[SOLVED] New PC build stuck in reset loop when GPU is installed

[michaelb1290]

Background
Just built a new PC from the ground up (my third build over the course of many years, so not totally new but not an expert by any means). I am waiting to get my hands on one of the new NVIDIA RTX 3070 cards, but I figured I'd get everything else built and use my old GPU in the meantime.

I got the build done (minus the GPU) - everything is running great. All components recognized and functioning as expected. I went ahead and installed Windows as well as updated all my drivers. At this point I was ready to pull my GPU from my old PC and drop it in the new one. But after installing my GPU I'm unable to boot.

Issue
I installed my old GPU (MSI GTX 660 TI Power Edition) into the main PCI slot. I went to turn on my PC and it is stuck in a reset loop.

• I see everything start, including GPU fans, but 3-10 seconds into starting the whole system shuts off and restarts
• Nothing comes up on my display - just a blank screen (though it does pick up the signal enough to turn the screen on)
• On my motherboard I see it go through the EZ debug lights - the VGA light comes on and stalls for a few seconds before the restart occurs
• If I remove the graphics card everything works fine again

Troubleshooting Steps

• Confirmed that the graphics card still works as expected in my old PC (did this after it failed in my new PC)
• Reset BIOS by jumping CMOS (with the GPU installed BIOS still wasn't coming up, but after taking it off again I confirmed that I got a "BIOS Reset" message)
• Tried reseating the GPU (it clicks in and seems sturdy)
• Tried moving GPU to the second PCI slot
• Tried using different PCI slots on my PSU (it's modular; I tried all available 8 pin slots)
• Tried using a different PCI cable (my PSU came with 2 of them)

With each of these attempts I get the exact same issue.

Components

• Motherboard: MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI
• CPU: Intel i5 10600k
• PSU: Corsair RM650
• GPU: MSI GTX 660 TI PE

I'm baffled. Is it not getting enough power? With 650w and an 8 pin connecter I think it should be fine? Maybe it's something with the CPU integrated graphics that is causing issues? Not sure how I'd resolve that even if it was the case. I honestly don't even care that much about getting this particular card working as it is just temporary; the bigger concern is that I would run into the same thing with a newer card. Unfortunately I don't have other spare cards to test with and would be unable to tell if it is faulty PCI slots on the motherboard (though hard to believe both would be DOA with everything else running fine).

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[michaelb1290]

UPDATE
I tried a couple other things yesterday. First I tried to move the PSU (cooler master 750w) from my old PC to my new PC. After doing that I still had the exact same issue. Once this failed I re-assembled my old PC (put GPU and old PSU back in) and that PC runs just fine. Did some gaming on it and had no issues.

One other thing that's weird - I tried starting the PC with GPU connected to PCI slot on motherboard but not to the PSU. I actually got an error stating something along the lines of "Please power down and connect the PCIe power cables for this graphics card". Note that I had my DisplayPort cable connected to the GPU, so apparently it can output something and recognizes that there is a card in the slot?

To me this seems contradictory almost - the fact that the other PSU didn't work either suggests to me that it is the MOBO and not the PSU that is the problem. However by not connecting the PSU and seeing that the MOBO recognizes a card and displays something suggests the MOBO may be fine and the PSU is causing it to keep resetting. Am I missing something here?

I'm thinking next steps: 1) try a different graphics card (I have one on its way and arriving tomorrow), 2) flash latest version of BIOS, 3) request RMA for the MOBO

Any other suggestions on what I can try? I'm all ears.

Thanks for reading.

 

[michaelb1290]

So I got a Radeon 5600 XT in the mail today. Plugged it in and everything booted up without any issue. No other changes made. The 660 TI is an old card, but I didn't think it would have any compatibility issues. Guess I was wrong.
🤷‍♂️