Nvidia GTX660 broke Alienware Aurora R12 motherboard

SavaBogdan

n00b
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Nov 6, 2021
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Hello.
I just blew a chip on my Alienware Aurora R12 with a GTX660 GPU.
I was under the impression that all PCI-E GPUs are compatible. I got an Alienware i5 10400f with no GPU at a good price, and I wanted to use it until I got a good GPU. So I put an old R5 230 gpu and it worked fine. Today I got a GTX660 and i decided to swap the card.
When I turned on the pc it made a pop and I smelled the well known burn smell from the pc. I took the gpu out and tested it on another pc and it was ok. But then I looked closer at the motherboard and I saw the exploded chip. Pc seems to start and boot but no video out with the old card.
So now my questions are:
Was I stupid for putting the old GTX in the pc? Are there not all PCI-E cards compatible?
And does anyone have an intel Aurora R12 and can help me with the part number for the chip so I can replace it?

Thank you
 

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Physically speaking, your system should have been fine with a Geforce 660 GTX. I don't see anything in the specs that would have overloaded anything, and would think that it's the fault of the motherboard.

On a separate, unrelated issue, did your Dell / Alienware system have Secure Boot enabled in the BIOS? You may have to turn it off before booting with a non-Dell card. The problem here, though, is that you need a working display to see what you're doing, and that may not be possible now.
 
It booted and worked with the old R5-230. I could not see the BIOS, was all white, but windows ran ok. I also tried an RX460 but the card overheated like hell and shut down after 5 minutes. I thougt the card was bad but now I am beginning to think you are right and the motherboard is bad. I will try and change it under warranty before I fiddle around with unsoldering chips. The guy that sold it to me was nice and offered to send it in.
 
I'm still using 3x GTX680 in my 2nd computer (Intel X99) and at one point I used one of them in my AMD X570 motherboard also with no issues. The GTX660 should have been compatible and is not even that power hungry compared to newer cards.
 
I can't see any reason why a GTX 660 shouldn't work in an Alienware with a 10th gen Intel proc in it. Same PCI-e version, and the 600 series wasn't that greedy for power. A GTX 660 is 130W according to Wikipedia. That's pretty close to a GTX 1660 Super (120-125W) and less than an RTX 3060 (170W) or 2060 (160W), so I really can't imagine Dell making an Alienware that couldn't handle a GTX 660. Aside from something being broken/defective/bugged I figure the most likely reason a recent Alienware wouldn't be able to handle a GTX 660 would be a lack of CSM support in the BIOS. No idea if they support it or not. Most mainboards do, but I'm guessing that'll change due to Win11 not liking CSM. IIRC the 600 series shipped with legacy BIOS but could be flashed to UEFI if the board vendor provided an updated BIOS. But no CSM + legacy BIOS on the card would just make it not work. It wouldn't make chips explode.
 
I don't have anything really to contribute other than echoing others in saying that no - you're not dumb for putting that card in there. Obviously something else is afoot as that system should have no problems with that card. Can't help beyond that though. :(
 
I opened a service ticket with Dell and despite all the hate against them, especially from Gamers Nexus's Steve, they have been super responsive and nice.
They answered quickly, alrealdy ordered a new motherboard for me and a technician will replace the motherboard at my house before 21st of November. I did not expect this to happen 🤣.
They asked me if I tested the GPU in another PC and were happy when I said the GPU was fine. They were probably afraid they had to replace the RTX3090 that was originally installed in the PC 😁.
I did not tell them that I am not the original buyer of the PC and that I got it for cheap without the GPU. I thought they were going to ask about invoices or ownership proof but no. All they cared about was the Service tag.
So all in all pretty happy with them. I don't think I ever heard of on site warranty repairs before.
 
Update: The motherboard arrived and the service here asked me nicely if I could bring the PC to them. I was happy to, the motherboard was replaced and the PC is working. I am however afraid to put the GTX660 back again, so I am hoping I will have luck with the EVGA queue and buy a 3080 or 3090 at a sane price. I signed up in April this year so maybe I will get my turn in the next 4 5 months :)
 
Update: The motherboard arrived and the service here asked me nicely if I could bring the PC to them. I was happy to, the motherboard was replaced and the PC is working. I am however afraid to put the GTX660 back again, so I am hoping I will have luck with the EVGA queue and buy a 3080 or 3090 at a sane price. I signed up in April this year so maybe I will get my turn in the next 4 5 months :)
Make it six. :)

Glad your computer is working again.
 
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