# Can a damaged graphics card damage the motherboard or other components?



## Black Panther (Aug 4, 2012)

I have an 8800GT and I'm not sure if it's damaged or not.
It was in my brother's pc and it started not recognizing the driver.
But since I replaced both card and PSU in his system, I'm not sure whether the fault was the card or the PSU...

Is it safe to test the card by putting it in my own pc?


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## Bo$$ (Aug 4, 2012)

As long as it wasn't shorting the motherboard, you should be fine


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## stinger608 (Aug 4, 2012)

Bo$$ said:


> As long as it wasn't shorting the motherboard, you should be fine



 yep, as Bo$$ stated, if the system was running when you removed the card it should be fine to test it. If on the other hand it did short out in the system, which would appear it did not do, then just throw it in the trash. 

From the sounds of it though, I would figure it to be the video card and not the PSU that was in your brothers system.


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## mauriek (Aug 4, 2012)

The only time i saw a graphic card did some damage to a motherboard was when my old Asus ATI 9250 AGP suddenly getting much hotter than usual and 5 minutes later the AGP pin burn out and also burn and melt the AGP GPU slot with it..


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## Black Panther (Aug 4, 2012)

Well, my brother's motherboard still works, so I guess I'm safe.

I tend to think it had been the PSU because I tried a 8600GTS which was working and it didn't work with the old PSU either..


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## Bo$$ (Aug 5, 2012)

Black Panther said:


> Well, my brother's motherboard still works, so I guess I'm safe.
> 
> I tend to think it had been the PSU because I tried a 8600GTS which was working and it didn't work with the old PSU either..



ok well then i think it's safe for your system  Risks are generally quite low unless it provides power


edit: Due to confusion I am talking about using the 8800gt in your system NOT the PSU
good luck


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## Aquinus (Aug 5, 2012)

Bo$$ said:


> ok well then i think it's safe for your system  Risks are generally quite low unless it provides power



Yeah, I would be careful with that one. You don't need to go burning out the rest of the rig. The PSU is one of the only components that can hose your entire rig. Mainly because it is connected to just about everything.


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## Completely Bonkers (Aug 5, 2012)

Damaged AGP cards can blow an AGP socket... because AGP was designed at different standards and different voltages.  Earlier AGP specs were at a higher voltage... later just 0.8v, so a damaged card could possibly let out of spec voltages damage a mainboard components. (typically the northbridge gets collateral damage and you need a new mainboard)

PCIe cards are much safer in this respect... since all at the same voltage. And in the extreme case, if one lane gets damaged... in theory, the rest of the card/slot should work fine. Just like putting a PCIex16 GPU in a PCIEx8 slot... it works fine.


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## Aquinus (Aug 5, 2012)

Completely Bonkers said:


> PCIe cards are much safer in this respect... since all at the same voltage. And in the extreme case, if one lane gets damaged... in theory, the rest of the card/slot should work fine. Just like putting a PCIex16 GPU in a PCIEx8 slot... it works fine.



That is all fine and good if you kill a data-lane. All of the power provided by PCI-E is provided in the first 11 pins (either side) of a PCI-E slot. Everything after the PCI-E key is only PCI-E data, clocks, and grounds. I also don't think that PCI-E is as resilient as you are describing. If you fry a lane there is a good bet there is more damage to the PCI-E controller as well. PCI-E also uses 12v and 3.3v.


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## Bo$$ (Aug 5, 2012)

Aquinus said:


> Yeah, I would be careful with that one. You don't need to go burning out the rest of the rig. The PSU is one of the only components that can hose your entire rig. Mainly because it is connected to just about everything.



Edited my post, i think you misunderstood me


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## Aquinus (Aug 5, 2012)

Bo$$ said:


> Edited my post, i think you misunderstood me



No, I was expanding on that. A video card alone won't fry your machine unless there is something wrong with it or something wrong with the slot on the motherboard assuming nothing is broken or defective. I'm not going to lie, I've replaced more PSUs than any other part in my machine. It's dangerous to run a power supply that could be bad because it could take other stuff down with it. That's all that I'm saying.

Panther: The PSU very well could be shot, but it might be a worth-while investment to get a PSU tester. They're not very expensive and it's a useful tool to have, even if you don't use it that often.


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