columbia93
What do you people not understand! There was a lightning storm. There was no surge or brownout or blackout. The computer was turned off. The computer was plugged into an APC backup system with surge protection. I do not understand your obsession with an event that had NOTHING to do with what is going on with my computer!


Let ME summarize.
1. I installed the new GPU & HDD and it worked okay.
2. By okay I mean that I actually ran a test on the HDD to make sure it was working without defect. It passed.
3. I do not turn off my computer generally but powered it down a little more than a day after the installl because of the lightning storm - THE LIGHTNING DID NOT CREATE ANY PROBLEMS BECAUSE IT DID NOT CAUSE A SURGE OR OUTAGE AND MY PC IS PLUGGED IN TO A BACKUP BATTERY WITH SURGE PROTECTOR. It seems that you don't understand that lightning happens with a lot of storms without causing problems, AS IN THIS CASE!
4. When I turned it on the next day I got the black screen to start Windows normally, Safe Mode, Last Known Config. I chose last known config. It started to go then just lost power. I unplugged, plugged back in, started up, it started and then lost power. Then no power.
 
This system worked fine until I put an incompatible GPU into the system so it seems absolutely fair to question whether it is the reason my PC won't start. There is much more correlation to the GPU than the lightning because the lightning has ZERO correlation!
 
Please read my posts in their entirety before commenting. If you had, you would quit harking on a lightning storm that was not a factor. You, Scarlet-Tech, would also know that I tried another PSU in the system without any result.
 

columbia93
Well, considering that EVGA was closed over the long weekend, THAT is why I posted here - AND someone from EVGA answered me earlier. I thought to look here to see if there were answers first. AND, if you'd actually read my posts, you would see that I DID talk to EVGA on the phone. Geez! You sure do make a lot of assumptions without availing yourself of too much available info.
 
BTW, it didn't crash when I turned it on. It went to the screen AS THOUGH it had crashed. There was no crashing. There was no forced shut down. The computer shut down normally the night before. The next morning when I booted it up, that is when I got the black screen - NO CRASHING. Then it simply lost power after I chose the last known good config.  I didn't detail the black screen because it was such a small thing in comparison to the power having died that I didn't even recall it until then. Like most users, I am not a computer genius. Because I built this system (7 years ago) I have a basic to fair understanding of the parts but I've no formal education on the whys and hows. I'm sure someone interested in helping me would ask for further information instead of rushing into their own obviously erroneous conclusions.
 
As for getting worked up, you need to reread your posts as well as Scarlet-Tech. You both were pretty rude in accusing me of frying my system from lightning because I must be too stupid to know any better. I'll take my diploma from Columbia down because I obviously had no business receiving it. I said it wasn't lightning and the comments became even more rude and aggressive, pushing in my face that I must not be telling the truth. The only thing you were interested in was NOT reading the post completely and drawing your own conclusions in spite of my repeated denials. In the future when you guys offer help to someone on the forums, thoroughly read the posts - someone took the time to write it, respect it. As for your wise crack about not being able to read my mind - lucky you!

columbia93
I contacted your technical support people at the number you gave me and was told that, as long as I could get an image, I would be fine and would not need to return the card. Taking him at his word, I proceeded tentatively and installed the card, along with the operating system, with updates. I did shut down the computer last night (Saturday) because we were starting to experience severe lightning and, while I have a backup battery with surge protector, I thought to be safe. FYI, we never experienced a loss of power. When I tried to power up this morning....nothing.  I repeatedly tried to power up - confirming everything was tight and made contact, changed the outlet used, etc, and was never successful. I removed the PSU and replaced it with another one I'd had and still nothing. I had an older GPU that I'd used when I was preparing to return the 8800 so I know it is working, but the PC did not start up. (What I mean by no power is no power, no fan, no beep, no light, nothing.)
 
I am really upset now. I specifically asked the evga tech if it would harm my motherboard by installing that card and was repeatedly assured it would not. I did not experience any power issues prior to this, including no lags in time, etc., and with this occurring within a very short time from installation of the card, I have to believe that the card killed my motherboard. 
 
When I called evga a few weeks ago and began this process, my GPU wasn't acting up that much, just some pieces of pull down menus here and there that did not appear in games. If I'd known this would happen, i would not have returned it at this time. The tech I talked to at that time didn't ask any questions, just said that "we" should get that replaced because of its age. I don't recall how detailed the RMA was but, if there was any question as to whether or not a 7 year old GPU could be replaced without issues, a phone call or email would have been greatly appreciated.
 
As it stands now, I have a computer that will not work. It is old enough that I cannot just replace the motherboard without replacing the CPU and RAM. I do quite a bit of media recording & editing, etc., so a quad core like I have now is preferable if not necessary. A CPU/MoBo will run about $330-360 - add $70+ for RAM - all of which I cannot afford, so I now have no computer. Please, please tell me what I'm supposed to do now...

wmmills
Did you unplug the pc from the UPS and plug directly into a wall socket And try to boot it up? If so, what happened?

• The initial post expresses concern about a PCI-E 3.0 card working in a motherboard without PCI-E 3.0.
• The fact is that a PCI-E 3.0 card will indeed work just fine in a PCI-E 2.0 slot.  I've done it personally several times.
• The eVGA response actually brings up a completely separate issue:  Apparently, some non-UEFI motherboards wouldn't work with a Maxwell-based GPU.
• The original poster then had a bout of bad luck and his computer stopped working.
• The original poster then states that he is "very upset," feels mislead, and "has to believe that the card killed my motherboard."