New Build Power Problem

[dbreimhurst]

Hello,

I built a new system a week ago and am having a power issue. This is my second system build so I recycled my PSU which I bought in 2010, as well as my case and hard drives. The new components I installed are:

AMD A8-5600K CPU
2 x 4 GB DDR 3 G.Skill Ripjaw RAM
Biostar TA75MH2 FM2 AMD A75 Motherboard
Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 1GB DDR3 Graphics Card
Windows 8 64 bit

My old PSU is a:
Corsair 850w PSU

My problem is this. I installed everything but the graphics card, it arrived late, and ran the system off of integrated graphics, no problem. When the graphics card arrived I installed it, no problem, dual graphics worked like a charm. Then after a few days, I went to turn on my system and nothing. The power light on my case turned on, but none of the fans or internal components turned on (I don't think the motherboard has any light on it but I didn't see anything light up).

I came to this site and read that it might be a graphics card problem, I removed the card, and huzzah everything worked. Reseated the card, and womp, nothing got power. The obvious answer was that it was a graphics card problem, but I also know that if there is a PSU issue, sometimes the graphics card draws too much power and the PSU prevents the system from starting up. What do you think, PSU or graphics card problem?

 

[DarkSable]

Don't listen to Anonymous - you shouldn't just buy a new one randomly, especially since yours is of a reliable brand. Let's see what we can do to get your problem FIXED, first, before telling you to waste money.

When you reseated the graphics card, did you remove the 6-pin headers? One possibility for what you're experiencing could be power cables not quite in all the way, preventing the graphics card from allowing you to POST. If your PSU is modular, check the connections on its end, as well.

The other thing you can to to test is either use a multimeter, or a second computer, to see if it'll post with your power supply.

 

[dbreimhurst]

Thank you for your reply. My PSU is not modular and this particular card doesn't plug into the PSU, only the mobo.
I am inclined to believe that the card was seated properly initially since the system worked for a few days before the issue arose.
Could the problem result from the graphics card not being properly seated in the PCIe slot?

 

[avenseth12]

If you remove the graphics card, does the system post with integrated graphics? If so your GPU is the problem. You could have a bad GPU. IF so you can RMA since you just bought it

 

[DarkSable]

Thank you for your reply. My PSU is not modular and this particular card doesn't plug into the PSU, only the mobo.
I am inclined to believe that the card was seated properly initially since the system worked for a few days before the issue arose.
Could the problem result from the graphics card not being properly seated in the PCIe slot?

Yep, quite easily. That being said, I'd go with avenseth's suggestion - see if it runs on integrated graphics, and then reseat and double-check the connection and try again.

 

[dbreimhurst]

The system runs fine with the integrated graphics. I am lucky in that I can RMA all components except for the PSU. After reseating the GPU firmly the problem persists. I guess the logical answer is still the GPU.

 

[DarkSable]

That would be my next step. If you can get a hold of a cheap multimeter, however, checking the PSU would be helpful.

 

[avenseth12]

I would RMA the GPU and get another one, I know that sucks but you might just have a bad card

 

[dbreimhurst]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will RMA the card and test the PSU. Once I know the answer I will let you all know what the problem was!

 

[dbreimhurst]

In a strange twist of fate it appears as though my problem has resolved its self. Before I sent in my video card for RMA I tried to boot the system one last time. This time I removed my primary hard drive, and even with the video card in the system got power and started up. Since trying this I have been using my secondary hard drive, running Linux, with no problems. When my primary drive is installed then the power problem persists. I have tested the PSU and it is functioning propperly. Can a fualty hard drive prevent a system from getting power?

 

[eshepard]

does the problem happen only with both hard drives, or does is persist when the windows hard drive is connected without the linux hard drive connected?