Can a monitor kill a graphics card (PCI-E)?

[BernieSteakouse]

Hello,

I've just had a 6 month old 256Mb XFX PCI-E GeForce 7800GTX card (one of two installed on my Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard in an SLI configuration) give up the ghost! It wasn't overclocked, and didn't appear to run hot according to the monitor, but it really smells like something has frazzled (the machine was idle at the time).

Now, I'm assuming it's a faulty card and my warranty will cover me. However, a little paranoid voice is telling me it COULD, just possibly be monitor related.

You see, not long ago I had another GFX card frazzle in another machine of mine. Only common factor (apart from the mains power supply (surge protected and used my MANY other PCs and Macs) is that the same 17" Hansol monitor was plugged in at the time.

So, is this co-incidence, or is it just possible the evil monitor is somehow zapping my cards?!

The card to "go" is the one attached to the monitor. It's a case of everything else works, but as soon as I plug the power supply to the dead card in, the machine wont even boot.


Thanks for listening to my confused rant, hope anyone can help, even if to tell me to stop being so stupid, monitors cant fry cards!



p.s. I'm new here, great resource.

 

[kizuki]

If your monitor is damaged, then just try with another monitor to see if the card works. Was there some kind of power surge or something?

 

[BernieSteakouse]

There's been no ill effects on the monitor that I can see, it's working fine. Everything is plugged into a surge protector that should stop that happening (and all other PCs & Macs, including some not surge protected ( 8O ) are fine.

Just wondered if there's anything a monitor could do to a graphics card, somehow sending power back or, something, that I woulnd't have imagined possible!

 

[surelock]

The only thing I can think of is with VGA cards when you plug a running monitor in a running pc you can blow the graphics card. But I'm not sure if the same is true with DVI being digital not analog. and not sure is you are even doing that. But other then that I would have to say no

1.) Because DVI cables are low voltage
2.) DVI connector on the card is a output not input. So techinally speaking there should not be a way for that low voltage current to travel back to the card although we are talking current after all.

 

[Spectatohead]

I have seen a monitor take out the onboard video of an Dell Optiplex GX270. Before this happened I wouldn't have believed it. I had the onboard video die twice in 1 week and replaced the mother board both times. The monitor was an older NEC if I remember right. We replaced the monitor along with the second mother board and the machine ran fine. A month or so later I had the same problem on another GX270 in the office and found that someone had hooked up the same monitor. I made sure that it found its way to the dumpster after that.

 

[BernieSteakouse]

Thanks for the feedback. It seems very unlikely, but possible. It's only a cheap monitor so I think I might play it safe and replace it.