Question PC wont even respond if GPU is in

[FrostyLaws98]

Help, I'm suffering and on a time limit! So I am trying to help my little brother upgrade his PC (I'll have the specs below). I got it all put together and this is my 8th time building a PC; for some reason, only he has problems. If I have the GPU plugged in via the VGA cable from the power supply, the system won't respond or just has the orange DRAM light on indefinitely. To help narrow down potential problems, let me list what I have tried and if I miss anything, I'll let you know:

• Tried a different GPU (I hadn't tried the GPU before building this so I slotted it into one of my builds and confirmed the GPU works and isn't the problem probably.)
• What WILL work is a GPU with no power cable (It's an old Radeon GPU that doesn't require power from the power supply). However, though the system will turn on, it will not post even after waiting 5-7 minutes. I've checked a few forums for issues related to my motherboard and have tried 1. trying a single stick of RAM for each slot 2. Alternating the sticks of RAM to check if one is faulty.
• I've taken out the CMOS battery for a minute to reset the BIOS
• Checked the front I/O panel connections (mine case came with all the connectors in a fixed box plastic piece to make it easier to put on the motherboard)
• Checked to make sure that the VGA cable is properly connected to the power supply and GPU (It should be noted that the GPU has slots for two sets of power cables. I have tried both and just doing the right slot. I haven't tried having multiple cables but I genuinely don't think that would work but I'm open to the idea)

I wanna note that if I don't use a GPU that requires a power cable and get the system to at least turn on, the CPU fan (the stock stealth wraith prism AMD cooler is spinning at max power it seems, although that could just be what it does. Ive had a Noctua fan for so long so I may just be mistaken)
I am at my wit's end, if anyone has ideas, PLEASE suggest them.

CPU: Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix B550-f Gaming (Says it's Ryzen 5000 ready and I bought it from a guy who used the motherboard, CPU, and RAM in his old rig)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB 3200mhz
GPU: EVGA Geforce GTX 1080 FTW
Case: Corsair 4000D
Storage: Sandisk SSD and Team Group
Fans: 3 UpHere RGB fans at the front
PSU: Seasonic Focus GOLD 80 Plus Gold 850FX

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

What WILL work is a GPU with no power cable (It's an old Radeon GPU that doesn't require power from the power supply). However, though the system will turn on, it will not post even after waiting 5-7 minutes.

this means that it is NOT working.

the GPU has slots for two sets of power cables. I have tried both and just doing the right slot. I haven't tried having multiple cables

when you claim that you have "tried both",
you mean that you have tried them separately or that you have plugged PCIe power cables into both at the same time?

you don't mention the make & model of any of the GPUs you claim to be testing with.
this is necessary information.

the required power for said cards can be a big factor here.
some may need separate PCIe 8pin cables, not a daisy-chained version with 2 heads.

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix B550-f Gaming (Says it's Ryzen 5000 ready and I bought it from a guy who used the motherboard, CPU, and RAM in his old rig)

you actually saw this system in use in person with these specific components installed?
if not, this could very well be a malfunctioned set just being sold off.

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

So I am trying to help my little brother upgrade his PC (I'll have the specs below).
You mentioned upgrading the system. The specs listed above is for after the upgrade or before the upgrade? How old is the PSU if it's being recycled?

just has the orange DRAM light on indefinitely.
Are the rams fully seated on slots A2 and B2 on your motherboard? The error light is stopping at DRAM meaning your ram might be the one at fault or your BIOS has ended up with corruption. If the latter, you have a BIOS Flash button on the back of your motherboard;

Use that in conjunction with steps outlined in this guide;

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzpVSOtaKBU


(It's an old Radeon GPU that doesn't require power from the power supply).
Which is?

Checked to make sure that the VGA cable is properly connected to the power supply and GPU (It should be noted that the GPU has slots for two sets of power cables. I have tried both and just doing the right slot. I haven't tried having multiple cables but I genuinely don't think that would work but I'm open to the idea)
Please include an image of what you're trying to accomplish, here.

For the sake of relevance, did you breadboard the used parts atop the motherboard box and then tried to see if the system would POST?

