[SOLVED] Is my graphics card dead?

[hj41612]

Hi Im very new to pc building and I built my first pc in June. My PC was working fine but yesterday it suddenly shut down and it wont start back up again.
Before I go into more detail here are my parts:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL19 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card
Power Supply: EVGA BR 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

So after it shut down I kept trying to start but nothing would work. After unplugging it from the outlet and plugging it back in and pressing the power button, the PC would start for half a second then shut down again. The only way to get this to work would be to unplug then plug in again; just flipping to power source button on the back does not work. A similar problem is outlined in this thread: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/870897-graphics-card-causing-my-pc-not-to-turn-on/ more specifically the first reply by Rakanoth. I opened up the PC and when it starts for half a second, the fan on the CPU spins for half a second as well and some lights come on too. Unlike in the post, I did not smell anything burning.

I didnt know what the problem was so I tried resetting the motherboard battery by taking it out for 10 minutes but that didnt do anything. Then, I tried starting the PC without the graphics card and everything seems to be running fine. As soon as I install the graphics card onto the motherboard, the same problem happens (starting for half a second then shutting down); Im a newbie so Im not sure if this is relevant but when I plug ONLY the PCI-E cords from the PSU into the graphics card, the computer starts up fine as well. Seems to be only when the graphics card is on the motherboard PCI-E slot that the problem occurs. I really dont know what Im doing so I would greatly appreciate some guidance here. From my online research, the problem does seem to be the graphics card and not the PSU, but Im not sure if this is a problem with the motherboard(?). Are there any steps I can take to ensure that the graphics card is indeed the problem? And are there any fixes other than replacing the graphics card?

 

[FailG]

You can try to put the graphics card in the second PCI-E slot on the motherboard and check if that works.

 

[hj41612]

You can try to put the graphics card in the second PCI-E slot on the motherboard and check if that works.

I am unable to do that because the case and other cords (like the HD Audio cords) prevent me from installing it int the PCI-E slot that is under the one I am using; I have a mini-ATX so that may be why there isnt enough space (though Im not 100% sure).

 

[Shjacks55]

Hi Im very new to pc building and I built my first pc in June. My PC was working fine but yesterday it suddenly shut down and it wont start back up again.
Before I go into more detail here are my parts:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL19 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card
Power Supply: EVGA BR 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

So after it shut down I kept trying to start but nothing would work. After unplugging it from the outlet and plugging it back in and pressing the power button, the PC would start for half a second then shut down again. The only way to get this to work would be to unplug then plug in again; just flipping to power source button on the back does not work. A similar problem is outlined in this thread: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/870897-graphics-card-causing-my-pc-not-to-turn-on/ more specifically the first reply by Rakanoth. I opened up the PC and when it starts for half a second, the fan on the CPU spins for half a second as well and some lights come on too. Unlike in the post, I did not smell anything burning.

I didnt know what the problem was so I tried resetting the motherboard battery by taking it out for 10 minutes but that didnt do anything. Then, I tried starting the PC without the graphics card and everything seems to be running fine. As soon as I install the graphics card onto the motherboard, the same problem happens (starting for half a second then shutting down); Im a newbie so Im not sure if this is relevant but when I plug ONLY the PCI-E cords from the PSU into the graphics card, the computer starts up fine as well. Seems to be only when the graphics card is on the motherboard PCI-E slot that the problem occurs. I really dont know what Im doing so I would greatly appreciate some guidance here. From my online research, the problem does seem to be the graphics card and not the PSU, but Im not sure if this is a problem with the motherboard(?). Are there any steps I can take to ensure that the graphics card is indeed the problem? And are there any fixes other than replacing the graphics card?

As long as power cord plugged into outlet the power supply is on. It provides the USB standby power to operate the power switch. The switch tells the power supply to turn on main power and run diagnostics. If one of the voltages is to high or too low (a short) then it powers down. In theory plugging in cards while power is on is ok, but I haven't seen it work. Could be static killed the video card. Possibly just draws too much power: PSUs are advertised as peak power (peak for how long?) and average power often 1/2 or 1/3 that. Previous Asrock boards I've had were picky about which video card manufacturers were supported. Compatibility with onboard video of many Asrock MBs. Those MBs also had PCI-E x16 slots with only x4 or x8 lanes and although most x16 video works in x8 lanes but that is a video card manufacturers choice. Is that video card on the MB supported list?

 

[King_V]

Honestly, I'd be suspicious of that PSU. EVGA makes countless numbers of PSUs, and they seem to come up with a new model number every other week.

The BR, however, is NOT one of their good ones. I would not be surprised if getting a different PSU fixed the problem.

