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Can a graphics card kill a motherboard?

kissenger

kissenger

kissenger

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10 Apr 2008
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2,491
Just trying to figure out what's wrong with my rig and whether it's worth RMA'ing my mobo. I recently swapped out my 9800GTX for a 560Ti. It worked for about 8 hours but then the next time I tried to boot up nothing happened.

I have tried everything to get it working again but I've had no luck, so I've concluded that my mobo is borked. But is it possible that the new card could have put an extra strain on the mobo that it just couldn't handle, and that's what broke it?
 
A 750w Corsair. My board is a 780i and the ram I'm using is OCZ (2x2048) Platinum Edition DDR2 PC2 8000 1000MHz (but I've also tried it with some PNY 6400). The GPU is a factory overclocked Asus 560Ti. Cooler is a Spire Thermax Eclipse II.

I was running everything perfectly for those first 8 hours. CPU was at around 40C on load.
 
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ThePengu1n said:
I doubt it was the card, tried putting the old card back in?
Click to expand...

Yeah, no stone left unturned. Nothing helps. I even tried it with all the old components in including the stock Intel cooler and the 9800GTX.

Basically I'm trying to work out whether it's even worth spending money to RMA the 780i if it can't really handle the new GPU I've got.
 
Have you got another PSU to test with ? It could be the PSU too (even corsair ones die sometimes), does the motherboard light up and try to start when you hit the on button ? Do the fans move etc.
 
Purgatory said:
Have you got another PSU to test with ? It could be the PSU too (even corsair ones die sometimes), does the motherboard light up and try to start when you hit the on button ? Do the fans move etc.
Click to expand...

It lights up and all the fans work perfectly. When the PSU is on standby only the blue LED is supposed to light up but I'm getting an amber light too, which I believe signals a problem with the ram. Could be a borked memory controller? I've heard that's a common issue with this board. I'm thinking maybe the somehow the extra power draw from the 560Ti plus the overclocked ram plus the extra power from the 2 fans on the Spire just made the board have a hissy fit.

Come to think of it, it did crash several times in that first 8 hours when it seemed to be working.
 
Can I ask what your full system specs are mate, CPU and motherboard make and full model number (also add the BIOS version you are using)... See that way we can help you more mate and not have to guess if it is memory controller etc etc. We maybe can find on some web page that that motherboard has a certain fault and you are seeing the results now with an amber light. Also try reseating all the motherboards power cables the large one and the 8 or 4 pin cpu power connector too, just make sure they are all in correctly and if you have a modular PSU make sure the cables are connected correctly to the PSU too.
 
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Purgatory said:
Can I ask what your full system specs are mate, CPU and motherboard make and full model number (also add the BIOS version you are using)... See that way we can help you more mate and not have to guess if it is memory controller etc etc. We maybe can find on some web page that that motherboard has a certain fault and you are seeing the results now with an amber light. Also try reseating all the motherboards power cables the large one and the 8 or 4 pin cpu power connector too, just make sure they are all in correctly and if you have a modular PSU make sure the cables are connected correctly to the PSU too.
Click to expand...

CPU: Q6600
Mobo: EVGA 780i (don't know what BIOS, don't ever recall updating it though)
Ram: OCZ (2x2048) Platinum Edition DDR2 PC2 8000 1000MHz
GPU: 560Ti TOP 900MHz
Cooler: Spire Thermax Eclipse II
PSU: 750w Corsair
Case: Antex 900

All of the cables are securely in place.
 
There really aren't many ways a GPU can kill a mobo. If the mobo is actually dead it's probably just coincidence.
 
gurusan said:
There really aren't many ways a GPU can kill a mobo. If the mobo is actually dead it's probably just coincidence.
Click to expand...

It just seems too much of a coincidence to me though: it works fine for 3 years straight, then I put in a new cooler and GPU and it's dead 8 hours later. Something has happened here - I just can't figure out what.
 
Ahaaa you put a new CPU cooler on too ? If that is what you mean by added a new cooler, take the cooler off and check the CPU socket and check for bent or crushed pins. Also be very careful when putting on any after market coolers they can warp the motherboard and cause many different errors and make sure the backplate of the new cooler is not shorting out the back of the motherboard.
 
Purgatory said:
Ahaaa you put a new CPU cooler on too ? If that is what you mean by added a new cooler, take the cooler off and check the CPU socket and check for bent or crushed pins. Also be very careful when putting on any after market coolers they can warp the motherboard and cause many different errors and make sure the backplate of the new cooler is not shorting out the back of the motherboard.
Click to expand...

I took the cooler off last night and put back on the stock Intel cooler but that was even worse. I got a short red light and several long beeps plus a C1 error code. Then this morning I had a look at the CPU and the CPU socket and both were fine. No bent pins, etc. I have always been very careful with the CPU and it's only been reseated twice twice now in 3 years.

So if it's not the CPU/socket.

Or the GPU (because I've tried 2 different ones)

Or the ram (again, because I've tried to 2 different ones).

Or the cooler (as above).

Or the PSU.

Or the battery (I changed that too).

Or the BIOS chip.

Then surely it's a borked mobo? In which case... it was showing it's age and couldn't handle all of the new components, or it just coincidentally decided to give up just after I put all this new stuff in (which is definitely a possibility, albeit a fairly slim one).

Which in turn means an RMA to some EVGA factory in Germany and me crying into my cornflakes thinking about how great my only week off in the past 6 months could have been, playing BF3 and Skyrim on my new 560Ti :(
 
yeah ive had a few motherboards taken out by ram before too...
And yes, a graphics card CAN take a motherboard out.. Rare but it can happen.

Or if your like me, buy a Republic of Gamers motherboard for a brand new build...
Just to plug everything in and smell a horrible burning smell. Later to find out the motherboard was faulty from factory and supllied 16v of power to everything plugged in to it. CPU, Ram, Graphics card etc... Not good.
 
This rings a bells for me.

I have just had to return an Asrock extreme 6 motherboard after a heavy battlefield session. Originally i thought i'd blown a graphics card as i was getting constant bsod on startup but then the whole board died and the graphics cards are still working. Mobo may have overheated...
 
Yeah it sucks. Really ****ed me off for a couple days there, but now I'm resigned to having to RMA it. Hopefully it won't take too long.

This type of thing is just a risk you run with PC gaming I suppose. It's still worth it though.
 
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