Motherboard only works with minimum components...

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

AwesomeArnold

Commendable
Oct 8, 2016
20
0
1,520
Hello I have an M5A78L-M USB3 motherboard but it doesn't work when I put in my GPU (AMD HD 7770) anymore. The problem started occuring when playing a demanding game and there were weird buzzlines all over the display. The GPU is fine though.

It used to work fine for 2 years. I have already narrowed the problem down to the motherboard and PSU (Coolermaster RS-600-ASAB) as anything else has been tested individually on a seperate computer. Unfortunately, I have no other PSU to test anymore. The voltages on the PSU appear to look fine (via HW monitor) and I tried the standard CMOS removal, vaccuuming components etc.

The computer only shows a display with the GPU removed from the motherboard, or when a low-power demanding GPU is installed which only draws power via the motherboard. The GPU, with which the computer won't give a display, is powered via a 6-pin to the PSU. So I'm running on internal graphics now. If I plug the GPU into the motherboard, but still let the display go via the internal graphics, the computer keeps crashing at the Windows circle logo and reboots continously. I see no broken transistors on the motherboard

Another strange quirk is that only the far right RAM-slot of the motherboard works, so that is suspicious...

Does anyone know what the solution to this problem might be? Either PSU or Motherboard?
 

AwesomeArnold

Commendable
Oct 8, 2016
20
0
1,520


yeah cuz how can the GPU cause the ethernet port + ram slots to break xD
unless there was some weird power spike which fried the motherboard + gpu at the same time and that it then gradually got worse over time or something
 

AwesomeArnold

Commendable
Oct 8, 2016
20
0
1,520


I wasn't there when the licensed technician check it unfortunately. But I will let you know what happens next!
 

AwesomeArnold

Commendable
Oct 8, 2016
20
0
1,520


So I tested the new PSU, and it changes nothing unfortunately. Not with the new or old motherboard... Reboots/crashess at the windows spinning circle screen with GPU plugged in and booting via IGFX. Black display when booting via GFX0. :(
I'm thinking about returning the PSU as it is clearly not a PSU problem. I bought a Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 560 2GD5 which comes in 2 days which I will also test but I do not know what is the problem.
If this doesn't work I will return all the component I bought and just build a PC from scratch because the only thing that is then not working is the CPU. It can't be software right?

I'm just really surprised that something happened, so the RAM-slots broke, then the ethernet cable stopped.
I checked the GPU again at my neighbour (with my own eyes) and there it works. Could it have been a power spike that came from the PSU and then affected the CPU somehow or something?
 

AwesomeArnold

Commendable
Oct 8, 2016
20
0
1,520


The new PSU I bought is a PurePower10 bequiet! 400W 80Plus Silver and it was really really quiet :p
What do you mean check for boot driver consistency? I use Advanced Systemcare 10.3 with diskscan and there are no errors on the hard disk if this is what you mean? It is a WD Caviar Blue 500GB hard disk by the way.