Computer popped during use and died with a burning smell.

Gamerboy · Feb 19, 2015

I was playing a game and there was a soft popping sound. My computer restarted itself but did not display anything. I noticed a smell of burning electronics so I got it shut off and opened it up to take a look. The graphics card was the only thing that felt warm at all.

I can't see any obvious signs of damage on anything. It has integrated graphics on the cpu so I tried to start it just using that but still doesn't display anything and seems to be turning on and off. The lights go on and off when the display is connected directly to the gpu as well now and the fans don't keep spinning.

With the GPU heat sinks being warm that was my first suspect but with a bit of research it sounds like it could also be the power supply with the way the lights act. I turn to the experts.
My setup is:

Z77 extreme 4 mobo
rd 6950 2g gpu
corsair tx850 power supply
sandy 2500k cpu

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Tradesman1 · Feb 19, 2015

Might try it in another rig and see

Cons29 · Feb 19, 2015

i'd remove the hdd's if it was me, also the gpu and any other part that can be removed before turning it on again. i mean, sure parts are expensive, but hdd, you cannot replace those files if you don't have backup, you cant buy those

King Kevain · Feb 19, 2015

Ifsomething has burnt out it should be pretty easy to find. But I'd stick my nose in the PSU, sounds like you've popped the caps - sounds like a Textbook Corsair CX PSU failure. I'll go out on a limb - is that PSU 18-24 months old? Because that's about their lifespan with heavy use.

Could be wrong though....maybe pop the PSU out of the case and pull the housing apart (only do this if its out of warranty) - you should be able to quickly identify if the Caps have blown.

Gamerboy · Feb 20, 2015

Nothing is under warranty. It's just over three years old but the PSU was a warranty replacement about 14 - 15 months ago. I opened the psu up but I don't see anything obviously wrong. I have taken every component out and examined it now except I haven't taken the cpu fan off of the mobo. I don't see anything wrong with anything physically. I'm going to see if it will power a different computer.

Gamerboy · Feb 20, 2015

Well the power supply seems to be working fine. It's in the pc that I'm using to type this right now.

Gamerboy · Feb 20, 2015

I put the power supply back into my computer and it does the same thing. The cpu fan and only one case fan spin for just about one second and then stop. I noticed after I opened the thread that most of the fans were not spinning up at all and the front case fan light doesn't come on.

1LiquidPC · Feb 20, 2015

Looking like it could be a bad motherboard since your PSU is verified to still be working and the odd fan spin-ups and front case fan light not working.

Gamerboy · Feb 20, 2015

Oh I suppose I should also mention though that the other computer that I tested my power supply in only needed 4 pins for the cpu and mine uses all 8.

Gamerboy · Feb 20, 2015

I sure wish I had a known good mobo I could throw in there.

1LiquidPC · Feb 20, 2015

Does the motherboard itself look ok upon close inspection. No black areas on the PCB itself, signs of any kind of burning, caps look ok?

Gamerboy · Feb 21, 2015

Yeah I have looked at the psu, mobo, and as much of the insides of the gpu that I can see to check for burning. I don't see any burnt areas or damaged looking capacitors on any of them.

1LiquidPC · Feb 21, 2015

That's a tough one, no obvious signs of damage. You may also want to remove the VRM heatsink assembly on the motherboard to see if the there is any damage hidden. Still, given you description and the PSU still working in another PC, I'm thinking your going to need a replacement motherboard.

Gamerboy · Feb 22, 2015

I realized that my mobo is still under warranty actually so I'm going to try working through that. I removed the cpu heat sink and the cpu itself to check for any damage under those but they look fine too. I don't want to alter anything else though that might void warranty until I go through that process at least. I haven't had to work with AsRock's customer service department before, I hope they're good.

For peace of mind I'm also going to see if any of my local shops can test my gpu tomorrow. I suppose it's possible that the gpu failing killed the mobo? I would hate to get a new mobo and just fry it by plugging a bad part into it.

Benevolence · Feb 22, 2015

Follow your nose, popped caps have a unique smell.

King Kevain · Feb 22, 2015

Gamerboy :

Did you try both the 4 pin leads when you had it in the other PC (not that it really matters as they're both on the single 12V rail)?

Also, can you verify if the PSU is the TX850 circa 2008 or the TX850 V2 Circa 2011? The V2 is a Seasonic, where as the older version is a CWT variant - that's just more for my curiosities sake than anything else

So probably fair to say the PSU is ok then - pop the heat spreaders off the VRM around the CPU and have a look at the Voltage regulator - if you popped one of the Caps on the VRC that explains nicely why some things are working and others are not - i.e. Molex Connected Fans will work and some Mobo Headers will power up too that may be on a different circuit (like the CPU Fan, but not your front case fan.

