Bad power connector on Radeon 7950 causes computer to die immediately on start

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allen_c

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Apr 23, 2014
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I have used an MSI Radeon 7950 for about 5 months which I originally bought used on ebay. Today after turning on the computer which had been powered off for about 2 weeks, the entire computer died immediately.

I spent a couple hours testing all the parts and I finally discovered that the problem is the outside power connector of the two six-pin connectors on the graphics card. The computer works fine with a substitute card. It turns on if I only plug in the inside connector or no connectors at all but surges for one second then dies if I plug in both connectors or just the outside connector.

I would like to know any suggestions for fixing this as it seems like only a small part of the card may have died and I'd hate to throw away the whole thing.

Also, would it be dangerous to attempt to use it for now with only one connector plugged in? Perhaps can I use it but not stress it too heavily? I would guess I shouldn't since it has two connectors for a reason.

Thanks for your help.
 
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allen_c

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Apr 23, 2014
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The only wires on the card are the ones powering the fan. On your comment I tried disconnecting the fan and got the same result: If the 'bad' 6-pin connector is plugged in the computer doesn't start, if just the 'good' connector or neither are plugged in it starts.
 
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theadler

theadler

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Jan 28, 2014
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Connect just the one you normally have connected to the "good" connector to the one you believe to be "bad". If you get the same results, then you know it's the card's connector. If not, connect the other cable to the "good" connector. If it fails then, you know it's the cable.
 
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allen_c

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Apr 23, 2014
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Ok, sorry, I misunderstood what you were talking about. No, it is not the PCIe cables that attach to the PSU. I have several of those and tried all combinations in each connector and got the same result.
 
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Lyphn

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Apr 25, 2014
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If your entire computer dies after turning it on, I doubt its actually the graphics card causing problem. If gfx fails, the computer should still be able to run, it just wont display a thing. Computer death most likely has to do with 2 common things that happens but is difficult to test which is the possibility.

1. Failing PSU. Often enough a failure of power unit will just one day give up and do the things you mentioned. You can simply test the PSU by bringing it to a computer shop and let them test it. Or get a voltage meter and see if its outputting power. Last option is to try your PSU on another computer and see if it does the same thing.

2. Failed motherboard. It happened to me once with and old computer when I turned it on and then it just died. But mobo failures these days don't happen often since most of the manufacturers make good quality parts unless you overclocked it so much that the MOSFETS and VRM fries.

Under no circumstances should a gpu failure lead to the entire computer turning itself off. Not likely and not reasonably to happen.
 
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allen_c

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Apr 23, 2014
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Lyphn-

I agree that it is very unexpected and I didn't even think to check the graphics card for quite awhile.
However:
1. I am using the computer fine right now with my older card (7870 which also has 2x6pin).
2. As I said above the computer runs if one of the slots of the card in question is plugged in but not the other. This is true even if I reverse the power cables and is completely consistent.

Even if there is no easy fix I would be curious if anyone had an explanation.
 
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Lyphn

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Apr 25, 2014
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If you plug in 2 cards and the computer wont start up? It means that your power supply isn't strong enough to run 2 cards. What is your power supply wattage? If you want to run 7950 (200W) and 7870 (180W) you need at least 650-700W PSU.

The 2 cards alone with the assumption you overclock eats more than 400W + give it another ~150W for your cpu and other peripherals. Buy a bigger power supply and problem solved.
 
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allen_c

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Apr 23, 2014
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I never used both cards at the same time. I replaced the 7950 with my older 7870 to see if it works and it does. My power supply is a 650W Antec NeoEco and is my newest component (about 5 months old). Even if the tiny extra wattage of the 7950 pushed it over the edge, which it shouldn't unless the PSU were defective, it would still be strange that the computer would simply refuse to start every single time but run flawlessly for hours with the other card.
 
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Lyphn

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Apr 25, 2014
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Very weird and this is the first time I've heard of this situation. Normally even a defective GPU shouldn't halt the start up of the computer. It will just be blank display. If you still have warranty on the 7950, send it back to the retailer or manufacturer and get RMA. Most manufacturer have 3 years warranty on their products.
 
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CharlesLam

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Apr 15, 2014
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recently had an issue at work with a graphics card making the whole system hang at post and shut off. replaced the gpu, problem was resolved. so it can happen. but i have never seen it prior, so extremely rare. i say to replace the psu just to verify that is not the issue. more than likely is the PSU from what i understand. if you dont have the extra parts or money, thats fine there are other troubleshootings you can perform. also remember PSU's degrade over time. so while it may have had enough juice to power your system a few years ago, it may not now. simply saying "it MAY not be the problem" isnt good enough in my line of work. verify that it isnt.
 
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