[SOLVED] I upgraded my computer and it won’t boot

Jun 29, 2021
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I bought a $4,000 prebuilt off of Newegg (I’m aware I overpaid and should’ve built my own) and I bought a second RTX 3090. I got the 3090, the computer and a 1200w PSU. I removed the previous 850w EVGA PSU and installed my 1200w Corsair PSU. I re did the cables, and kept some of the evga cables in use with the Corsair PSU. I installed the second 3090 (it’s a FE and a ROG STRIX in the system) and now it won’t boot. I powered my motherboard, cpu, both gpus, fans and my SSD and hard drive. Been troubleshooting and am still not sure why it won’t boot. Could it be because I’m using the EVGA cables or is there another issue?



Update! The PSU was fried from the factory. The prebuilt was about 2 months old. I switched back to the 850w psu and removed a 3090 and all the computer will do is turn on the RAM LEDs. What does this mean?

If specs affect anything, I’ll list them below
Intel i9 108500k
Aorus Z590 Ultra
ROG STRIX 3090
EVGA Modular 850w (which I attempted to upgrade, hence the existence of this post)
32gb GSkill RGB
1tb SSD
2tb Hard Drive
 
Solution
Then look up hx1200s failures. They are everywhere just googling it i can find repeated post everywhere

THIS issue is everywhere


There is "zero risk" of the issue damaging your hardware, just potentially your sanity.

Again, I see nothing stating HX1200 PSUs are "Frying motherboards".
I bought a $4,000 prebuilt off of Newegg (I’m aware I overpaid and should’ve built my own) and I bought a second RTX 3090. I got the 3090, the computer and a 1200w PSU. I removed the previous 850w EVGA PSU and installed my 1200w Corsair PSU. I re did the cables, and kept some of the evga cables in use with the Corsair PSU. I installed the second 3090 (it’s a FE and a ROG STRIX in the system) and now it won’t boot. I powered my motherboard, cpu, both gpus, fans and my SSD and hard drive. Been troubleshooting and am still not sure why it won’t boot. Could it be because I’m using the EVGA cables or is there another issue?
You may have just fried the system or psu.... Evga modular psu have different power pin outs then corsair
 

Ralston18

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

How old is the prebuilt and how has the system been used: heavy gaming, video editing, even bit-mining?

The starting point is the motherboard's User Guide/Manual.

What you will need to do, or have done, is that the system is powered down, unplugged, and the case opened up.

Clean out dust and debris.

Referencing the User Guide/Manual you must check that all connections are correct, and fully and firmly in place.

Use a bright flashlight to look for signs of damage: bare conductor showing, kinked or pitched wires, signs of overheating, etc..

Likewise, you must refer to the installation documentation for all installed components.

Revert back to as basic a build as possible - the objective being able to achieve a successful, stable boot. Even if iGPU.

Then add in the extras: e.g., additional GPUs, RAM, and so forth.

You must methodically troubleshoot and just not start changing things. Determine what works and what does not work by installing known working components or installing your components in other known working systems.
 
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You may have just fried the system or psu.... Evga modular psu have different power pin outs then corsair
This means that the power to the system componets themselfs are the same.... However the plug that runs into the psu it'self has different power pin lay outs then other brands. Evga psu cable will have the power draw generally the left side of the cable and grounds/commons on the right where corsair generally will swap it the other way around
 
Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

How old is the prebuilt and how has the system been used: heavy gaming, video editing, even bit-mining?

The starting point is the motherboard's User Guide/Manual.

What you will need to do, or have done, is that the system is powered down, unplugged, and the case opened up.

Clean out dust and debris.

Referencing the User Guide/Manual you must check that all connections are correct, and fully and firmly in place.

Use a bright flashlight to look for signs of damage: bare conductor showing, kinked or pitched wires, signs of overheating, etc..

Likewise, you must refer to the installation documentation for all installed components.

Revert back to as basic a build as possible - the objective being able to achieve a successful, stable boot. Even if iGPU.

Then add in the extras: e.g., additional GPUs, RAM, and so forth.

You must methodically troubleshoot and just not start changing things. Determine what works and what does not work by installing known working components or installing your components in other known working systems.
I promise you the problem lays in the factor he's using evga cables in a corsair psu
 

Rogue Leader

It's a trap!
Moderator
Turns out, the psu was fried from the factory. I most likely fried the system. I put back in the old 850 and the only thing that turns on is my ram LEDs.

Id agree and say you probably did. NEVER mix PSU brand cables. You may have just learned a very expensive lesson.

Side note why 2 3090s? SLI is basically dead and MultiGPU only works on a couple games. Not worth it.
 
Jun 29, 2021
7
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Id agree and say you probably did. NEVER mix PSU brand cables. You may have just learned a very expensive lesson.

Side note why 2 3090s? SLI is basically dead and MultiGPU only works on a couple games. Not worth it.

Didn’t even buy an nvlink bridge, mining with them. And even if I mixed the cables, the psu smelled the second I took it out of the box, so Corsair will be held responsible for any damages nonetheless. If I had used the EVGA cables or not, the psu was trash from the start.
 

Rogue Leader

It's a trap!
Moderator
Didn’t even buy an nvlink bridge, mining with them. And even if I mixed the cables, the psu smelled the second I took it out of the box, so Corsair will be held responsible for any damages nonetheless. If I had used the EVGA cables or not, the psu was trash from the start.

Ok understand the Mining.

