Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Your question
Solved

Upgrading PSU and graphics card, computer no longer starts when fully assembled

Tags:
  • Power Supplies
  • Alienware
  • Boot
  • Systems
  • Gtx
  • Graphics Cards
Last response: in Systems
Share
August 29, 2014 5:45:08 PM

I've taken an Alienware x51 (w/ 8gb ram + nvidia gtx 660) and rehoused it in a Fractal Define r4 case. As others have had success with it, I decided to upgrade to a Nvidia gtx 770, which while not a huge jump, should give me an extra performance boost with games and the like. I needed to upgrade the PSU in the process, so with future upgrades in mind, I chose the Thermaltake Smart m850w supply.

Everything was moved and re-wired but when I tried to boot the machine, it only powered on for a split second. Fans spun (case, mobo, and gfx), LEDs turned on (mobo and gfx), but almost immediately turned off. If the power button was held, it did the same thing over and over; I only tried that once or twice, as I assume that's pretty bad for the hardware. After trying a bunch of fixes and running tests, I determined the following:

  • The motherboard boots fine only when there is no graphics card in it. Plugging in the 660 returned the same split-second boot as the 770, regardless of whether or not the PCI-E plugs were connected to the card.
  • Plugging in/taking out the power for the hard disk had no effect on anything. It powers on fine when plugged in, but only stays powered on in the above case when no graphics card is present.
  • I removed, shuffled around, and cleaned both RAM sticks. No effect on the boot sequence.
  • I've ensured the board is plugged in well to both the main power connector (the 20 pin) as well as the CPU connector (the 4 pin in the corner)

  • Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!
  • More about : upgrading psu graphics card computer longer starts fully assembled

    Best solution

    a c 152 ) Power supply
    a c 94 U Graphics card
    August 29, 2014 5:49:10 PM

    It seems like it is a faulty PSU. If the system boots up when you don't have the GPU connected, that would be either a PSU or a GPU problem. But you said the same thing happens with the 660. Has to be PSU I think. This is the same board you had in your alienware right? So the PCI-e slots should be alright.

    edit: A few things to try:
    -try resetting CMOS.
    -check for a bios update for your motherboard from Alienware. They may have put out a bios with new PCI-e support.
    Share
    August 30, 2014 8:22:52 AM

    jimthenagual said:
    It seems like it is a faulty PSU. If the system boots up when you don't have the GPU connected, that would be either a PSU or a GPU problem. But you said the same thing happens with the 660. Has to be PSU I think. This is the same board you had in your alienware right? So the PCI-e slots should be alright.

    edit: A few things to try:
    -try resetting CMOS.
    -check for a bios update for your motherboard from Alienware. They may have put out a bios with new PCI-e support.


    Thanks for the reply, Jim; I took your advice and both reset the CMOS and updated the bios (it was horrifically out of date). It didn't quite solve my problem, but it helped with some others!
    I found Dell has a failsafe that prevents the computer from starting without a little daughterboard connected by a tiny two pin connector. Once the bios was updated, I just disabled the error message within the bios settings, and everything starts as it should, minus the GTX 770.

    My only problem now is that the board can't start when a graphics card is connected, and when plugged in after startup, it can't detect the card at all. I think you're right about the PSU (perhaps it's not powering the card?) so I'll just go out and buy another. I'll let you know how it goes, cheers!

    EDIT: Well, it turned out to be the PSU as you said! I can't say how or why, but the thing just didn't work; I downgraded to a 600w (also by thermaltake) and it all worked perfectly right then and there. Though I could be an exception, I would caution Alienware x51 modders to be wary of that 850w psu.

    Thanks for your help!
    m
    0
    l
    Related resources
    !