Question Computer/PSU won't turn on at all after GPU failure ?

[AlastairMunro]

Hello!

This is quite similar to a very recent thread on here, but I have a few more details which seem odd to me, so I thought I'd just see if anyone had any thoughts on this issue. Apologies if this is in the wrong spot, haven't used the forum in about 7 years.

So I left my computer (components listed below) on when I went for work. When I came back, I found that it had shut off- I turned it on, and it was only outputting from the onboard graphics. My GPU was no longer recognised in Device Manager. Other than that, everything seemed perfectly normal. I thought maybe my GPU had just become a bit unseated, so I tried reinstalling it. After that, the computer didn't turn on at all, not even a flicker.

At this point, I thought maybe the PSU had failed, so I took it out and did a paperclip test, which it passed. I still was hoping that maybe the load of the computer was too much for it, so I ordered a new one- the one I had was obviously quite outdated and a strange off-brand one, so I didn't mind replacing it regardless of if that was the issue. Just before I uninstalled it, though, I did try turning it on with just the motherboard/CPU, an SSD, and RAM connected, to try to rule out as many components as possible. It still didn't turn on at all.

I got the new PSU today, and hooked everything up- no difference. At this point I was holding out hope that maybe in reinstalling the GPU, I had loosened the cord that runs from the power button to the motherboard. I tried jumping the motherboard directly, no luck.

I'm assuming that this is a motherboard issue, but I'm also a bit wary of throwing more money at the problem without entirely knowing what it is, so if anyone has any ideas on what it's most likely to be, I'd be very appreciative. As well, if it is some kind of a short or failure on the motherboard, would that explain the GPU failing first, and also would there be a risk of other components being damaged?

Thanks so much for any help, and please let me know if there's anything more I can clarify!

PC:

GTX 1070
ASRock B85M-DGS Motherboard
GAMEMAX VP-600-RGB 600W PSU
Some crappy i3 CPU, can't remember exactly what it was (maybe i3-4160??)
16GB of various RAM
Some variety of Kingston 250GB SSD

Please let me know if you want me to find any more specific model numbers for the components, I'm away from the computer at the moment!

 

[geofelt]

Sounds to me like you exchanged one bad psu for another.
What is the make/model of the original psu?

Gamemax is very low on this list of psu quality:

[EOL] PSU Tier List rev. 14.8

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (END OF LIFE) Last Update: 27-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue ...

linustechtips.com

It only has a 1 year warranty. A quality psu will have a 7 year warranty, certainly no worse than 5 years.
The paperclip test is useful to confirm a dead psu if it fail.
It says nothing about proper psu operation.

Two failed power supplies would seem to defy the odds.
But, see if you can't borrow a known good psu to test with.

 

[Richj444]

I'm assuming that this is a motherboard issue, but I'm also a bit wary of throwing more money at the problem without entirely knowing what it is,

Motherboard issues are tough to diagnose unless you have another pc you can swap parts with. Like, try your cpu in another pc and make sure it works there. Try the other cpu in your pc and see if it starts working. If yours fails in the other pc and theirs works in yours, then your cpu was bad. Repeat with PSU, GPU, RAM, etc. If everything else works fine in another (similar) pc, then most likely it's the motherboard.

Even then you can never be positive until you replace the motherboard, but you can get a pretty good idea.