 

[FrostyLaws98]

this means that it is NOT working.


when you claim that you have "tried both".
you mean that you have tried them separately or that you have plugged PCIe power cables into both at the same time?

you don't mention the make & model of any of the GPUs you claim to be testing with.
this is necessary information.

the required power for said cards can be a big factor here.
some will need separate PCIe 8pin cables, not a daisy-chained version with 2 heads.


you actually saw this system in use in person with these specific components installed?
if not, this could very well be a malfunctioned set just being sold off.

I'm aware that it isn't working, I was just saying the system turns ON at least.

I updated the GPU I am trying to get working (my bad), my spare GPU that works and I use for my other system is the 1070 EVGA GeForce GTX and I've been using that for 2 years now just fine.


For clarification on the slots of the GPU, I mean I've plugged in my specific VGA power cable that has multiple plugs on a single cable and tried having them both in, trying just one slot. I was saying that I have extra PCIE cables that I can try.

The person could but before purchasing, I asked for him to send video proof that it was working and he seemed legitimate.

 

[FrostyLaws98]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

So I am trying to help my little brother upgrade his PC (I'll have the specs below).
You mentioned upgrading the system. The specs listed above is for after the upgrade or before the upgrade? How old is the PSU if it's being recycled?

Are the rams fully seated on slots A2 and B2 on your motherboard?

(It's an old Radeon GPU that doesn't require power from the power supply).
Which is?

Checked to make sure that the VGA cable is properly connected to the power supply and GPU (It should be noted that the GPU has slots for two sets of power cables. I have tried both and just doing the right slot. I haven't tried having multiple cables but I genuinely don't think that would work but I'm open to the idea)
Please include an image of what you're trying to accomplish, here.

For the sake of relevance, did you breadboard the used parts atop the motherboard box and then tried to see if the system would POST?

Thank you! I am a little nervous as this is not something I normally do but every Reddit thread said to post my problem here as people are nice and smart!

Honestly, my wording should've been basically that it is a brand-new system. The only thing I took from his last gen (AM3) PC was the storage and that's it so sorry about that!

In regards to the GPU, it just says AMD Radeon graphics, I pulled it out of an old work PC my mom had and figured it could be useful.

I'll post a picture!

I'll have to admit my ignorance but I don't know what breadboard means all the parts besides the motherboard, CPU, and RAM came from different people.

Lemme know if there is any other pertinent info and ill get it to you!



Edit: I haven't tried the bios update but I can give it a go. Give me a bit and also lemme figure out how to post pictures here

 

[FrostyLaws98]

Help, I'm suffering and on a time limit! So I am trying to help my little brother upgrade his PC (I'll have the specs below). I got it all put together and this is my 8th time building a PC; for some reason, only he has problems. If I have the GPU plugged in via the VGA cable from the power supply, the system won't respond or just has the orange DRAM light on indefinitely. To help narrow down potential problems, let me list what I have tried and if I miss anything, I'll let you know:

• Tried a different GPU (I hadn't tried the GPU before building this so I slotted it into one of my builds and confirmed the GPU works and isn't the problem probably.)
• What WILL work is a GPU with no power cable (It's an old Radeon GPU that doesn't require power from the power supply). However, though the system will turn on, it will not post even after waiting 5-7 minutes. I've checked a few forums for issues related to my motherboard and have tried 1. trying a single stick of RAM for each slot 2. Alternating the sticks of RAM to check if one is faulty.
• I've taken out the CMOS battery for a minute to reset the BIOS
• Checked the front I/O panel connections (mine case came with all the connectors in a fixed box plastic piece to make it easier to put on the motherboard)
• Checked to make sure that the VGA cable is properly connected to the power supply and GPU (It should be noted that the GPU has slots for two sets of power cables. I have tried both and just doing the right slot. I haven't tried having multiple cables but I genuinely don't think that would work but I'm open to the idea)

I wanna note that if I don't use a GPU that requires a power cable and get the system to at least turn on, the CPU fan (the stock stealth wraith prism AMD cooler is spinning at max power it seems, although that could just be what it does. Ive had a Noctua fan for so long so I may just be mistaken)
I am at my wit's end, if anyone has ideas, PLEASE suggest them.

