PSU exploded

[KH_PL]

Hello again,

(I will start from begening so it will be bit long of a post.)

After coming back from 2 week holidays my PC would and then turn off like cpu was overheating. (Had something similar some time ago). So I changed thermal paste and applied all fixes suggested previously. ( chcecked all cables, changed battery for new one and did reset on 3pin cmos). It didn't help so I reapplied paste few times to make sure I didn't put too much or too little. During my last try PSU exploded with lot of smoke and little oil from rear so I am guessing PSU was at fault and it finally died.

 

So now I would like to ask advice how to check what was damaged. How big damage could be?

I will definitely need new PSU. Is this maybe good time to upgrade?

 

Thanks

[The_Denks]

2 minutes ago, KH_PL said:

Hello again,

(I will start from begening so it will be bit long of a post.)

After coming back from 2 week holidays my PC would and then turn off like cpu was overheating. (Had something similar some time ago). So I changed thermal paste and applied all fixes suggested previously. ( chcecked all cables, changed battery for new one and did reset on 3pin cmos). It didn't help so I reapplied paste few times to make sure I didn't put too much or too little. During my last try PSU exploded with lot of smoke and little oil from rear so I am guessing PSU was at fault and it finally died.

 

So now I would like to ask advice how to check what was damaged. How big damage could be?

I will definitely need new PSU. Is this maybe good time to upgrade?

 

Thanks

What PSU?

PSU's dont have oil, or atleast new ones.

[Stardar1]

3 minutes ago, KH_PL said:

Hello again,

(I will start from begening so it will be bit long of a post.)

After coming back from 2 week holidays my PC would and then turn off like cpu was overheating. (Had something similar some time ago). So I changed thermal paste and applied all fixes suggested previously. ( chcecked all cables, changed battery for new one and did reset on 3pin cmos). It didn't help so I reapplied paste few times to make sure I didn't put too much or too little. During my last try PSU exploded with lot of smoke and little oil from rear so I am guessing PSU was at fault and it finally died.

 

So now I would like to ask advice how to check what was damaged. How big damage could be?

I will definitely need new PSU. Is this maybe good time to upgrade?

 

Thanks

Talk to @STRMfrmXMN, he is our local PSU expert, and has a great list of PSUs he approves of. 

[79wjd]

@KH_PL The only way to check if hardware was damaged is to test it in another system/by replacing the PSU. 

 

P.s. you realistically can't put too much thermal paste (assuming it's non-conductive, which most thermal paste isn't)

[typographie]

If it was really bad it's possible for there to be visible damage, such as scorched traces or components, or bulging capacitors. But if you don't see any obvious problems, you'll probably just have to try powering it on with another PSU to see if everything works.

 

A failed PSU doesn't necessarily mean there will be damage to other hardware. My understanding is that it's theoretically unlikely, so don't despair and/or go on a buying spree yet. You clearly need a new PSU, so start with that and then work out if there are any other problems.

[STRMfrmXMN]

1 hour ago, KH_PL said:

Hello again,

(I will start from begening so it will be bit long of a post.)

After coming back from 2 week holidays my PC would and then turn off like cpu was overheating. (Had something similar some time ago). So I changed thermal paste and applied all fixes suggested previously. ( chcecked all cables, changed battery for new one and did reset on 3pin cmos). It didn't help so I reapplied paste few times to make sure I didn't put too much or too little. During my last try PSU exploded with lot of smoke and little oil from rear so I am guessing PSU was at fault and it finally died.

 

So now I would like to ask advice how to check what was damaged. How big damage could be?

I will definitely need new PSU. Is this maybe good time to upgrade?

 

Thanks

PSUs are not really oiled per se unless the fan exploded (which actually could have been your problem as the PSU was shutting itself down to prevent it from completely giving up due to heat). What PSU was it though? You're powering a Titan so I'm gonna hope you at least spent money on the thing powering said Titan.

[NeoFrux]

Yeah, any reputable PSU will cover that under warranty. EVGA, Corsair, XFX, SeaSonic, they'll all cover for out to 5 years or more for their higher end products. The thing is, while it's possible nothing was damaged, the PSU is the one component in the computer that's directly connected to pretty much every other component in some form or another, and if it blew, it's possible it spiked several other components, too. The only way to be sure is to test with a working PSU. And you might get away with RMA'ing anything that's not visibly burnt if there is a failed part, too, so definitely not time to break out the wallet for anything other than a new PSU just yet.

 

As for the liquid... I'm thinking one of the main (electrolytic) caps in the PSU might have gone nuclear.

[KH_PL]

Hi, thanks for replies and sorry for late response (had to go to sleep and then to work).

I took out PSU and have taken some pictures - for those that like to see all the insides.

I wiped some oil/liquid that dripped down and flipped whole case just in case.

Biggest capacitor in PSU is busted.

 

Whole PC is quite old at least 10 years ( I upgraded GPU and RAM). PSU was powerfull enough. PC was running GPU heavy games with no problem and there was no random shuttdowns or anything like that (whith exeption of one time when I was changing GPU and I foolishly decided to check out CPU fan). I will look in to guides and mentioned GPU list.

Any usefull links are welcome (I can only browse on my cellphone so it will speed thing a loot.)

[NeoFrux]

Wow. Well, a 10 year old PSU is well past its expiration date unfortunately; Even the best warranties back in the day with companies like PC Power & Cooling only ever went out that far. Really, the only thing you can do now is to get another PSU to test the rest of the system with, and be mindful in the future of the warranty dates for your power supplies; Most begin to lose reliability (and their warranties expire) after around the 5 year point.