[SOLVED] Will a GPU work without being mounted?

[scobod22]

Recently purchased a 980 TI for under $100 told that it does not work. I removed the heat sink, thermal pads and all the paste and gave it a good cleaning. Checked for shorts and could not visually see anything wrong with the card. Took a multi meter to the card in various areas and was able to retrieve signal in the only places I knew where to look. The only desktop PC I own is a dell Optiplex 9010 which will only accept a GPU shorter than 8” before it covers all the SATA ports. The 980 ti MSI golden edition is about 10” and can not be mounted into the PCI slot without destroying the HDD bays. I have an expansion cable that I used to test the card, but this means the card is free floating . When I boot the PC, the monitor detects a signal, but stays black. I was curious if the card not being mounted (maybe not grounded properly) could cause this? It’s something I was always curious about.

 

[rgd1101]

there are itx system that use expansion cable to mount the gpu on the case. so that not the issue.
sound like the issue is the non working 980 ti

 

[bignastyid]

Are you using the stock psu? Because I doubt the stock psu in a 9010 can power a 980ti.

 

[scobod22]

Are you using the stock psu? Because I doubt the stock psu in a 9010 can power a 980ti.

I’m using a Seasonic 550w

 

[scobod22]

there are itx system that use expansion cable to mount the gpu on the case. so that not the issue.
sound like the issue is the non working 980 ti

I’m having no doubts that card is faulty, considering the guy told me it doesn’t work. But I just wanted to rule out the potential of anything else

 

[geofelt]

Likely, the card is truly broken, at least for display purposes.
Since the seller said so, you have no recourse there.
Does CPU-Z or GPU-Z detect the card?
If so, a crypto miner will likely buy the card for more than the $100 that you paid.
They do not care about display output.