Something in my computer is damaging any graphics card that is put into the computer. I would like to know what components have the capability of damaging a graphics card, and how to determine which component is the culprit.
Some Specifics:
- I know the graphics card isn't the problem, as multiple have been fried by my system.
- I don't think that the card is underpowered, but you can look at the list of parts below and be the judge of that yourself.
- The computer doesn't boot or post, and the motherboard instantly displays a VGA error light.
- Cards that don't need to be plugged into the PSU (such as my ancient Radeon 4650) don't get damaged, although it could also be that the system is underpowered and that the 4650 doesn't draw enough power to be a problem.
- After the card is damaged, it won't work in any other system (tried with 2 others).
- I had just installed a new Corsair H100i CPU Liquid Cooling system. Before that installation I experienced no problems.
- When installing the H100i (Corsair Link), my mobo didn't have enough USB connectors, so I had to unplug the cable leading to the USB 2.0 ports in the front of the case.
- After running Eyefinity for an hour and then disabling it, the center monitor displayed "input not supported". When I turned the computer off and attempted to restart, that's when the above problems happened.
- Resetting the BIOS settings didn't fix anything (had to access them through the 4650 mentioned above), although I didn't update the BIOS when an update was available.
- Putting the GPU in another PCI-E slot yields the same results.
- The 2 fans on the GPU spin properly.
- Turning off the computer once it displays the error requires holding down the power button for ~3 seconds.
Also, one more detail that I think is very important: My computer will constantly show me random voltage warnings that make no sense. I assumed the program that displays the errors is bugged (it would show things like the motherboard being at -1 degree centigrade, the CPU voltage being 0.0v, etc). Now I"m not so sure that it's a software problem causing those misreadings.
Parts
- Intel 3770k OC'd @ 4.2ghz
- 2 x 8gb Corsair Vengeance @ Stock 1866mhz
- Radeon HD 7970 3gb Sapphire Vapor-X
- 120gb Kingston Hyper-X SSD
- 1tb HGST 7200rpm HDD
- 850w Platinum Rated Modular OCZ PSU
- Corsair H100i Closed Loop Liquid Cooling
- 6 x Blue Cold Cathode Case Lights
- 4 x 240mm Blue LED Case Fans
- 3 x 140mm Blue LED Case Fans
- ASUS DVD/CD Burner/Reader
- Windows 7 64-bit
If you need more information, please let me know.