But no theres no reason for it to smell if it hasn't even had power to it yet, whatever you smelled wasn't failure. Good luck with trying to warranty that and get them to pay for it, IMO you don't have a chance, because I don't believe the PSU was DOA. Corsair's high end stuff is just that, the chance of getting one that would fry your system out of the box is basically 0. But... if you plug the wrong cables into it, you can surely and easily do it.
 
Didn’t even buy an nvlink bridge, mining with them. And even if I mixed the cables, the psu smelled the second I took it out of the box, so Corsair will be held responsible for any damages nonetheless. If I had used the EVGA cables or not, the psu was trash from the start.

Uhh.. No. The pinout between EVGA and Corsair are completely different. You're sending +12V down +5V pins.. +5V down +3.3V pins, etc. Totally user error and totally going to fry a PC 9 out of 10 times.

Of course, Corsair has a policy where you can file a damage claim for all of your hardware. You send in the PSU and all of your hardware and if they think any Corsair hardware damaged your stuff, they pay for everything. But if they find the PSU is fine and the problem is clearly user error, you get everything back as-is.
 

DSzymborski

Titan
Moderator
Didn’t even buy an nvlink bridge, mining with them. And even if I mixed the cables, the psu smelled the second I took it out of the box, so Corsair will be held responsible for any damages nonetheless. If I had used the EVGA cables or not, the psu was trash from the start.

Color me skeptical. A PSU that smelled so bad that you remember its smell isn't one that someone is likely to use with $5000-$6000 worth of GPUs. And it's awfully convenient that the thing that you did that has a high probability of frying your parts just happened to totally not be your fault after all. A broken PSU of modern design is extremely unlikely to actually fry anything these days.

Unless someone at Corsair is feeling extremely generous, this is unfortunately likely to be one of the more expensive lessons I've seen in PC building.
 

bignastyid

Titan
Moderator
Didn’t even buy an nvlink bridge, mining with them. And even if I mixed the cables, the psu smelled the second I took it out of the box, so Corsair will be held responsible for any damages nonetheless. If I had used the EVGA cables or not, the psu was trash from the start.
You caused the damage when you tried to save time and didn't switch all the cables. Corsair is in no way responsible for your expensive blunder.
 
Color me skeptical. A PSU that smelled so bad that you remember its smell isn't one that someone is likely to use with $5000-$6000 worth of GPUs.

At this point, the OP is trolling and grasping at straws. To be fair. 99% of the PSU's "smell bad" because of the solder flux. But some people fail to realize that a PSU goes through an 8 hour 100% burn in before shipping and makes the assumption that they're shipping dead units that they can plug the wrong cables into and expect to continue to function.
 
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Jun 29, 2021
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How do you know it was fried from the factory? From what you've said, it's most likely that you did it all.
The second I opened the box, I caught a nice whiff of a horse poop like smell. The power supply doesn’t smell any worse after attempting to use it. I had no idea that that kind of smell was bad, never held a power supply or smelled one in my life so :/
 

Rogue Leader

It's a trap!
Moderator
The second I opened the box, I caught a nice whiff of a horse poop like smell. The power supply doesn’t smell any worse after attempting to use it. I had no idea that that kind of smell was bad, never held a power supply or smelled one in my life so :/

Theres nothing in a PSU that would ever smell like manure. Nor is there a chance that smell (if its even real) was related to the PSU being bad. It wasn't... well maybe now it is after using the wrong wires.
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
Considering there's plenty of written documentation here which provides the indication that you used incorrect components for a PSU than came boxed with that PSU, there's likely zero chance that this is the fault of Corsair.

I would also be willing to bet that the components which resulted in damage, ex: GPUs, have components on the voltage lines which are designed to operate at very specific power levels and their destruction would correspond with a simple engineering evaluation of mapping the Corsair PSU pinout with the EVGA cables (also compared to Corsair cables). This means that anyone with an electrical engineering degree could easily evaluate all items in question and confirm what took place.
 
I bought a $4,000 prebuilt off of Newegg (I’m aware I overpaid and should’ve built my own) and I bought a second RTX 3090. I got the 3090, the computer and a 1200w PSU. I removed the previous 850w EVGA PSU and installed my 1200w Corsair PSU. I re did the cables, and kept some of the evga cables in use with the Corsair PSU. I

That could be catastrophic; you'd better pray the pinouts at the PSU's insertion points do not send a voltage where it should not be!

Use modular cables only designed for your current PSU!!!! (pinouts at PSU insertion points look the same, but vary widely!)
 
Jun 29, 2021
7
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Theres nothing in a PSU that would ever smell like manure. Nor is there a chance that smell (if its even real) was related to the PSU being bad. It wasn't... well maybe now it is after using the wrong wires.
I was able to provide three witnesses (my friend, dad and brother) who smelled the PSU the night before I ran it. Corsair is replacing the PSU at the moment. Both GPUs work. Getting a motherboard diagnostic to see if it’s the core or the MOBO that’s broken. Corsair already agreed that after I could provide a statement from Micro Center (the people doing the diagnostic) that one of the two is broken, they’d replace it.
 

bignastyid

Titan
Moderator
I was able to provide three witnesses (my friend, dad and brother) who smelled the PSU the night before I ran it. Corsair is replacing the PSU at the moment. Both GPUs work. Getting a motherboard diagnostic to see if it’s the core or the MOBO that’s broken. Corsair already agreed that after I could provide a statement from Micro Center (the people doing the diagnostic) that one of the two is broken, they’d replace it.
I'm guessing you failed to mention the use of the EVGA cables.