Which component matters most: PSU, CPU, or MB?
Which component matters most: PSU, CPU, or MB?
Have you encountered a similar situation before? I own a Z490 MEG ACE with an i9-10900k. A week back I faced an issue where booting into BIOS loaded default settings. After enabling XMP and saving, everything worked until recently. For reference, yesterday I used the machine for 4-5 hours without issues, then shut it down normally. Today it won’t power on at all—power button light is illuminated. I inspected cables, PSU connections, cleaned components, even replaced RAM. My initial thought was the power supply unit. I swapped in two different PSUs but only had models with single 8-pin connectors to test. The same problem persists: the power button light stays on when plugged in, and the system fails to start. Tomorrow I’ll attempt a repair since I have important work pending. Should I really rely on those 8-pin connectors just to get fans running, or should I focus more on the CPU/Motherboard?