WTF happend t o my pc? and then there was smoke.

[NezaH]

ok here are my specs

Antec P182 w/ 120mm fans
Q6600 @ 2.4 w/ ZALMAN 970NT + AS5
8800GT 512mb
520hx corsair psu
2gigs Crucial Ballistix
750GB WD HD

ok so wtflip?? i turn on my pc and mayb 20-30 seconds later smoke starts coming my top exhaust fan and my pc turned off. now if i keep pressing the start button , 1 out of mayb 20 times i see it turn on for a splitsecond and turns right back off. what could of happend? i looked inside i see no physical damage at all.... ;[ man im pissed.

btw i did not mess with the mobo or did any OC at all.

 

[Moondrinker]

Where does the smoke originate from? Sounds like the CPU is fried. .
let me show you a youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8lS7KoOEeo

 

[rallyimprezive]

You probably popped a capacitor on the PSU.

Was it a white smoke?

 

[NezaH]

my first thought was the cpu also , but how is that possible? ive had coretemp running for weeks and i've never seen my temps go over 45c.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

I'm guessing psu.

 

[NezaH]

also i was moving the zalman around and i was wondering if it was normal to be able to move it from side to side? like twist it.

 

[NezaH]

ahh i cant remember what color the smoke was , i dont think it was black tho

 

[nukemaster]

If it came out the top fan on a P182 case then its not the PSU(unless you seen it come up the back of the case) since its at the bottom of the case. Maybe the board blew its regulators(that's BAD).....take it apart and look for physical damage(around the CPU socket and check the video card too). Yes, there is a small(side to side, still much less then old K7 heatsinks could be) amount of wiggle in the Zalman cooler when its on.

CPU's do not smoke anymore. they have built in protection.

 

[Pinhedd]

Most CPUs have thermal controls, unless you were overvolting the chances of it frying are minimal. There's a very good chance that your PSU blew though, especially if you cant see any burn marks on your MB. Unseat your CPU and check it out first and if it looks okay, check out your PSU.

 

[cah027]

psu fo sho !!

pull the psu out and give it a good sniffin ! Hey it works for dogs !

 

[Moondrinker]

You told us that it came from the top fan of your Antec p182? Well, the PSU in that case is positioned in the bottom end so that sounds odd. Also, a cord could have struck the fans of the zalman (seen before) turning it off.
But i really dunno mate, whatever it is it does not sound good sorry lad

 

[NezaH]

well i can twist the cpu almost twist the heatsink to the poitn where the fan can face down. i looked at my vid card and there was no damage. but the thing is my PC wont turn back on what could be causing this? to take my heatsink off ill have to remove my whole mobo so im going to try to do that later on this weekend.

 

[Moondrinker]

Sniff you through the components, something must smell fried.
EDIT: The fact that you can twist your CPU cooler that much sounds unhealthy but i might be more supportive that it's something else that caused your computer crash since there would be popups and other warnings telling you that something is wrong if the CPU cooler dosn't fit.
Hmm, what a pickle

 

[notherdude]

maybe just a fan? worth ruling out. If not that then psu or mobo and the upper exhaust fan just pulled smoke up and out, or else the smoke just rose naturally as smoke does. Check PSU first. Little or no chance it was CPU. Test PSU, will the PSU fan spin by hand? Smell PSU, sniff sniff, then look at mobo for any burns or blown caps

 

[Moondrinker]

maybe just a fan? worth ruling out. If not that then psu or mobo and the upper exhaust fan just pulled smoke up and out, or else the smoke just rose naturally as smoke does. Check PSU first.

i recall that the P182 has a airtunnel where the CPU is positioned and that it is completly cut of with the rest of the system to avoid heat from the PSU (picture). People can mingle with this settings as they want so i don't know how his computer looks.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/images/reviews/cases/Antec%20P182/p182-01.jpg

 

[NezaH]

like others said , the psu is located all the way in the bottom of the case so , how can i check/ruleout if it was hte mobo or PSU?

and about the heatsink , ive had coretepm running for weeks and everything was fine i doubt it was that.

 

[Moondrinker]

Either way i think you should check the PSU for starters. .
EDIT: It could be anything, really, smell your way through, something must smell fried! smoke is pretty dramatic!

 

[nukemaster]

well i can twist the cpu almost twist the heatsink to the poitn where the fan can face down. i looked at my vid card and there was no damage. but the thing is my PC wont turn back on what could be causing this? to take my heatsink off ill have to remove my whole mobo so im going to try to do that later on this weekend.

it should not have that much twist..... make sure the mounting bracket(little black squareish thingy) did not hit a onboard component....

it should have only a few degrees of twist at most....

 

[notherdude]

smell the PSU from the rear and attempt to spin fan by hand those would be clues

 

[orangegator]

Take your entire system apart and check each part closely by eye. Check the mobo front and back. If there was smoke, then there will be scorch marks or a burned capacitor or something. Could have been a short somewhere. Continuing to try to power on the system without finding the problem first is a bad idea. You could just make things worse.

 

[Moondrinker]

it should not have that much twist..... make sure the mounting bracket(little black squareish thingy) did not hit a onboard component....

it should have only a few degrees of twist at most....

Agreed. That cooler is allready pretty huge, it could interfer with other components strapped on the motherboard.

 

[notherdude]

OK, here is how youn can really check PSU;

1. Unplug it entirely from MOBO and all system devices. Leave it plugged into wall and leave the back switch on

2. Short the green and black wires together by hooking a wire from one to the other on the connector.

3. If PSU is good it will turn on

Thios will not tell you if voltages are good but it is a quick way to see if it is totally dead.

 

[johnnyq1233]

Unplug all your drives and try powering on you may have burnta dvd or hard drive....easiest to do....
If that's not it then it's disassembly time...sorry to hear about your pc!
Hope this helps.

 

[NezaH]

ok about the heastink , i was able to move it ALOT. it would twist 360o if the antec frame wasnt there. i also smelled around adn the heastink smelled burnt. ok so.. how the hell did the heatsink get so loose? and how is this so sudden last night my temps were about 30c's all cores and like 35 on load. so if this is the area that is burned am i oging to have to replace the heatsink? or the heatsink and the cpu. because honestly i do not trust the zalman 9700 if this happend.

 

[nukemaster]

i should be imposable to twist the heatsink 360 since its held by a bar and there are heatpipes in the way....take it off and look at the black plastic bracket, make sure its not sitting on the voltage regulators. That would stop it from making contact.....but if there was smoke, something has been damaged...

If you have a large cap in the way the retention bracket may hit it...this will cause poor contact and you may even smash the cap or what ever is in the way...