The computer fails to power on following a GPU upgrade.
The computer fails to power on following a GPU upgrade.
As mentioned in the title, I recently purchased a 3060ti. Everyone recommends using DDU to clean every driver from the previous GPU. The main problem was after installing the new GPU, my PC didn’t even reach the post screen, which confused me. It gets worse when I switch back to the old card, and now I can’t use my computer at all with it. Just to note, the CPU and case fans are fine. The Radeon GPU fans aren’t working, but the RTX fans and RGB lights do. Also, the peripherals won’t turn on. I’m unsure if the issue is with the PSU or the motherboard—I really appreciate any help. My current setup includes: RX 5500XT → RTX 3060ti, Ryzen 5600X, PSU 600W Corsair, Asus Prime B450 (supports 5th generation).
I encountered a similar problem when upgrading my B450 a few years ago. The MSI B450M Bazooka with R7-1700 was swapped from 8GB G.Skill, 2TB SATA spinning rust, and a GT1030 to... Crucial Ballistix 2x16 CL16 DDR4-3200 WD Blue SN550 PCIe3 M.2 Asus Tuf GTX1650-S-4GB-OC. Immediately, the board kept failing to boot with the new GPU. It started with the GT1030 but eventually shut down after repeated attempts. I contacted the manufacturer for a return, but they didn’t explain what went wrong or how it was resolved. The board became unstable right away.
I tried another configuration using the same RAM in an Asus Tuf B550-PLUS / 5900X setup. I also installed an SN570 WD Blue M.2 drive, ASUS KO-RTX3060ti-8GB-OC, a 6TB WD Black HDD, and a Corsair RM850x PSU in a Corsair 4000X case. It worked for a short time—about two weeks—but then it would shut down hard during intense gaming sessions. After a night of heavy use, it would hang every 8 to 12 cold boots without any video output. That lasted months and really frustrated me.
I disassembled the board twelve times before finally seeing the DRAM indicator light. The DIMMs tested fine. I filed a return and waited for a long RMA process. To test other parts, I built a dedicated test rig with an ASRock B450M-HDV and used a 3600X power supply. The machine kept showing a Win10 hourglass on one DIMM; adding another DIMM caused a POST failure without video. Later, it experienced random audio-only and audio-video cutouts.
I discovered that Ballistix chips weren’t compatible with MSI or ASRock B450 boards, nor with the Asus B550. I replaced the RAM with DDR4-3600 Ballistix from an ASRock board that was QVL'd, which resolved the issue. The Asus Tuf B550 returned with “could not duplicate issue,” and I transferred it to a case with QVL'd Patriot Viper 4 Blackout RAM. The problem disappeared there too.
After all this, my MSI B450M Bazooka/R7-1700 setup was examined, and the DIMMs were showing inconsistent speeds—pointing to stability concerns. The RAM wasn’t QVL'd for this board yet, and the machine isn’t currently in use. I wanted to emphasize that you can’t assume anything or rule anything out. Sometimes the component least suspected is actually the culprit.
Given your symptoms match what I experienced with my MSI board, you might want to verify your board’s QVL list to confirm if your RAM is approved for it.