Even if it isn't the cause, given the BR's poor reputation, I'd return that thing anyway and get a better PSU. Warning, it WILL be more expensive, but the PSU is NOT something you should ever skimp on.

Click on the first link in my sig - it is a MUST read.

 

[Shjacks55]

The ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX motherboard offers a PCI-Express 3.0 slot with a full x16 lanes of connectivity for graphics cards as well as a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot x4 lanes.

 

[hj41612]

The ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX motherboard offers a PCI-Express 3.0 slot with a full x16 lanes of connectivity for graphics cards as well as a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot x4 lanes.

Thanks for the reply. Though I dont really understand what this means; I just used PCPartPicker and it said there were not incompatibilities so I assumed things would be fine. Does this mean the graphics card Im using is not really supported by the MB I have?

 

[hj41612]

Honestly, I'd be suspicious of that PSU. EVGA makes countless numbers of PSUs, and they seem to come up with a new model number every other week.

The BR, however, is NOT one of their good ones. I would not be surprised if getting a different PSU fixed the problem.

Even if it isn't the cause, given the BR's poor reputation, I'd return that thing anyway and get a better PSU. Warning, it WILL be more expensive, but the PSU is NOT something you should ever skimp on.

Click on the first link in my sig - it is a MUST read.

Thanks, Ill definitely take a look at the link and strongly will consider getting a new PSU; I also want to make sure the graphics card is fine as well. This is my first PC so I dont have any "spare parts" to test if the PSU or GPU is the problem so Im struggling bc of that as well. Is there any possibility that the GPU is the issue or would you say that it is more than likely a PSU issue? Because the computer powers on without the GPU but not with it.

 

[jmil]

Hi Im very new to pc building and I built my first pc in June. My PC was working fine but yesterday it suddenly shut down and it wont start back up again.
Before I go into more detail here are my parts:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL19 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card
Power Supply: EVGA BR 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

So after it shut down I kept trying to start but nothing would work. After unplugging it from the outlet and plugging it back in and pressing the power button, the PC would start for half a second then shut down again. The only way to get this to work would be to unplug then plug in again; just flipping to power source button on the back does not work. A similar problem is outlined in this thread: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/870897-graphics-card-causing-my-pc-not-to-turn-on/ more specifically the first reply by Rakanoth. I opened up the PC and when it starts for half a second, the fan on the CPU spins for half a second as well and some lights come on too. Unlike in the post, I did not smell anything burning.

I didnt know what the problem was so I tried resetting the motherboard battery by taking it out for 10 minutes but that didnt do anything. Then, I tried starting the PC without the graphics card and everything seems to be running fine. As soon as I install the graphics card onto the motherboard, the same problem happens (starting for half a second then shutting down); Im a newbie so Im not sure if this is relevant but when I plug ONLY the PCI-E cords from the PSU into the graphics card, the computer starts up fine as well. Seems to be only when the graphics card is on the motherboard PCI-E slot that the problem occurs. I really dont know what Im doing so I would greatly appreciate some guidance here. From my online research, the problem does seem to be the graphics card and not the PSU, but Im not sure if this is a problem with the motherboard(?). Are there any steps I can take to ensure that the graphics card is indeed the problem? And are there any fixes other than replacing the graphics card?

Lol, your problem is you were tricked into building an AMD system. My recommendation would be to donate the motherboard, CPU and video card to Goodwill and build you a reliable Intel / NVidia system. Note the "I tried starting the PC without the graphics card and everything seems to be running fine" quote. If you build an AMD system---especially if you opt for an AMD video card for your video---you can expect BSODs and all sorts of hardware failures.

 

[King_V]

Lol, your problem is you were tricked into building an AMD system. My recommendation would be to donate the motherboard, CPU and video card to Goodwill and build you a reliable Intel / NVidia system. Note the "I tried starting the PC without the graphics card and everything seems to be running fine" quote. If you build an AMD system---especially if you opt for an AMD video card for your video---you can expect BSODs and all sorts of hardware failures.

This is absolutely false. This forum is for giving actual, helpful advice, not for playing favorites and engaging in FUD or outright false statements.

 

[hj41612]

So I got a new PSU and GPU to test what was wrong. I plugged in the new PSU with old GPU and the GPU started smoking and I smelled a strong burning smell. So it was the GPU that was the issue. Works fine with the new GPU and new PSU. Hopefully Im able to get a refund or warranty. Thanks everyone.

 

[King_V]

So I got a new PSU and GPU to test what was wrong. I plugged in the new PSU with old GPU and the GPU started smoking and I smelled a strong burning smell.

DAMN!! That's just crazy! Smoking? 😬

Still, definitely glad you got it sorted out without a major disaster.