PCIE graphics power-on difficulties

[mikeymikec]

I don't have a great deal of experience with high-end graphics cards that require PCIE power connectors, I've built a few systems but not much experience with problems of such systems.

So a friend's PC won't boot (switch on the mains, board LEDs come on, switch the computer on and the PSU makes a single click and nothing further happens).

If I remove both PCIE graphics power connectors, the system will POST every time.
If I plug either PCIE power connector into the right socket on the card, the system will POST every time.
If I plug either PCIE power connector into the left socket on the card, the system will not power on (original issue).

z390 board, gigabyte windforce graphics card. I'd have to boot Windows to get a detailed spec.

I guess the next stage is to gut a spare PC with a PSU that has such connectors and take it from there, but I'm inclined to believe that this is a graphics card issue rather than PSU, unless it's a common quirk to require the right connector to be plugged in first and only the left if the right is already in use, but considering it POSTs without either, this would surprise me.

Hmm. Might be quicker to chuck the graphics card into the spare PC.

 

[mikeymikec]

My spare PC's PSU has 1x 8-pin PCIE power and 1x 6-pin. I basically get the same result with the graphics card in that PC too: PC will POST with no connectors (albeit with a 'POWER DOWN AND CONNECT PCIE POWER YOU NAUGHTY BOY' message), with the 8-pin or 6-pin connector in the right socket I get the same message, with both connectors in the PC won't power up, and with the 8-pin in the left card socket it won't power on.

The problem ended up solving itself, the magic smoke came out when I plugged just the 6-pin into the left socket!