CPU: Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix B550-f Gaming (Says it's Ryzen 5000 ready and I bought it from a guy who used the motherboard, CPU, and RAM in his old rig)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB 3200mhz
GPU: EVGA Geforce GTX 1080 FTW
Case: Corsair 4000D
Storage: Sandisk SSD and Team Group
Fans: 3 UpHere RGB fans at the front
PSU: Seasonic Focus GOLD 80 Plus Gold 850FX

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

So I am trying to help my little brother upgrade his PC (I'll have the specs below).
You mentioned upgrading the system. The specs listed above is for after the upgrade or before the upgrade? How old is the PSU if it's being recycled?

just has the orange DRAM light on indefinitely.
Are the rams fully seated on slots A2 and B2 on your motherboard? The error light is stopping at DRAM meaning your ram might be the one at fault or your BIOS has ended up with corruption. If the latter, you have a BIOS Flash button on the back of your motherboard;

Use that in conjunction with steps outlined in this guide;

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzpVSOtaKBU


(It's an old Radeon GPU that doesn't require power from the power supply).
Which is?

Checked to make sure that the VGA cable is properly connected to the power supply and GPU (It should be noted that the GPU has slots for two sets of power cables. I have tried both and just doing the right slot. I haven't tried having multiple cables but I genuinely don't think that would work but I'm open to the idea)
Please include an image of what you're trying to accomplish, here.

For the sake of relevance, did you breadboard the used parts atop the motherboard box and then tried to see if the system would POST?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I was saying that I have extra PCIE cables that I can try

and have you?

the fact that your confirmed working GTX 1070 also doesn't work in this system points to either the motherboard or the PSU.
of course that's only considering that the combo(board/CPU/RAM) you bought second hand is actually in working order.

at this point i would first give @Lutfij's advice a try;
"breadboard" the system by removing everything from the case,
lay the motherboard on a flat non-conductive surface like the motherboard's box,
only connect necessary components(PSU, CPU, 1x stick of RAM in slot A_2, & GPU),
power on and see if the system reaches the POST screen and can enter the BIOS.

if still nothing;
if you don't have direct access to a similar system to allow testing each component one-at-a-time,
i would then contact a local computer shop and have them run diagnostics on each component.

 

[FrostyLaws98]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

So I am trying to help my little brother upgrade his PC (I'll have the specs below).
You mentioned upgrading the system. The specs listed above is for after the upgrade or before the upgrade? How old is the PSU if it's being recycled?

just has the orange DRAM light on indefinitely.
Are the rams fully seated on slots A2 and B2 on your motherboard? The error light is stopping at DRAM meaning your ram might be the one at fault or your BIOS has ended up with corruption. If the latter, you have a BIOS Flash button on the back of your motherboard;

Use that in conjunction with steps outlined in this guide;

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzpVSOtaKBU


(It's an old Radeon GPU that doesn't require power from the power supply).
Which is?

Checked to make sure that the VGA cable is properly connected to the power supply and GPU (It should be noted that the GPU has slots for two sets of power cables. I have tried both and just doing the right slot. I haven't tried having multiple cables but I genuinely don't think that would work but I'm open to the idea)
Please include an image of what you're trying to accomplish, here.

For the sake of relevance, did you breadboard the used parts atop the motherboard box and then tried to see if the system would POST?

So i did the BIOS update, which was quite intimidating but alas, nothing. I cannot figure out how to put photos on here from my phone so here's a image I got from google images that shows the two slots I tried. I can try and find a picture of the cable.

 

[FrostyLaws98]

and have you?

the fact that your confirmed working GTX 1070 also doesn't work in this system points to either the motherboard or the PSU.
of course that's only considering that the combo(board/CPU/RAM) you bought second hand is actually in working order.

at this point i would first give @Lutfij's advice a try;
"breadboard" the system by removing everything from the case,
lay the motherboard on a flat non-conductive surface like the motherboard's box,
only connect necessary components(PSU, CPU, 1x stick of RAM in slot A_2, & GPU),
power on and see if the system reaches the POST screen and can enter the BIOS.

if still nothing;
if you don't have direct access to a similar system to allow testing each component one-at-a-time,
i would then contact a local computer shop and have them run diagnostics on each component.

i hadnt but at this point i may as well try that. they just weren't labeled VGA, but ill try those tomorrow. They are labeled pcie so it should work I believe. ill try breadboarding tomorrow then and report back

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

They are labeled pcie so it should work I believe

yes on modern PSU they are 8pin,
sometimes 4+4pin,
or even now some 12pin,
PCIe cables.

both need to be populated.
sometimes from separate cables, sometimes it'll work fine with a single daisy-chained 2x headed cable.