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Computer died, - clueless

Last response: in Systems
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Ok, here is the short version

I recently acquired everything for a new build off newegg and I put it all together just fine and was playing a free download of Avatar when suddenly it crashed. Could not boot up again, wouldn't post or anything. Seemed completely dead, but the light to the MB was still on. However the computer wouldn't do anything when I pushed the power button but pop on the LED on the fan for a microsecond and then nothing again.

Anyway, after disconnecting the optical drive, the hard drive, and going to 1 stick of ram, I decided to unplug the graphics card and try again and behold I was able to at least get to the point of hearing the beeps to indicate failed video initialization.

Basically my question is - Did my power supply fail even though it's able to power the board/ram/cpu but suddenly does nothing with graphics card hooked up (the card can be seated and it will work but when I plug in the PCIE connectors [2], same problem)?

Or did I blow the graphics card somehow?

I have no spare parts to be able to know for sure which one it is.

-Specs-
Antec 300 Illusion case
Corsair 650w psu
EVGA x58 SLI le mobo (141-BL-e757-TR)
Gigabyte GTX260 Super OverClock GV-N260SO-896I
OCZ Gold 3x2GB RAM Triple channel
Win7 Pro 64
Core i7 920

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Did you try everything in the "Read Before Posting about Boot Problems" sticky? Sometimes it could be something very simple you forgot...

It's possible that something in the PSU goes down when under load from the GPU. If the problem only occurs when the PSU is connected to the GPU, it becomes a little more likely. Do you have any friends/family around that you can "borrow" their computer for a while? What about another older, complete build? There may not be a whole lot you can try without some kind of replacement parts, as it's definitely a hardware issue.

Yea I read over the sticky and have tried to trouble shoot every little part I could think of. I don't understand if the power supply is bad that it would power anything at all, but the problem is the GFX card stops the whole system when plugged in, so I'm unable to diagnose anything in the bios.

I think it comes down to the power supply being bad or the gfx being dead. But if the power supply was dead or damaged, would it still be able to pwer the fans/hd/optical/mobo/ram, etc.? But then if its the graphics card how do I know? and will this happen again if I replace both parts?

So basically the computer refuses to do anything when the PSU is plugged into the GPU, I've tried different PCI slots with same result hopefully meaning the mobo is ok. And if this is the case then can the PSU be bad but power everything but the GPU? or does that automatically mean it's the GPU? I'm so lost!

I would try moving the GPU to other slots at least. That may provide the answer, or at least some more data. Moving it, and having it work, would tell you that at least the motherboard has a problem. If it doesn't work, you don't really learn anything, unless it does something different.

The PSU could be shot, but not completely dead. It could be supplying enough power that the board, CPU, RAM, etc all run, but the GPU stresses it too much.
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I was trying that as you typed it probably!! haha. But yes unfortunately it has the same result no matter what PCI slot I'm in, which rules out the mobo short or a bad PCI slot I presume.

So it is possible for a PSU to just be shot enough to be too stressed from the GPU? Does that mean I should upgrade my 650? or was it just a bad part that would work normally if it was ok?

Well, it indicates that those could be ruled out. Nothing says that that problem could exist, but not be visible because of a bad card. But hopefully, that's not the case.

No, you're wattage should cover the build. It could just be a defect.

Ok so I broke down and went to CompUSA and bought a new power supply and video card... power supply change had no effect, Changed the video card and it magically posts and boots... so I'm guessing the video card blew? Any particular reason? It wasn't a highly demanding game and I didn't have any AA or Vert Sync or AFiltering on... Any input as to why would be appreciated so I don't do it again!

Or was it just a bad card and decided to die under stress? Thanks for all the help so far!

P.s> I used original power supply to try new card to eliminate the possibility of both the PSU/GPU failure

Sometimes you just get a bad video card that dies unexpectedly. RMA that dead video card to get a new one. You should be able to return that PSU to CompUSA, but it may be a bit more difficult for the video card.
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