Motherboard caught fire

[TubsAlwaysWins]

So I was testing out my Old MSI 970 Gaming motherboard and the VRM's caught fire as soon as I plugged it in.

 

So stay away from the 970 Gaming board. This is the second one ive had.

 

 

[yathis]

Could be any one of multiple problems.

What was the PSU you were using?

 

 

[ArduinoBen]

Maybe.....  But if it happened to me I'd just get a refund and wouldn't give a shit.

[Zyndo]

5 minutes ago, TubsAlwaysWins said:

So I was testing out my Old MSI 970 Gaming motherboard and the VRM's caught fire as soon as I plugged it in.

 

So stay away from the 970 Gaming board. This is the second one ive had.

 

 

Did you leave it somewhere it could collect dust and then turn the dials past 10 and leave it there with dust around?

There aren't really a whole lot of inherently flammable components in a computer, and user error is more often than not the cause of such issues, rather than the motherboard.

[The Sloth]

7 minutes ago, TubsAlwaysWins said:

Old MSI 970 Gaming motherboard and the VRM's caught fire as soon as I plugged it in.

what settings did you use? do you have proper cooling? what CPU? 

[Enderman]

You need to give more details otherwise I just assume it is user error and you don't know how to plug stuff into a motherboard.

[yathis]

flammable lol

 

caps can burst

but I think the psu was just cheap shit, and overvolted something to spark

 

3 minutes ago, Zyndo said:

Did you leave it somewhere it could collect dust and then turn the dials past 10 and leave it there with dust around?

There aren't really a whole lot of inherently flammable components in a computer, and user error is more often than not the cause of such issues, rather than the motherboard.

 

[iRileyx]

Any pics?

 

I came to this thread expecting pics  

[lexidobe]

5 minutes ago, yathis said:

flammable lol

 

caps can burst

but I think the psu was just cheap shit, and overvolted something to spark

 

 

Caps can burst, but I have never seen a cap start on fire.

[faziten]

3 hours ago, TubsAlwaysWins said:

So I was testing out my Old MSI 970 Gaming motherboard and the VRM's caught fire as soon as I plugged it in.

 

So stay away from the 970 Gaming board. This is the second one ive had.

 

 

Carey Holzman recently mentioned him quitting recommending MSI due to two clients of him having their motherboards burst into flames for no apparent reason. MSI denied responsibility, etc, etc. Since it was an anecdotal story he didn't mention model, just said MSI. So the story is not that crazy at all. 

 

Here that yourself:

(minute 20:02) 

Quote

 

 

[TubsAlwaysWins]

4 hours ago, yathis said:

Could be any one of multiple problems.

What was the PSU you were using?

 

 

Something by thermaltake. It was literally just to see if it would post

[TubsAlwaysWins]

4 hours ago, Zyndo said:

Did you leave it somewhere it could collect dust and then turn the dials past 10 and leave it there with dust around?

There aren't really a whole lot of inherently flammable components in a computer, and user error is more often than not the cause of such issues, rather than the motherboard.

Nope. Its been cleaned properly. Literally happened 5 seconds after being turned on

[TubsAlwaysWins]

4 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

what settings did you use? do you have proper cooling? what CPU? 

Didnt use any settings. Literally a fresh cleared CMOS. It was a FX-8320 at stock. The stock cooler was on but it was on for 5 seconds

[TubsAlwaysWins]

4 hours ago, yathis said:

flammable lol

 

caps can burst

but I think the psu was just cheap shit, and overvolted something to spark

 

 

Wasnt a Cap. Something under the VRM heatsink. I think it was a mosfet but im probably wrong on the name

[TubsAlwaysWins]

4 hours ago, RKRiley said:

Any pics?

