Computer made a short out smell then died and won't turn on

[hehcomputerrock]

While I was writing an essay my computer screen suddenly froze and it stayed that way for about a minute while not responding to any commands... I refused to shut it off because I would lose a good portion of my essay but after another 30 seconds I smelt a electrical short out kinda smell and right after it died. Now it won't turn on I opened it up to cool down incase it over heated and nothing... Then I unplugged it and plugged it back in and tried and the lighting in the case and the fans turned on for about a second before it died again. It only does this if i unplug from wall then plug it back in and try...I figure it cant be a power supply issue cause the power does come on for a second but I can't figure it out because if it's not the power supply then wouldn't the power supply fan stay on? So do you think it is CPU, hdd, ram, mobo or the power supply? Any help is appreciated as I don't want to go o tiger direct and pay 50 bucks for diagnostics

thanks in advance

 

[johnnyq1233]

What are the components of your computer.....MoBo, CPU, RAM, Power Supply,etc....
This will help alot!

But, my first choice is the power supply, second would be the mother board....
So pleases help us help you by giving this vital information..Thanks...JQ

 

[Herr_Koos]

Probably power supply. Borrow one from a friend if you can, swap out the old one, and then see if the PC turns on.

 

[hang-the-9]

+1 for power supply.

 

[hehcomputerrock]

2GB 1066MhZ DDR2 (RAM) (OCZ)
AM2+ 4MB Socket 9950 Black Edition 3.6Ghz(AMD Phenom) (CPU)
MSI K9A2 CF-F AMD 790 Socket AM2+ Motherboard
9800 GT XFX 512 MB Video card (Nvidea)

here are my specs

 

[jaguarskx]

What about your power supply?

 

[hehcomputerrock]

Ultra 650 Watt power supply...btw the Power supply was fine...the video card shorted out and for some reason causing the power supply not to work...when i toke the video card out, the power supply worked and powere the mobo. Also i have 2gb of ram now if i were to upgrade to 6gb would i need a new power supply?

 

[Herr_Koos]

No. RAM draws very little power.