Member Avatar for crookcatchr

Computer died 2 weeks ago. It is a gaming rig that I built myself and it is watercooled. First thought that the PSU died and bought a new one. That did not fix theproblem. Next bought a new motherboard. It is the same model and everything as the old one was almost 1 year old (same as every other component in the rig). Installed the new motherboard and still nothing.

Here's what it does: After turning the switch on the back of the PSU off then waiting for a second or two. I then flip the switch back on and press the power button. The fans turn on and there is a high pitched beep and then everything dies again. If I jump the 4th and 5th pin on the PSU all of the fans turn on and run till I turn it off. When I first installed then new motherboard I hooked up the power to it and it turned on. The motherbard just had the CPU and Memory on it nothing else. It ran for about 5 seconds and then I turned it off again as there were not fans or anything else. I then installed everything and I get the no power problem again.

I have tried everything that I can think of. What am I missing? O' I also tried clearing the CMOS and taking out the memory and trying one stick at a time to see if that would help. Again nothing.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jbennet

Dani AI

Generated

Since reports that removing the video card let the system stay powered, the most likely cause is the graphics card or its power delivery tripping the PSU/motherboard protection. A failing GPU or a shorted PCIe power connector can look like "no power" because modern PSUs shut down instantly when they detect a short or excessive draw.

Recommended, safe diagnostic steps (in order)

  • Try the suspect card in a known-good PC, or install a known-good, low-power card in this rig. That is the quickest definitive test.
  • With the card removed, closely inspect the card and its PCIe power plugs for burnt plastic, melted pins, bulging capacitors, or a solder/junction burn. Smell for scorching — that often identifies failed components.
  • Check the motherboard PCIe slot for damage or foreign conductive debris, and verify case standoffs and mounting to rule out a short to chassis (as suggested).
  • Inspect the PSU’s PCIe power cables and connectors for heat damage. A damaged cable can short under load.
  • Avoid long runs with the PSU "jumped" as a test when suspecting a short; that can bypass protections and risk further damage.

If the card is confirmed dead

  • Replace or RMA the card. Before installing a high-power replacement, confirm PSU capacity and required PCIe power connectors so the new card won’t overload the rig (follow the motherboard/PSU manuals).
  • Boot with a simple, low-power card first to verify the rest of the system (CPU, RAM, motherboard) are fine. If problems persist even with a known-good GPU, broaden testing to PSU rail checks or bench-testing components.

Final notes

  • Bench-testing at a friend’s shop or a local repair shop is fast and inexpensive if another test system isn’t available.
  • ’s point about BIOS/hardware monitoring is relevant only if the board is reaching POST; in this situation the GPU-induced shutdown is the primary suspect.

Recommended Answers

All 9 Replies

Member Avatar for jbennet

shorting against the case?

Member Avatar for compdoc

which BIOS do you have if it is Award BIOS , then it might be that the CPU is overheating or CPU fan failure,

one other thing you can do is to take everything out and reinstall them one by one turning the computer on after installing each item this should help find the problem

Member Avatar for crookcatchr

I thought about the motherboard shorting against the case, but that does not explain the problem with the first motherboard. Same problem with both.

The rig is watercooled so no CPU fan. The only thing that I currently have pluged into the Motherboard is the CPU, memory, and the video card. I will try taking out the video card and see what happens.

Could this be a dead CPU as well?

Member Avatar for joytech22

your rig is showing something is either being shorted or is dead, might wana check the ram, one good way to check ram is to pull all ram out and leave one in, then repeat witht he other sticks.

how old is the rig? what type of cpu and cooler?

Member Avatar for joytech22

brainstorm!

is it a dead hard-disk?

to test it, take it out and try to boot it on another machine. if it's successful, try booting a different hard drive on your rig.

if the other hard drive boots on your rig,
your hdd is dead.

if you wish to make a backup, try putting the old drive into the freezer overnight or a hour.

(i heard this is only a temporary fix)

Member Avatar for jbennet

if it was a bad hard disk it would still get to a BIOS screen

Member Avatar for crookcatchr

Thanks all, it was a dead video card. At least that is what I am thinking right now. I unpluged the video card and everything powered up normally, I think (no Video card) Hopefully that is all that is wrong and I can get it back up and runnig soon. Thanks for all the help

Member Avatar for joytech22

ooh if you had a old one, get a 9800gtx it rocks! good bang for yer buck

Member Avatar for jbennet

yeah but they are huge, expensive + power hungry

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