PSU exploded need help with fixing/salvaging

[Pitriot]

I put in a new GPU, MSI RTX 2060 12GB Ventus to replace my few years old GT 1030. The PSU's wattage said it was 540 W so it seemed safe. After connecting a cable to the PSU (which wasnt present before I  had to buy one).

 

I booted up the computer and turned on a game on steam on max settings. I was looking at the task manager and it didnt seem like the gpu was breaking a sweat but after about ten minutes my PSU exploded, and it appears after checking through several methods that the RAM, Motherboard and my keyboard and mouse oddly died. 

 

I bought a new PSU but the computer isn't even powering on, no fans nothing so we checked and it seems like the motherboard (gigabyte H310 2.0) died from the surge the PSU apparently let out because it was cheap. We took out the CPU and it doesnt look burnt (i7 9700f) but it seems like these can be dead without it being visible.

 

Seems like what I need to buy right now is a new motherboard but im afraid the CPU is dead and I dont want to buy another i7, what do I do?

[bmx6454]

7 minutes ago, Pitriot said:

The PSU's wattage said it was 540 W so it seemed safe. After connecting a cable to the PSU (which wasnt present before I  had to buy one)

what model psu? was the cable specifically meant for that exact model of psu?

7 minutes ago, Pitriot said:

We took out the CPU and it doesnt look burnt (i7 9700f) but it seems like these can be dead without it being visible.

 

Seems like what I need to buy right now is a new motherboard but im afraid the CPU is dead and I dont want to buy another i7, what do I do?

without having access to another known working motherboard, there really is no way that i know of to tell if it's dead.

edit: if you have a local pc shop, they should be able to test it for you.

7 minutes ago, Pitriot said:

and it appears after checking through several methods that the RAM, Motherboard and my keyboard and mouse oddly died. 

what methods did you use to check? if the motherboard is presumed dead, then did you try all of these parts in another pc?

[An0maly_76]

11 minutes ago, bmx6454 said:

what methods did you use to check? if the motherboard is presumed dead, then did you try all of these parts in another pc?

This. There really is no way to know what's salvageable without testing individual components with another machine.

 

Though I will say PSUs can go in such a manner it can and will nuke the entire machine. I had one go like that a few years ago and it was so catastrophic that one of my HDDs was knocking its heads against its casing. Nearly brand-new drive, lost eight years of music recording masters from my demo that cannot be replaced, as that was my backup drive and the primary was so badly scrambled it couldn't be recovered.

 

So this really isn't something you can assume any one component to be worth saving without testing, and even then, it could be a crap shoot, because it could still have overvoltage damage from the PSU failure that will cause a slow death.

[Pitriot]

13 minutes ago, bmx6454 said:

what model psu? was the cable specifically meant for that exact model of psu?

without having access to another known working motherboard, there really is no way that i know of to tell if it's dead.

edit: if you have a local pc shop, they should be able to test it for you.

what methods did you use to check? if the motherboard is presumed dead, then did you try all of these parts in another pc?

Thanks for the quick answer. The problem with the psu is that its some cheap copy with a really obscure brand name, I'll try finding its name but im not sure. I did learn that for untrustworthy PSUs youll have to rely they support half the wattage.

 

As for the other methods I mentioned; I had a garbage computer that I could use my GPU in (with a psu i just got) and it seems fine, i still have warranty so im not worried. I put my ram in a ddr4 mobo and it just did beeping noises and really overheated, pretty sure its dead. Motherboard we connected to PSU and turned on, seems like theres no current near the ports so it seems dead beyond repair.

 

And yeah ill try going to the shop i got this pc from problem is im not sure its this and due to other reasons i dont have the receipt or warranty and its pretty far so yeah.

[Pitriot]

4 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

This. There really is no way to know what's salvageable without testing individual components with another machine.

 

Though I will say PSUs can go in such a manner it can and will nuke the entire machine. I had one go like that a few years ago and it was so catastrophic that one of my HDDs was knocking its heads against its casing. Nearly brand-new drive, lost eight years of music recording masters from my demo that cannot be replaced, as that was my backup drive and the primary was so badly scrambled it couldn't be recovered.

 

So this really isn't something you can assume any one component to be worth saving without testing, and even then, it could be a crap shoot, because it could still have overvoltage damage from the PSU failure that will cause a slow death.

Damn. Im trying to figure out exactly how to test the cpu, seems like the hardest part since it requires a mobo supporting it and its kinda old but not old enough to be in every office computer... Whats the likelyhood for a 9th gen i7 cpu to die from this anyway? Do they have some sort of indication or protection? Because after taking out mine the pads dont seem burnt at all, then again rhe whole mobo died so idk what to think. Ill try getting it tested asap in a lab or something.

