PC won't boot with two pci-e cables connected but does otherwise

[bluescorpion33]

Hello,

The problem with my PC is that it won't boot if a graphic cards that needs two pci-e powers cable is connect to the pc. More precisely my pc only boots with either no graphics card or a graphics card with only one pci-e (6 pin) power cable connected to it even with cards that need two 6 pin cables (but then I have no display).

For example I have been using a GTX 460 for more than a year now with no problems even until last night and a gtx 260 for about three years before that.

But now my pc won't boot with either my gtx 460 or my gtx 260 if they have both of the 6 pin pci-e power cables connected but will boot up if only one 6-pin pci-e power is connected but the monitor has no display (goes on standby). So then I dug up my old geforce 8800 gts card that requires only one 6 pin pci-e power cable and with that my pc boots up and turns on just fine with windows working properly.

The specs for my pc that I built back in 2008 are:
PSU - Zalman ZM750-HP 750W
MB - Asus Maximus II Formula
CPU - Intel Q6600 OCed at 3 GHz
RAM - Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX (2x2GB)
GPU - Gigabyte GTX 460
OS - Windows 7 64bit

Now my question to you guys is do you think that this problem with the graphics pci-e power problem is a problem due to a fault with my motherboard or is it a problem with my power supply? Or do any of think that something else might be the problem?

 

[manofchalk]

Sounds like the PSU is at fault, may have degraded to the point it cant power the rig anymore.
If you have another lying around somewhere that you know to be good, see if it will boot when you connect that one.

If not, another suspect is the PCI-E cable. Try running that 8800GT with one cable and then the other. That will rule out if the cable itself is at fault.

If all the others come up with nothing, then that leaves the graphics card itself. See if you can run it inside another rig.

 

[bluescorpion33]

Sounds like the PSU is at fault, may have degraded to the point it cant power the rig anymore.
If you have another lying around somewhere that you know to be good, see if it will boot when you connect that one.

If not, another suspect is the PCI-E cable. Try running that 8800GT with one cable and then the other. That will rule out if the cable itself is at fault.

If all the others come up with nothing, then that leaves the graphics card itself. See if you can run it inside another rig.

Thanks for the advice.

I was also thinking its the PSU, in fact I am hoping that it is the power supply because in that case I can just get new PSU (looking at the Corsair TX750 v2) which will cost less than having to get a new MB as would also mean getting a new CPU and RAM as I am not buy a LGA 775 motherboard in 2012, lol.

If it is a PSU fault than I can just use the new PSU I get on a new system that I plan on building next summer.

Also I know that its not the graphics cards fault because both the 8800gts and the gtx 260 work on my brother's computer but only the8800gts works on my computer (since it requires only one 6 pin pci-e power cable) whereas with the gtx 260 on my pc it only boots when one pci-e cable is connected and doesn't boot at all when both 6 pin pci-e cables are connect. My brother is gonna install my gtx 460 on his pc later on today to see if that card still works.

I am gonna try switching the cables when I get back home.

 

[bluescorpion33]

So I got a new psu today, a Corsair TX750 v2 and now my pc boots just fine with the gtx 460 and everything is running well.

However the funny thing is that I gave the old Zalman ZM750-HP psu to my brother to see if it works on his machine and it does work even when connected to the gtx 260 with both pci-e cables. His pc is booting just fine with my old psu. Maybe the fact that system uses less power overall than my system, e.g. my q6000 is OCed to 3ghz at 2.1v whereas his core i5 is powered at 1.7v, so maybe thats why my old psu can boot his system but not mine?

 

[manofchalk]

The amount of power drawn wouldn't affect whether the PSU works or not (provided the amount doesn't exceed what it can provide, which I doubt).
Computers are sometimes fickle creatures, I have had RAM die on me to only work after I plugged them in again for the 100th time. Who knows why it happens.

 

[bluescorpion33]

Ok, good to know.

I just hope that its not my motherboards fault which caused my old psu not work with more powerful graphics cards.