Also note - if there was a surge when it popped, it's likely popped your front panel PWR LED, so don't be surprised if it doesn't work when you RMA the mobo and replace it.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/ASRock-Z77-Extreme4-M-Motherboard/1661/6. If there was smoke and burning and a popping noise, there should be some visual damage somewhere on the VRC.

Also, general details here on the VR Circuit http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-The-Motherboard-Voltage-Regulator-Circuit/616 but this will vary a bit between manufacturers and models of boards

Gamerboy · Feb 22, 2015

I have actually tried to smell all of them haha. I don't think my nose is sensitive enough to pick it up.

No I didn't try both 4 pin leads. Didn't think to, probably should do that.

How could I tell if the PSU was 2008 or 2011 other than when I bought it? I'll look at it and see if I can figure it out tomorrow but I'm about to head out to work right now. I bought it in 2012 and got a warranty replacement late 2013.

Removing the VRM sinks wouldn't void the warranty?

I'm not super concerned about the case light. Doesn't really matter to me.

I will look into those links when I get off work in the morning and see what I can see.

King Kevain · Feb 23, 2015

Gamerboy :

Removing the sinks shouldn't void the warranty - they are either clipped on or have a retaining screw or two. If they are attached with adhesive or TM (on some high end Mobos), then yes will likely void the warranty.

Gamerboy · Feb 23, 2015

The VRM heat sinks are connected with push pins similar to the cpu fan but I don't see any way to remove them without damaging them. I looked around them and they are not covering the capacitors or the ferrite chokes but just beside them and I don't see anything wrong with any of it. It's nice to be able to identify some of the things though.

AsRock is apparently shut down until the beginning of next month for a national holiday there so I wont even hear back about a replacement for another week and a half. I hate to leave this thread hanging open that long as we're thinking it's the mobo but I want to make sure if anyone has this problem in the future that they have this to reference all the way up to operational.

King Kevain · Feb 24, 2015

Ahh, that sucks they're closed man! You may need to look at the Caps a bit closer - they don't always pop on top, sometimes its the butt end that blows out and as they're so close to the MOBO they can be difficult to spot.

Gamerboy · Feb 25, 2015

The first email I got back from Asrock said they would be closed until March 2 but today I got an email to get the process started so they must not be completely shut down. Hopefully they are operational enough to keep working with me. Submitted my form to get a RMA number.

I looked at the mobo again. I looked at every capacitor I can see from every angle. No discoloration, no bulging, no cracks. I removed my cpu to store it while the mobo is shipping and looked around under that again. Other than some dust it looks like it could be brand new today. I'm going to look over my psu and gpu again for giggles.

I read that it's unlikely that a gpu that is already dead will harm a mobo but that if one dies it can take the mobo with it so I'm less worried about plugging it into a new mobo but if I see any damage when I look it over again I'll just get a new one while I'm at it. I'm tempted to get a new one anyways but this 6950 is still more than enough for most games. I'm hoping to not replace any more parts until the cpu is outdated, at which point I'll just build a whole new rig.

Gamerboy · Mar 10, 2015

Ok so I got the new motherboard today and got the pc put back together. It turns on and stays on but it doesn't display anything when hooked up through the gpu. It does display using the integrated graphics. The fan spins up on the discrete gpu though so I know it's getting power. Any ideas? Thank you

Gamerboy · Mar 10, 2015

I went into the bios and the mobo doesn't even detect the gpu. It says the slot is empty. I've tried in both.

King Kevain · Mar 11, 2015

okay...so fair to say then that the GPU is likely fried as well. If something on the Mobo fried it could have taken the GPU with it. Any chance you can try GPU in another pc?

Also, dumb question...but do you have the power connected to the GFX card?

If it did surge and it was the VRM that fried, it's very likely it damaged other components. There is little voltage protection to components plugged in to the MOBO - they rely on the Mobo and PSU to regulate power, a RAM stick, GPU, HDD for instance do not regulate power. Well, not to an extent where they protect themselves form a surge anyway.

Gamerboy · Mar 11, 2015

Yeah it takes two six pin power connectors, I reseated them and the card several times to make sure. Just out of curiosity, the mobo wouldn't detect the card if the power wasn't connected to the card?

Unfortunately no, I don't have another pc to try it in. I'm going to order another gpu so I'll find out for sure when it gets here.

So you think it's likely that a surge killed them? Maybe I'll look into a good surge protector too.

Everything else seems to be working fine. It works just like it did before minus the graphics capabilities so I don't think it damaged anything else.

Computer popped during use and died with a burning smell.

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