[An0maly_76]

2 minutes ago, Pitriot said:

Damn. Im trying to figure out exactly how to test the cpu, seems like the hardest part since it requires a mobo supporting it and its kinda old but not old enough to be in every office computer... Whats the likelyhood for a 9th gen i7 cpu to die from this anyway? Do they have some sort of indication or protection? Because after taking out mine the pads dont seem burnt at all, then again rhe whole mobo died so idk what to think. Ill try getting it tested asap in a lab or something.

Anything can happen when rails of differing voltages crossfeed. A component doesn't have to necessarily smell 'burnt' to be damaged. CPU requiring only 1.0-1.3V could easily fail if current from the 12V rail supply crossfeeds into the lower-voltage for the CPU. VRMs can only handle so much, and by rights should sacrifice the mobo to save the CPU, I would think, but like I said, you really can't tell without testing.

Edited July 10, 2022 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info

[Pitriot]

3 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

Anything can happen when rails of differing voltages crossfeed. A component doesn't have to necessarily smell 'burnt' to be damaged. CPU requiring only 1.0-1.3V could easily fail if current from the 12V rail supply crossfeeds into the lower-voltage for the CPU. VRMs can only handle so much, and by rights should sacrifice the mobo to save the CPU, I would think, but like I said, you really can't tell without testing.

I see, Ill call a few shops tomorrow see what I can do to test this. I heard CPUs usually have unlimited warranty, is it true?

[An0maly_76]

1 minute ago, Pitriot said:

I see, Ill call a few shops tomorrow see what I can do to test this. I heard CPUs usually have unlimited warranty, is it true?

Not something I've heard of. Most component warranties are about 1-2 years.

[Kilrah]

3 minutes ago, Pitriot said:

I see, Ill call a few shops tomorrow see what I can do to test this. I heard CPUs usually have unlimited warranty, is it true?

Warranty covers manufacturing defects and of the item in question, not external damage or damage to other components.

[TrigrH]

19 minutes ago, Pitriot said:

The problem with the psu is that its some cheap copy with a really obscure brand name, I'll try finding its name but im not sure.

I'm sure you could find a PSU that would have been capable to run your system for less than $50... let that sink in.

Quote

I did learn that for untrustworthy PSUs you'll have to rely they support half the wattage.

The only thing you can rely on is their ability to blow up your computer. Buying a shit "700w" power supply just because you only need 350w is never a good idea.

[IkeaGnome]

1 hour ago, Pitriot said:

After connecting a cable to the PSU (which wasnt present before I  had to buy one)

This is very likely the cause of your problems. Connectors are standardized on the component side, not the power supply side. Even Corsair has about 3 different types of cables with differences in some of the connectors on the power supply side. 

A Silverstone, EVGA, or any other manufacturer's power cable can send power to where ground is supposed to be when paired with the wrong power supply. That was the reason for this question that you avoided answering.

1 hour ago, bmx6454 said:

was the cable specifically meant for that exact model of psu?

 

[Alex Atkin UK]

24 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

This is very likely the cause of your problems. Connectors are standardized on the component side, not the power supply side. Even Corsair has about 3 different types of cables with differences in some of the connectors on the power supply side. 

A Silverstone, EVGA, or any other manufacturer's power cable can send power to where ground is supposed to be when paired with the wrong power supply. That was the reason for this question that you avoided answering.

From what they described I don't think the wiring was bad, I think they overloaded it because the PSU came without a PCIe power connector (for good reason).

 

This is why its never recommended to use adapters to power a GPU.  If your PSU doesn't have a connector or enough connectors, its almost certainly because it can't handle the load or its old and pre-dates PCIe power connectors.

Not that having the connector is a guarantee the PSU can actually handle it either.  With cheap PSUs, anything can happen, just avoid at all costs.

[Beerzerker]

Normally when a PSU goes out like that the rest is toast too.
It's typical for a PSU when it goes to take the majority, if not all the rest with it.

You might get lucky and find not everything is dead but at the same time you'll have to test the components because if you happen to try one that's damaged it could cause even more damage in the new setup.

You'll want a "Disposable" setup for your testing because there is a risk of killing it too when testing these components.

I had the MOSFETs in a board go out once and when they blew it took the CPU with it. I found that out when I tried the CPU in another board, it caused the test board to blow it's MOSFETs too so I knew it had become a board eater, tossed it and moved on.
I got lucky and was able to fix that one (test board) but the original board that blew, it was 100% toast.

[Kilrah]

11 hours ago, IkeaGnome said:

This is very likely the cause of your problems.

It wouldn't have worked for a while if it was the cable pinouts.

[Pitriot]

4 hours ago, Beerzerker said:

Normally when a PSU goes out like that the rest is toast too.
It's typical for a PSU when it goes to take the majority, if not all the rest with it.

