Question GPU causing my Video converter(active) cables to die ?

[gian_ef]

I am sorry if this is not the right section for this, so please do move it if required.

Is it possible for my gpu to cause some issue to kill my video converter(active) cable (DVI-D to VGA) that I connect to my "VGA only" monitor?

Added hardware specs:
CPU: Ryzen 5 2600
Mobo: MSI B450 Mortar Max
Ram: 2x8gb klevv bolt cl16 3200mhz
GPU: GTX 1050 (current) / GTX 1050 ti(to upgrade)
PSU: Corsair CX550 (3 yrs old)
OS: Windows 10 Pro 20H2

Spoiler: The whole story

So I recently built my first rig with a ryzen 5 2600, 16gb of ram with 3200mhz, a gtx 1050 that I bought around Aug. 2020, on a msi b450 mortar max and powered by a corsair cx550 psu. The gtx 1050 was already used when I bought it by was capable enough to have me gaming on an old intel i5 2400 with 12gb ram running at 1333mhz until I upgraded to first rig and used it for about 2 months today. I was planning to buy a gtx 1080 or at least a gtx 1660 super before the gpu prices skyrocketed. So I looked for a decent enough 4gb gpu which I settled on a gtx 1050 ti, 2nd hand (used). So I bought one (for about $60) yesterday then tested it on my new rig. According to the seller, the hdmi port of the gpu was not working but the dvi port was working and since I am using a 1050 with the same setup, I did not mind.

As I tested the 1050 ti connecting it to my VGA cable with a DVI-D to VGA converted attached, I noticed that my system booted up the first time but my monitor was not receiving any video signal. The gpu fan was spinning and the LED indicators on my motherboard were all off meaning no issues were being experienced by the system. So I reboot a couple of times and still had the same result. I swapped in my older 1050 to test if the 1050 ti not sending out signals and confirmed it. I kept the 1050 in the system for 15mins with the screen flickering to black a few times before totally blacking out.

Now since the r5 2600 does not have built in graphics, I could not test to see if it was being detected in the bios, so I tried using my old rig with the i5 2400. So I put it in 1050 first to test and see in the bios that it was being detected. So I switch the connecting cable from the motherboard to the dvi-d from the 1050 and still did not get a signal. Now my older intel system became a media device connected to a smart tv with HDMI. So I tried using hdmi to connect from the TV to the 1050 and lo and behold, it has output. Now I was fairly certain that the DVI-D to VGA converter was dead and bought a new one the following day.

I tested the 1050 output using the new dvi-d to vga converter and worked. I tested this on my rig with the r5 2600 and worked well enough. So I tried my luck and thought that my previous converter died when testing the 1050 ti, so I tried using it but still it did not give a video signal. So I swapped in my 1050 again since I had work to do for the day. For about an hour my video was good, after 10 more minutes I noticed my screen "twitching" mildly and the windows having fuzzy lines. I accidentally opened up my command line with a constant ping test and saw that it was very blurry. I thought this may have something to do with my gpu. I took a break from work then got coffee and when I came back, my screen was black. I reset my system to check and nothing. It was dead. The new converter cable I bought died after about 2 hrs and 20mins of constant usage. My wife had an hdmi to vga converter on her work laptop connected to a secondary monitor so I borrowed this for a while to be able to work. Worked great, continued my shift for the next 6 hours. No issues.

Clocking out of work, I left my PC running since I have a game in the background that I leave to fish while I went to the market. When I returned after an hour or so, my screen was black. I moved my mouse since I know my monitor sleeps after 20mins being idle. But nothing. I reset my system and tried again. Nothing. So now I'm using an HDMI to VGA (passive) that I forgot about. So as I type this (sorry for the long story), I am using it for about 20mins.

TL;DR

So my question again would be: Is it possible for my gpu to cause some issue to kill my video converter(active) cable (DVI-D to VGA) that I connect to my vga only monitor?

Follow-up: Did the 1050ti cause this issue and my 1050 "acquired" it somehow?

I will try and look for a DVI-D to VGA with passive video conversion to see if I can still use the 1050 ti since the seller does not want to respond to my inquiries as of this time. Hopefully someone can explain to me what is happening and if I need to be worried about my whole system. Thank you very much for those that will take time to answer. My knowledge about computers and hardware is about 6 in a scale of 10. Only got my knowledge from watching youtube videos.

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Include PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition.

After your next successful boot look in Reliability History for errors, etc.. Especially any that correspond to changes that you may have made. Or changes do to some update?

Look in Event Viewer as well.

I would not expect that the GPU is "killing" video converters.

I would expect that PSU/system power related problems could be the root cause of the symptoms that you describe.

 

[gian_ef]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Include PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition.

After your next successful boot look in Reliability History for errors, etc.. Especially any that correspond to changes that you may have made. Or changes do to some update?

Look in Event Viewer as well.

I would not expect that the GPU is "killing" video converters.

I would expect that PSU/system power related problems could be the root cause of the symptoms that you describe.

Thank you for these instructions and ideas. I did forget to take into consideration my PSU since it is already 3 yrs old. I'll get back to you with my findings. Also update my original post as requested.

 

[gian_ef]

So just an update, I did everything mentioned above and did not find any issues that may lead to the conclusion that it was the psu that causes the issue. But it looks like the DVI port of my 1050 is the culprit now. Since I don't have any other devices that have DVI ports, I am unable to continue checking.

Good Weird
Now I have a "good weird" outcome. I put in the 1050ti card that supposedly only had the DVI port working for output, with the hdmi and display ports are dead with my old 1050. Using an hdmi to vga cable, I was able to get output from the 1050 first to check and see if my system can detect the 1050ti, and it did. For just the sake of it, I tried removing the hdmi cable connected to the 1050 to the 1050 ti, and I now have display. I'm still checking if I have full access to the 1050ti specs and will provide update again.

Task Manager screenshot

 

[gian_ef]

Final update. (for now)

I have yet to get a new dvi to vga cable to test the issues I am having but so far so good, the 1050ti is working properly for the last 3 days using the old hdmi to vga I had laying around. Thank you Ralston18 for giving me further insight as I am still monitoring my system daily for any issues relating to the psu. Did not get a definitive answer to my issue but I got the "new" used 1050ti to work in my system as initially planned. Thank you

 

[gian_ef]

Final update. I was able to somehow got the 1050ti to reset itself and be detected by my system by removing the power cable from the PSU but switched on then holding the power button for the PC for 30+ secs. Experienced the undetected gpu issue for 3 alternating days and was able to fix all 3 instances with this solution. I am at 2 weeks now and the gpu has not had the issue since then. Hopefully this alternate fix holds up until I can get my hands on a 1660 super or a 2070. Thank you again