI port...

[dmdilks]

Ok by default all boards made today they have is set to the 1st Pci-e slot. So that could be the problem. Have you try any video card in it. Then set it to what ever you want it to boot too.

[kintrupf]

Ok by default all boards made today they have is set to the 1st Pci-e slot. So that could be the problem. Have you try any video card in it. Then set it to what ever you want it to boot too.

Found just that in the manual and tried it
Conclusion: need to check again, first try was not successful.
Problem is: my only available PCIe video card is water cooled and quite old, integrating it into the system's water cooling is a lot of work. And I don't want to do that with such an obsolete video card.
So I can only do a very, very quick peek into the BIOS before the video card might overheat and I have to shut the system off...

Update: now nothing works
I've apparently successfully set the default video to the internal graphics. But I still don't get any video output on the HDMI port!
And if I put the PCIe video card back in I don't get any output on their DVI port, either.
The PCIe card does not even get warm, so it seems to be completely switched off. Great...

[ElectroStingz]

Hello,

Have you actually ever been into the BIOS and seen any of the options on this motherboard?
Or other than it powering on it has never actually worked?

[kintrupf]

Hello,

Have you actually ever been into the BIOS and seen any of the options on this motherboard?
Or other than it powering on it has never actually worked?

Yesterday I put in an ancient PCIe video card and the video output on it's DVI port worked all right. So I went to the BIOS setup and switched the "Initial display" setting to "IGFX Internal Graphics" in the hope that this would activate the internal graphics and the HDMI port.
However, now the PCIe card does not show any output while the HDI port still seems to be dead.
I just openend a ticket with GIGABYTE support in the hope that they can shed some light on this issue...

[ElectroStingz]

I see, with everything off & unplugged from the mains remove the motherboard battery and leave out for a few minutes.
This will restore the BIOS settings back to default.

The iGPU is part of the CPU so if the socket pins are mis-aligned or the CPU itself is faulty you may not get any display from the motherboard HDMI connector. It's going to be hassle to check but the only way is to remove the CPU and physically look at the socket for bent pins.

Other than that if your are running the memory with an XMP setting your iGPU may always show a blank screen / flicker due to incorrect voltages. <Usually this is a setting changed by the user and will not be enabled by default.

Your hardware consists of how many memory sticks?
Try just 1 (swap with stick 2 or 4...) to rule out the possibility of the iGPU using a faulty portion of RAM.

[kintrupf]

I see, with everything off & unplugged from the mains remove the motherboard battery and leave out for a few minutes.
This will restore the BIOS settings back to default.

Good idea, I will try it this evening. I also ordered an adapter for USB-C to HDMI which should arrive today. Maybe there is a video signal on one of the two USB-C ports...

The iGPU is part of the CPU so if the socket pins are mis-aligned or the CPU itself is faulty you may not get any display from the motherboard HDMI connector. It's going to be hassle to check but the only way is to remove the CPU and physically look at the socket for bent pins.

I ordered the motherboard with the CPU and water cooler pre-installed, so removing the CPU is a no-go. If I can't get it to work it's a warranty issue and the dealer has to solve it eventually

Other than that if your are running the memory with an XMP setting your iGPU may always show a blank screen / flicker due to incorrect voltages. <Usually this is a setting changed by the user and will not be enabled by default.
Your hardware consists of how many memory sticks?
Try just 1 (swap with stick 2 or 4...) to rule out the possibility of the iGPU using a faulty portion of RAM.

That might both be worth a try. I've got two 8 GB memory modules so I can swap them or use only one.
And after pulling the CMOS battery the XMP timings should revert to default, right?

[ElectroStingz]

That might both be worth a try. I've got two 8 GB memory modules so I can swap them or use only one.
And after pulling the CMOS battery the XMP timings should revert to default, right?

Yea all settings will revert back to defaults.

[kintrupf]

I'm feeling kind of stupid now 

The culprit was the HDMI cable!
While the cable was working fine with my laptop and the monitor (in full HD even), it did not work with the GA-Z170X-UD5, for whatever reason. Using another cable solved the problem. Arrrrrg!

Thank you all for your advise and help!