Question A Not So Long Story About A Graphics Card and a Black Screen.

[znedraw]

I run a pretty old system, I know.
I have an -
ARGUS APS-720W PSU ( I know I should have a fire extinguisher nearby if I have this PSU, somebody already told me that, but I didn't install nor I chose the PSU)
XFX RX580 8GB GPU
MSI B85M-E45 MB
Intel I5-4440
And a WD-Blue 1TB HDD and 2 Sticks of Crucial DDR3 4GB RAM. ( You can laugh about the DDR3 in 2022, you won't be first nor last who has done that)

Again, I know it's old, and it's <Mod Edit> for today's standards, but I only use it to play CS: GO and some Rocket League, so I haven't had a reason to upgrade.

So, to the problem now. I got the PC back in 2012ish I would guess, it came like it is now, just with a different PSU and GPU, the PSU got switched back in 2016 for this ARGUS fire-hazard demon. The old GPU, a GTX 760, died in 2020. RIP. So, I bought an RX 580, but that's where the problems started. Half a year went by, it was amazing, 0 problems.

One day, I turn my PC on, ready to play some CS, right? Nope, the screen is black, PC boots with the integrated GPU. Okay, I'm pretty okay with computers, I start troubleshooting, do all the basic things, disable the integrated one, try to restore it, uninstall drivers, install drivers, play with bios settings, nothing. Okay, I searched for the shop where I bought it from - it's closed for scamming clients by not shipping products, I guess I got lucky, but well, the shop is closed, so I can't contact them for a warranty. I contact a local PC Repair shop, and take that card to them, they say they can try to fix it but I should contact XFX first. I contact XFX, I send the card to them, they exchange it, and it works again, woo hoo.

A year goes by and we're here yesterday. I wake up, turn my PC on and same exact problem - the screen is black, and there's is a blue light on the GPU, which means it has power. Same problem as last time. I tried some basic troubleshooting again, but couldn't find a fix. The integrated card still works with the same cable, so the cable isn't faulty. I tried disabling the integrated GPU again - nothing changes. I contacted XFX again, they said I can send it to them again, and they will exchange it. But first I decided to maybe try to find the root problem or a way to fix it. Because I refuse to believe that the same thing can happen to 2 new GPUs in a year's time. I'll appreciate any help, ideas, or tips. If your solution fixes the problem, I'll order you a pizza or something.

 

[SkyNetRising]

But first I decided to maybe try to find the root problem or a way to fix it. Because I refuse to believe that the same thing can happen to 2 new GPUs in a year's time.
I'll appreciate any help, ideas, or tips. If your solution fixes the problem, I'll order you a pizza or something.

Probably your garbage PSU is killing it. Have you not thought about it?
Replace PSU.

 

[Tac 25]

@znedraw

I would second the advice to replace your PSU with a better one. This part of the pc is very important, and you should not cheap out on it. The entire pc can suddenly die if your cheap PSU decides to go out with a bang.

also nothing wrong with using an old system, as long as it still works for your needs. My backup pc (on sig) is also a DDR3 machine, with a cpu older than yours - still works fine with playstation 4 games, and some playstation 5 games at 1080p.