You might get lucky and find not everything is dead but at the same time you'll have to test the components because if you happen to try one that's damaged it could cause even more damage in the new setup.

You'll want a "Disposable" setup for your testing because there is a risk of killing it too when testing these components.

I had the MOSFETs in a board go out once and when they blew it took the CPU with it. I found that out when I tried the CPU in another board, it caused the test board to blow it's MOSFETs too so I knew it had become a board eater, tossed it and moved on.
I got lucky and was able to fix that one (test board) but the original board that blew, it was 100% toast.

Thanks. I actually have a few "disposable" setups for different components since I haven't been really able to find a computer like mine. I did find something to test the CPU though, so thats what I'm gonna do tomorrow. I hope that at least survived.

[Pitriot]

11 hours ago, IkeaGnome said:

This is very likely the cause of your problems. Connectors are standardized on the component side, not the power supply side. Even Corsair has about 3 different types of cables with differences in some of the connectors on the power supply side. 

A Silverstone, EVGA, or any other manufacturer's power cable can send power to where ground is supposed to be when paired with the wrong power supply. That was the reason for this question that you avoided answering.

 

Yeah we actually expected thr cable to come with the GPU. It didn't so we bought a basic molex one. I have no doubt its what was necessary (especially because the computer did work) I'm pretty sure its the psu being toast and probably not actually 540W.

[Pitriot]

11 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

From what they described I don't think the wiring was bad, I think they overloaded it because the PSU came without a PCIe power connector (for good reason).

 

This is why its never recommended to use adapters to power a GPU.  If your PSU doesn't have a connector or enough connectors, its almost certainly because it can't handle the load or its old and pre-dates PCIe power connectors.

Not that having the connector is a guarantee the PSU can actually handle it either.  With cheap PSUs, anything can happen, just avoid at all costs.

Thats what I took away from this, I just wish this information was more available to people trying to upgrade.

[Kilrah]

Also with old/unknown PSUs you want to read the full label, not just the total wattage. Back in the day PCs used a lot of 3.3V/5V so old PSUs sometimes only had half their rating on 12V. Nowadays PCs pretty much only use 12V, so you might be in a situation where with today's hardware your 540W PSU is actually a "250W usable" PSU with lots of leftover 3.3V/5V capacity nothing cares about.

[Pitriot]

Its like three years old thats not the problem

 

On 7/11/2022 at 2:25 PM, Kilrah said:

Also with old/unknown PSUs you want to read the full label, not just the total wattage. Back in the day PCs used a lot of 3.3V/5V so old PSUs sometimes only had half their rating on 12V. Nowadays PCs pretty much only use 12V, so you might be in a situation where with today's hardware your 540W PSU is actually a "250W usable" PSU with lots of leftover 3.3V/5V capacity nothing cares about.

 

[Pitriot]

Ok so I put my CPU in a working computer and turned it on. It was an hp prodesk 600 g4 and it didn't boot up, it did three long beeps and two short ones( three red leds and two white). 

 

Its dead huh

[--SID--]

54 minutes ago, Pitriot said:

Ok so I put my CPU in a working computer and turned it on. It was an hp prodesk 600 g4 and it didn't boot up, it did three long beeps and two short ones( three red leds and two white). 

 

Its dead huh

That computer has a dedicated GPU?

 

The CPU is supported by the motherboard?

[Pitriot]

26 minutes ago, --SID-- said:

That computer has a dedicated GPU?

 

The CPU is supported by the motherboard?

The CPU is supported if the bios is updated idk if it is. Would it still behave this way if the bios isnt up to date?

[Kilrah]

Yeah if the mobo/BIOS doesn't support the CPU beeps is what you'd expect. You can try to find the manual for the PC to see what they mean. 

[Pitriot]

1 hour ago, Kilrah said:

Yeah if the mobo/BIOS doesn't support the CPU beeps is what you'd expect. You can try to find the manual for the PC to see what they mean. 

Well it should support im just not sure if the bios is up to date but this computer isnt mine so im not gonna mess with it any more. I might just take this to a lab but the person im doing this with says its pointless and hes pretty convinced its dead. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise if it is but the cpu looks fine, the pads dont look burnt. Is there any hope to this or should I be looking for a different one?

[Blue4130]

1 hour ago, Pitriot said:

Well it should support im just not sure if the bios is up to date but this computer isnt mine so im not gonna mess with it any more. I might just take this to a lab but the person im doing this with says its pointless and hes pretty convinced its dead. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise if it is but the cpu looks fine, the pads dont look burnt. Is there any hope to this or should I be looking for a different one?

The pads don't need to look burnt for it to be dead.