GPU stops PC loading (AMD 6870)

[blitzwing85]

a couple of weeks back my PC stopped booting up. Fans start, and just sits there.

Spoke to some people on here and it seemed to suggest the problem was with the PSU however after some tests the PSU looks fine.
The problem got worse and happens 100% of the time now.

If I remove the GPU, it boots up perfectly, everytime. With it plugged in, nothing.

It looks quite dusty inside but I'm not really into PC's much - is it worth taking it apart and giving it a clean or is that type of symptom usually mean it's bust?
It's never been perfect to start with as for certain games (about 2/10) it cuts out to black screen then loads up again so probably look to replace it anyway but I don't really game on the PC anymore so just wanted to see if I could get this running again for now and get rid of this terrible resolution!!!

 

[BuffetSlayer]

a couple of weeks back my PC stopped booting up. Fans start, and just sits there.

Spoke to some people on here and it seemed to suggest the problem was with the PSU however after some tests the PSU looks fine.
The problem got worse and happens 100% of the time now.

If I remove the GPU, it boots up perfectly, everytime. With it plugged in, nothing.

It looks quite dusty inside but I'm not really into PC's much - is it worth taking it apart and giving it a clean or is that type of symptom usually mean it's bust?
It's never been perfect to start with as for certain games (about 2/10) it cuts out to black screen then loads up again so probably look to replace it anyway but I don't really game on the PC anymore so just wanted to see if I could get this running again for now and get rid of this terrible resolution!!!

Could be a faulty GPU and/or PSU to be honest. Is your GPU one that requires additional power to be connected from the PSU?

If your case is full of dust and muck, though, it wont help things.

Some GPU's that need a power supply cable from the PSU have a safety feature that wont allow the system to boot/run if it is not being powered properly in case it causes damage. Likewise, they have a safety feature that will shut your PC down if the GPU gets too hot (this is possibly what was happening on those 2 out of 10 games - and excessive case dust is oten a culprit in overheating).

Cleaning your case out is a good starting point.

You could try diconnecting the power to all but essential components (IE motherboard, CPU, boot drive and GPU) and see if that makes a difference.

I would try taking out the GPU and putting it in another system if you can and see if the other system will boot. If it does it points to your PSU being faulty. If it does not, it points to your GPU.

 

[blitzwing85]

Thanks for the reply.
Yes it requires 2 connections from the PSU.
I took it apart and cleaned it up fully but still did the same. I've tried booting up with every component removed 1 at a time and it always works when the GPU is unpljugged, but never with it in no matter what else I take out. (although, I guess that takes the most power? so doesn't eliminate PSU).

I've asked a mate if I can put the GPU in his system, or put his GPU in my system and he said that's fine so in the meantime I've brought the PSU into work with me now and I'm going to try and run some tests with a multimeter. Must be a decent YT vid of that somewhere.

If I get nowhere with that, I'll try the system swap method at the weekend when he's free and see what result that produces.

Hopefully is is the PSU as it's under warranty and is cheaper to replace anyway. Will do the tests now to see what I can find.

 

[blitzwing85]

Finished the PSU testing and it looks fine from what I can see. Correct voltages on all ports and connections.
Mind, that was just on the bench at work under no load so I'm going to run the tests again with it under load tonight.

 

[GefGz]

What brand/watt is the PSU?

The 6870 is like ~150w TDP so the idle would be pretty low, I assume you've tried the card in all available PCIE slots? Just incase it's the slot itself

 

[blitzwing85]

What brand/watt is the PSU?

The 6870 is like ~150w TDP so the idle would be pretty low, I assume you've tried the card in all available PCIE slots? Just incase it's the slot itself

PSU is OCZ and it's 600W.

There is only 1 slot on the motherboard and I've checked all the points on the PSU. I've got the GPU out anyway right now and I'm going to drop it off to a friend tonight.

He'll try it in his and see what happens. If it's fine, then I guess the slot on the motherboard could be looking like a possible culprit. So hopefully he can get on it tomorrow and let me know what happens as I'd like to get the replacement part ordered ASAP.



If GPU seems OK, I think I'll just take everything out the case on mine, then take the parts to his and just plug them all in 1 by 1 until the fault occurs. Just thought i'd give him GPU first as I suspect it the most.