I installed a PNY GeForce RTX 5070 OC about a week ago, upgrading from an EVGA GTX 970. Everything worked perfectly until this morning, when the computer suddenly stopped starting. At first, the CPU cooler spun briefly and then shut off. After disconnecting the RTX 5070 to avoid risking it, the cooler and its lighting stayed on, but there was no display output, and the power supply began making an electrical whirring noise. I checked for cables touching the cooler and didn't find anything. The PSU is an eight-year-old Sentey MBP850-HS 850W Bronze unit, so I suspect it has failed. The rest of the system is an AMD Ryzen 7 5700, Gigabyte A520 motherboard, PNY RTX 5070 OC, and Cooler Master Hyper H410 cooler. Is there anything else I should check, and is the graphics card likely to be okay?
2 Answers
That power supply is old enough that failure is very plausible, especially after adding a newer graphics card. Don’t keep testing it if it is making electrical noises. Replace it with a reputable, modern unit, and make sure to use only the cables that come with the new PSU.
A PSU tester could confirm the failure, although testing with a known-good replacement PSU is usually more useful because it checks whether the entire system starts normally. An eight-year-old unit making unusual electrical noises should be treated as unsafe and replaced rather than repeatedly powered on.
I checked with another PSU, and the computer booted normally with the RTX 5070 installed. Looks like the old PSU was definitely the problem, and thankfully the graphics card is fine.