They require assistance repairing or salvaging the PSU.
They require assistance repairing or salvaging the PSU.
Based on what they explained, I believe the wiring wasn't faulty. It seems they exceeded the power capacity because the PSU didn’t include a PCIe power connector—a sensible design choice. Using adapters to feed power to a GPU isn’t advised. If your PSU lacks a suitable connector or has limited ones, it’s likely due to insufficient power handling or being outdated. Even with a connector, cheap PSUs can behave unpredictably, so it’s best to steer clear.
Usually when a PSU fails completely, everything else suffers too. It's common for a PSU to drop most of its load if not all at once. You might be fortunate enough to discover that not all parts are damaged, but you'll still need to check the components—damaged ones could worsen the situation in your new setup. A "disposable" configuration is best for testing because it reduces the chance of destroying everything during the process. I experienced this with MOSFETs on a board; when they failed, the CPU also died. I realized the issue when the test board suffered the same damage. Eventually, I managed to repair that one, but the original board was completely ruined.
It wouldn't have functioned properly if the cable connections were incorrect.
We thought the cable would include the GPU, but it didn’t, so we went with a simple Molex board. I’m confident that’s what was needed—especially since the system ran fine. It seems the power supply might have failed, possibly not delivering the expected 540W.
Here’s what I learned, and I hope this helps those looking to upgrade: I’m glad you found it useful.
Also for older or unidentified power supplies, it's best to check the full label rather than just the wattage. In the past, computers frequently used 3.3V/5V voltages, so some PSUs only provided half their rated power at 12V. Today’s systems mostly run on 12V, meaning you might find a 540W PSU actually delivering around 250W with plenty of unused 3.3V/5V capacity—nothing is wasted.