Alienware Motherboard Troubles

Question

Alienware Motherboard Shenanigans   So I do flips. I’m new to it. I bought a recased Alienware PC. I upgraded the PSU to not be OEM. And I moved up the CPU from a 7400 to a 7700. This lead to the GPU_PWR slot being impossible to fill. I understood it as extra power for particularily powerful cards. But I had a  970, 1060 and 1070 for testing. Nothing record breaking wattage wise. When I first bought the thing before I upgraded the PSU and recased it yet again it had no issues. But now if I put a card in with the new PSU it will not activate. Fans will not spin even though the 1060 I used for testing has a little LED which turns on due to it being able to get direct from MOBO power. So am I just forced to use that PSU instead of being able to upgrade it? I’d rather not give the customer such an underpowered PSU they can’t reuse. I also have the issue of the OEM PSU not being able to reach the MOBO in the new case by about an inch. I can get an extension cable. But I really want to know if there is a solution to my problem. Cheers MOBO in question is IPKBL-SC.

ProfessorW00d · Answer

It is not 100% clear from that story, but it appears you 'upgraded' to a PSU that does not have a sufficient number of EPS 8-pin CPU power cables to connect the motherboard GPU_PWR header. I don't understand how upgrading your CPU would make it impossible to connect GPU_PWR.

Vanadiel · Answer

What was the original Aurora number of the machine? Also, I am pretty sure the GPU_PWR connector is a regular 8 PIN EPS.

As for video cards that are aftermarket, it all depends on the type of system this is/was. If it's UEFI you might need to turn off secure boot in the BIOS. You will also need to supply power to the video card if it's a 1070 or so.

Tesla1856 · Answer

@Vanadiel wrote: What was the original Aurora number of the machine? Also, I am pretty sure the GPU_PWR connector is a regular 8 PIN EPS.   For an Aurora-R5, Aurora-R6, etc ... yes, you are correct.

EdCo64 · Answer

...and you are another '' rockstars '' ? its a long outdated psu problem, its not upgradable anymore, him need to buy a ''newer '' model.

EdCo64 · Answer

I love that heatsink in your picture, because i create heatsinks, but for your story...i should buy another Alienware.  Since you not give any info about your Alienware. psu is tricky.

ProfessorW00d · Answer

The PSU is standard ATX format and replaceable . . . but thank you for your participation.

PlatinumSun · Answer

I know I need to supply power to the card. I am doing so. And I don't know the number. A fellow said it was a 6 online. I should add when I bought the system it came with a GTX-1070FE and it worked fine. But once I changed the PSU and didn't have the GPU_PWR slot powered it won't actually detect any GPU's for some reason. Surely it doesn't need that stupid port powered right? It gets more than enough power from the PCIE slot and directly from the PSU surely?

PlatinumSun · Answer

Its technically only 4 pins that are actually used. And no it is not keyed in a standard 4+4pin manner.

Vanadiel · Answer

Well, since these are OEM boards it would not surprise me it uses an oddball connector that needs to be powered up.

ProfessorW00d · Answer

GPU_PWR must be properly connected to POST.

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