I recently helped a friend upgrade his PC by swapping out his old RTX 4060 for my old RTX 3080 and adding a couple of new case fans. However, I forgot to tell him to bring the cables for his 1000w power supply. The RTX 3080 needs an extra PCIe cable, so I borrowed one from my new 1600w Seagate PSU without thinking much about it. I had read that you shouldn't mix PSU cables, but I assumed it referred to the cables that plug into the wall, not the internal ones. When we tried to power it on with my old 850w power cable, there was a troubling clicking noise from the PSU, and nothing else happened. We assumed the 850w was tripping the overcurrent protection, so I told him to take it home and plug it in with the correct cables. Hours of troubleshooting on the phone later, the system still refuses to turn on. Though I'm going to buy him a new PSU since I messed up, I'm worried I might have damaged other components in his setup. What steps should I take next, and what are the chances that other parts like the motherboard or CPU are damaged? Here's his setup: MSI Pro Z690-A, i7-13700k, 4x8gb G.Skill RAM, a 1000w PSU (probably Corsair, around four years old), and the Gigabyte RTX3080 10gb.
5 Answers
Unfortunately, it could be multiple components that got fried. I wouldn't expect the PSU itself to be damaged, but it's possible. When you plug everything back in, just be methodical about it. If the system doesn’t turn on at all, you may end up needing to swap out the motherboard too.
Sounds like you might have shorted something out with that click. The best move is to try using your PSU in his system, but make sure you have the correct cables this time. That might give you a clearer idea if it’s just the PSU at fault or if something else has been affected too.
You're correct, the internal pin layouts can differ, and mixing them can definitely cause problems. You might hope it’s just the PSU that’s fried, so try using a known-good one first if you can. Monitor any error codes on the motherboard for clues if things still don't boot.
Yeah, just go slowly and check each part as you troubleshoot. It's easy to overlook something when you're stressed about messing up! Good luck!
Mixing PSU cables is risky no matter how similar they look. There's a good chance something got fried. I recommend getting the right internal cables for his PSU and testing it with a different GPU if possible. If it boots up, then at least the CPU and motherboard are likely okay.
Yeah, always best to isolate each part to see what still works. Hopefully, it’s just the PSU you have to replace.
Thanks for the heads-up! I really appreciate your advice here.