PC loses power when graphics card is connected

[Goons]

I bought a GeForce GTS 450 card 7 months ago. My pc did not have enough 4 pin female molex connector so I wasn't able to try the card. I then bought a splitter to solve the problem, it looked something like this http://i39.tinypic.com/vg1ysg.jpg

The pc and the card ran fine and I was able to use it until yesterday. While my brother was using the pc, the power went off. Turning the power on causes the power light to flash and turn off. I opened the case to see what might have caused it and I saw that two cables connecting to a pin in the male end of the splitter burnt and got cut off. Here's a picture for reference http://i41.tinypic.com/35j9fyf.jpg .
The male end was connected to the PSU and the female ends were connected to the fan and the graphics card.

The system unit was hotter than usual so I thought that the PSU encountered some overheating. I tried the paperclip test to make sure the PSU was working, it was still working so I tried breadboarding my system. The system would boot and act like normal if the graphics card was not connected.

I swapped my fan (with only male connector) to an older one that I had (has both female and male end) so that I could test with the graphics card plugged. The power light would again flicker once and the pc loses its power.

I also tried using a different PSU, I ended up with the same results

What could be the problem? The 6 Pin PCI Express Power Connector looks fine in appearance although I don't have any idea how to check if it was damaged. I haven't tried using another splitter because I can't find any near me and I have a feeling that it might get burned again. I wanted to make sure that the graphics card is not busted but I don't have any other system to try it on. Any ideas, suggestions or solutions are greatly appreciated.

 

[ricardois]

Well if you are using Molex to PCI adapter you can't by any means use that splitter, you need 2 separrate Molex connectors from the PSU, also what is your PSU and what is the labeled wattage? if it does not have enough Molex connectors i just can think that it is really weak and can't handle your system with the GTS 450.

Sometimes this adapter was too cheap and maybe with a cheap wiring what could also cause overheat on a specific spot, but those splitters should be used maximum for Case coolers more than that you can be damagin the components that are splitting the same molex adapter.

 

[Goons]

Thanks for the reply. The wattage is 600W and the brand is Electron. The adapter was a cheap one, it did cost a dollar if memory serves me right. So does it mean that in the past months, my PSU's power wasn't enough for the card and/or the card is already dead after the time when the splitter got burnt?

 

[refillable]

I think you need a proper PSU with proper connectors, like this.

 

[Goons]

Best answer selected by Goons.

 

[Goons]

Thanks for the answers, I also tried asking in other forums. Everyone concluded that the problem was the PSU. I might get this one http://www.huntkeydiy.com/ProductsParticular?pid=50ede7b224d8d04b0124f209c7700028