Build worked fine for 3 days, then kaput!

[kingme08]

So, here's what I built:

AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 GHz 6MB Cache
MSI 790FX-GD70 Motherboard
HIS Radeon 4870 GPU
850W Rosewill PSU
4x 2GB GSkill DDR3 Ram
320GB 7200 RPM Seagate HDD

First build went surprisingly well. (New to this, so it's REALLY a first build.) Booted up first try, no problems installing Win7, etc. Worked fine for the last 3 days.

Went to turn it on last night (after shutting it down the night before with a few Win7 updates) and nothing. Turned the PSU on & off, tried again, nothing. Took the cover off, checked all of the connections, turned it on again, and the PSU fan started to spin w/ LED for about half a second, then a "spark" kind of sound and then nothing. Upon repeat, it wouldn't do anything again, but every once and a while it would start to come on and then pop.

Power button on the MB itself lights when the PSU is on, but nothing else happens when the button is hit. Husband thinks we might have fried the CPU (woke it from sleep state and the Core Temp was ~48C) but I'm thinking we've got a short somewhere, or some other PSU issue.

Anyone seen anything like this before? I'm totally stumped.

Thanks.

 

[GhislainG]

You should disconnect everything, power up the PSU and test all voltages with a DVM. You chose quality components for your build, except for the PSU which is the most important component.

 

[kingme08]

Tested as much as possible... without anything plugged into the MB, we got 2 pins live on the 24-pin MB connector, with 5V and 3.3V. Otherwise, nothing else has any power. Connected back to only the MB, hit the power button, got .2V on the CPU power line before it shorted again. Think that's enough for a definitive "It's the PSU, dummy!" and a return to NewEgg?

 

[GhislainG]

If you return it to Newegg, could you upgrade to better PSU?

 

[kingme08]

Yea. Only got it on Tuesday. Should be within the window of an RMA.

 

[Outlander_04]

a 650 watt psu will be plenty for that rig

the Corsair is good and usually cheapest of the quality brands

 

[kingme08]

So, followed your advice, bought the 650 W Corsair. Installed, turned it on, and fans started to spin and then once again, shut down. Although, the first time it took about half a second longer than it had been. Smelled something like plastic burning briefly.

Thoughts? All I can figure is that the MB and/or CPU are fried.

 

[banthracis]

Read sticky http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-read-posting-boot-video-problems

Specifically try a CMOS reset. It may be a dead MOBO, CPU is a bit less likely as 48C is nowhere near dangerous.

 

[jevon]

Definitely sounds like your PSU fried something on your motherboard. I hate Rosewil PSUs. ><

Time to call up Newegg and discuss :S It's actually been a long time since I've had to deal with any sort of potential full system refund so I can't give much advice there. But you'll likely want to make sure everything gets checked thoroughly because power surges going through a motherboard can be a nasty thing :S

 

[kingme08]

My MOBO has a hard-wired CMOS Reset button, so I've already tried that with no joy.

I will, however probably try the breadboarding before taking it to the local shop to confirm what I think is a crispy set of expensive electronics. I wouldn't think it's a short, since it worked fine the first three days, but you never know!

Thanks for the help (again).

 

[guanyu210379]

Kaputt? Since when does the word "Kaputt" belong to english vocabularies?

I agree.
It is time to contact the store where you bought your system!

 

[kingme08]

So at least you can all get a laugh out of this:

Breadboarded to double-check that it really was the MOBO, no beeps when it powered on (but at least it stayed on this time.) According to the helpful sticky note provided above (Thanks banthracis!) this equates to a fried board.

So, I, in my genius glory, just wanted to see if it would at least make the fan spin on the GPU (since I was planning to replace it anyway). And... found out where the small bit of smoke I smelled came from! My GPU lit itself on fire, just a little bit.

Last question: How many new components should I be looking at here? I wouldn't think it would fry my HDD or DVD drive, but I can't tell at all for the HDD, and the DVD would require me hooking it up and turning the thing on again to see if I can get it open and closed. I'm making the assumption that I need a new MOBO, CPU, GPU (duh!). I had a wireless card in there, should I be looking for a new one of those, or any of the other components?

 

[guanyu210379]

Damaged/defect PSU could do the worst damage to the system.
On the most worst case , it is also possible that it damages the entire system with no component survivor a.k.a everything in your PC is fried.

It is time to claim the warranty! Let them check it for you, don't do your own trouble shooting anymore! You have done enough at this point and let them do the rest of the work.

That is why I have alway bought all the components for a new complete system in 1 place/store, so that if anything went wrong, I can claim the warranty directly to one place/store.
Any upgrade afterwards is not necessary to be bought on 1 roof.