Question Local shop said my RTX 3060 is not compatible with my system or system is too old, is this true ?

[sizzlinkola]

I was running a used RTX 3060 Ti 8GB on my system for 4 months and then all of my sudden, my computer wouldn't boot. Black screen.

I took it to a local PC shop and they told me they were only able to boot successfully once out of ten attempts. They tested the GPU on their test PC and the GPU is good. They said my system is just "too old, not compatible" and I basically need to upgrade everything.

My old GTX 1060 GPU is back on with no issues but it sucks that I can't use the RTX 3060. Got it as a gift.

Mobo: Asus Z97-Deluxe PCI-Express 3.0 (8.0 GT/s)
CPU: Intel i7-4470 @ 3.40 GHz, 3401 Mhz, 4 Cores, 8 Logical Processors
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB
RAM: Kingston 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3 933MHz
PSU:Thermaltake Smart M 750w

Any thoughts here? Do I need to upgrade my whole PC to use the RTX? It's weird that my PC was working fine for a few months with the RTX and just suddenly stopped.

 

[Lutfij]

Your system's achilles would be this;
PSU:Thermaltake Smart M 750w
Any Thermaltake PSU from the Smart series is meant to be in the bin. Quite literally.

As for your shop, the platform does need a revamp since you're GPU would be limited. You might want to drop your RTX 3060Ti onto another known working platform with a reliably built PSU that has 650W of power at the entire system's disposal and see if the RTX 3060 Ti shows sings of life.

 

[Ralston18]

If the 3060 worked for 4 months then the shop stating your PC is "too old" would make me look for another shop.

As I understand your post the system is up and running with an older GPU - that is good.

Take a look in Reliability History/Monitor and Event Viewer. Either one or both tools may have captured some error codes, warnings, or even informational events just before or at the time of the initial failure.

 

[Eximo]

I would start replacement of that system regardless, 4th gen came out 12 years ago. If you want equivalent performance on the cheap:

13th gen because I couldn't find any cheap motherboards with BIOS Flashback for 14th gen potential incompatibility.

It could also be an i5 or i7 if you want. 12700K are very cheap, but you would need a CPU cooler to go with that.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-13100 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($122.50 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z790-S WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Silicon Power Value Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($79.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.79 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A650GL 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($86.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $479.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-13 16:27 EDT-0400

 

[sizzlinkola]

I would start replacement of that system regardless, 4th gen came out 12 years ago. If you want equivalent performance on the cheap:

13th gen because I couldn't find any cheap motherboards with BIOS Flashback for 14th gen potential incompatibility.

It could also be an i5 or i7 if you want. 12700K are very cheap, but you would need a CPU cooler to go with that.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-13100 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($122.50 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z790-S WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Silicon Power Value Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($79.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.79 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A650GL 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($86.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $479.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-13 16:27 EDT-0400

Wow thanks for the build! What made you choose these parts in particular?

 

[QyInvoLing]

Wow thanks for the build! What made you choose these parts in particular?

He prepares this build for a progressive upgrade, which means that you can get a fine motherboard and PSU, then upgrade other items, but this pack not a fine choice.

 

[logainofhades]

I also would say it is time for a new platform. Mine is more expensive, but you get a much better upgrade path, as LGA 1700 is a dead socket.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 EAGLE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Silicon Power UD90 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 - TT Premium Edition 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $569.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-14 07:52 EDT-0400

 

[Eximo]

Wow thanks for the build! What made you choose these parts in particular?

i7-4770k quad core with hyperthreading
i3-13100 quad core with hyperthreading, and quite inexpensive.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...-13100-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-7600-vs-Intel-i7-12700K

Bang for the buck is still the 12700k, at around $200, but you could also go straight for a Ryzen 7700X. Just depends on if you want a replacement now, or something that will last as long.

I don't feel that upgradability should be a primary focus for someone that keeps a system for 12 years, generally. AM5 will be long surpassed on that time scale.

 

[logainofhades]

Agree, for a system that will never see a CPU upgrade, a 12700k is an excellent choice right now.

 

[sizzlinkola]

i7-4770k quad core with hyperthreading
i3-13100 quad core with hyperthreading, and quite inexpensive.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...-13100-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-7600-vs-Intel-i7-12700K

Bang for the buck is still the 12700k, at around $200, but you could also go straight for a Ryzen 7700X. Just depends on if you want a replacement now, or something that will last as long.

I don't feel that upgradability should be a primary focus for someone that keeps a system for 12 years, generally. AM5 will be long surpassed on that time scale.

I have a MicroCenter near me. What do you think of getting this bundle instead and keep my current SSD, PSU? $400 tax included. https://www.microcenter.com/product...ies-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle

Would prefer to upgrade my main components once (Mobo, CPU) and not worry about it again for awhile.

 

[punkncat]

MicroCenter often has compelling deals.

Budget in OS license and personally would suggest a new power supply based on the GPU not working on it, whether by way of fault or other I feel it would be prudent to get something better. I have used the Smart series in a lot of budget builds. I try to target ~1/2 and never more than 2/3 of its rated output. I have never had one fail, but would call it more luck of the draw than any expectation of quality out of them.

Your older system isn't "too old" to work with the card but certainly would not be able to use its potential. I second the comment above about finding another shop. That was a Geek Squad type answer.

 

[sizzlinkola]

MicroCenter often has compelling deals.

Budget in OS license and personally would suggest a new power supply based on the GPU not working on it, whether by way of fault or other I feel it would be prudent to get something better. I have used the Smart series in a lot of budget builds. I try to target ~1/2 and never more than 2/3 of its rated output. I have never had one fail, but would call it more luck of the draw than any expectation of quality out of them.

Your older system isn't "too old" to work with the card but certainly would not be able to use its potential. I second the comment above about finding another shop. That was a Geek Squad type answer.

Any suggestions on PSU if I go with the bundle I linked?

 

[punkncat]

Any suggestions on PSU if I go with the bundle I linked?

Personally, don't know a lot about the MSI or ASUS branded power supplies MC carries. For the price and based within my own experience I would recommend the Corsair RM series. The graphics card states it wants 550W or better but would probably go ahead on something like 750W. The RMe in both 750 and 850 watt flavors are at a decent price there. I honestly feel like you could find the RM750x at a slightly better price elsewhere.

 

[wcbhkids]

They are bullshitting you. The problem is probably the PSU. While 750w is plenty for 3060, the GPU may have massive transient spikes that trip the PSU. Any modern atx 3.x PSU which will have built in protection for transient spikes, will probably be fine for your system. I have the Corsair 750x and it runs 9070 XT just fine. The 9070 XT has spikes of over 500w.