 

I came to this thread expecting pics  

Sorry to disappoint you. Don't have flames but I have the aftermath

Its those 2 white dots

[Zyndo]

1 minute ago, TubsAlwaysWins said:

Nope. Its been cleaned properly. Literally happened 5 seconds after being turned on

for all we know it was stored improperly and something got on the board, maybe it was stored in a place with high temperature variations or left to bake in the sun... or perhaps some rat/mouse came by and pissed on it between now and when you used it last, or any number of other possible causes.

Its certainly not impossible for things to combust, I mean it happens.... but its an incredibly rare thing to have happen, even more-so for it to solely be the hardware's fault, that's all I'm saying.

[TubsAlwaysWins]

4 hours ago, lexidobe said:

Caps can burst, but I have never seen a cap start on fire.

Wasnt a cap

[TubsAlwaysWins]

4 hours ago, charrst said:

I'm currently using that motherboard.... Like, right now. Still works fine for me.

 

Although some of the adhesive holding the heatsinks onto the VRMs has melted off over time.

Well I wish you good luck. I really liked it when it worked

[TubsAlwaysWins]

Just now, Zyndo said:

for all we know it was stored improperly and something got on the board, maybe it was stored in a place with high temperature variations or left to bake in the sun... or perhaps some rat/mouse came by and pissed on it between now and when you used it last, or any number of other possible causes.

Its certainly not impossible for things to combust, I mean it happens.... but its an incredibly rare thing to have happen, even more-so for it to solely be the hardware's fault, that's all I'm saying.

No It was stored in my office. Never goes above 77C (Dont have AC). It has been cleaned quite a bit. Wasnt a rat/mouse because its been on top of my desk for a few months

[LooneyJuice]

Computer components are generally more resilient than we give them credit for. I've had old 790 chipset boards fire up after 2-3 years in a box in a loft. I won't pretend I know what exactly that is that blew up (voltage regulators? it is next to chokes), but this does kind of allude to a board issue unlelss there was a piece of conductive debris on there you didn't see prior to inspecting the board. 

 

One thing I will say, is that even though I respect MSI's Graphics Card PCBs and engineering, their Motherboards... Not so much. They kind of screwed the pooch with their high-end X370 boards. They'll work, they're not abysmal, they just don't offer near the same quality of VRM as the rest of their X370 counterparts.

[AnonymousGuy]

I had a similar thing happen to a Titan X (maxwell) that was brand new never powered on before.  I took a pic of that:

 

 

58 minutes ago, Zyndo said:

for all we know it was stored improperly and something got on the board, maybe it was stored in a place with high temperature variations or left to bake in the sun... or perhaps some rat/mouse came by and pissed on it between now and when you used it last, or any number of other possible causes.

Its certainly not impossible for things to combust, I mean it happens.... but its an incredibly rare thing to have happen, even more-so for it to solely be the hardware's fault, that's all I'm saying.

 

[Zyndo]

7 minutes ago, AnonymousGuy said:

 Snip

Based on the image, it was probably as a result of shipping or rough handling (looks to be physical damage rather than burn marks).... again, not strictly a hardware issue. Considering the OP mentioned it used to work and now it doesn't, that is unlikely to be the cause here.

Do keep in mind I'm not saying its impossible for these things to happen, merely highly unlikely. I'm just saying don't be so quick to blame others without first troubleshooting your own environment. There are a great many things which can cause issues like these, and very few of those times would be the result of a faulty part from the manufacturer (that is, catastrophic errors such as catching fire.... non operational parts and components are actually relatively/suprisingly common)

[asand1]

6 hours ago, Zyndo said:

Did you leave it somewhere it could collect dust and then turn the dials past 10 and leave it there with dust around?

There aren't really a whole lot of inherently flammable components in a computer, and user error is more often than not the cause of such issues, rather than the motherboard.

 

[Krillingt75961]

You said you cleaned it. What did you clean it with? How did you put the heat sink back on?

[asand1]

Mosfets can and do burn. There are a lot of amps running through a motherboard and flammability is not the issue, arcing and shorts are.