Graphics card set on fire, what to do next?

Benjamham · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:21

As the title says, my GPU (r9 290) suddenly set on fire, I was next to my pc when it happened and turned it off, quickly took off the side panel and fought the flame back. I have no idea what went on, was just doing some web browsing and it went.

here are some pictures

What should I do?, the card is 2 years old but I don't have a receipt and I don't fancy being out of pocket

Zeebedy · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:26

cant help much, expect to say that your fortunate you were there for it when it happened!

RTJ

JTrickle · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:26

Take it out. Check if the warranty was >2 years or that you still have any days left. If not, bin it. [If it was £400+ it will probably be worth pursuing the Euro within 6 years claim option to get a (small) proportion of purchase price back]

Check the mobo for signs of damage, no marked/bulging capacitors. Switch to onboard grafix. Make sure it still boots into Windows and is stable.

Buy a new card.

BluD · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:27

Did you buy it from a shop? They might have record of it, if you have an account with the shop you might have record of the sale so they can print you off another receipt maybe. I would then contact the manufacturer and see what they have to say. What ever that cable is right above where the flame was might need replacing as i imagine the insulation will be shot now, you dont want it shorting in future and causing another fire. I had a 12v sensor cable short out once and burst into flames so it can happen quite easily.

JTrickle · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:32

R9 290 current value is, what, £175? X 4/6 years is >£100, so I would probably contact the supplier to see what they say about the Euro claim on manufacturing defect within 6 year period.

They would ask you to get an independent shop to inspect it before conceding? Call them and see what they say.

Vore · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:38

Woah that is nasty!

JTrickle · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:42

To go a bit further than my 'if the mobo looks OK, just buy a new card' answer, I'd probably start getting a bit anal about 12v rail readings.

Not sure how accurate motherboard own sensor readings are, but I'd start monitoring them.

Aretak · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:46

That's a real strange place for something to blow so violently, given all the power circuitry is up the other end of the card. I notice there's a water block on the CPU. Have you thoroughly checked for any leaks just in case?

Benjamham · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:46

JTrickle said:
Take it out. Check if the warranty was >2 years or that you still have any days left. If not, bin it. [If it was £400+ it will probably be worth pursuing the Euro within 6 years claim option to get a (small) proportion of purchase price back]

Check the mobo for signs of damage, no marked/bulging capacitors. Switch to onboard grafix. Make sure it still boots into Windows and is stable.

Buy a new card.

It is hard-lined into my loop so I have only been able to remove the pcie power cables and dislodged it from the pcie slot. Have contacted msi and see what my options are

Benjamham · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:49

BluD said:
Did you buy it from a shop? They might have record of it, if you have an account with the shop you might have record of the sale so they can print you off another receipt maybe. I would then contact the manufacturer and see what they have to say. What ever that cable is right above where the flame was might need replacing as i imagine the insulation will be shot now, you dont want it shorting in future and causing another fire. I had a 12v sensor cable short out once and burst into flames so it can happen quite easily.

Was a gift, and yes bought from a shop. But unsure of which day, or even month.

I was able to get it out within a few seconds so the surrounding components are fine, just a bit of charring on the motherboard shielding

Benjamham · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:51

JTrickle said:
R9 290 current value is, what, £175? X 4/6 years is >£100, so I would probably contact the supplier to see what they say about the Euro claim on manufacturing defect within 6 year period.

They would ask you to get an independent shop to inspect it before conceding? Call them and see what they say.

Sounds like a shed load of hassle, If it is going to take countless hours then I think it may be better to just cut my losses

Benjamham · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:54

Aretak said:
That's a real strange place for something to blow so violently, given all the power circuitry is up the other end of the card. I notice there's a water block on the CPU. Have you thoroughly checked for any leaks just in case?

I've checked for leaks and it is all clear, the only possibility is over-spray from filling my res (used pipette/squeezy bottle) but I allowed the pc to run overnight (no leaks) and then has been running all day today (no leaks)

JTrickle · 2 Aug 2016 at 22:55

They may not ask you to get it inspected. Definitely worth a call at least.

Benjamham · 2 Aug 2016 at 23:00

Okay, well I've dropped their support team a message, and will mention the euro 6 year thing (was unaware of this beforehand)

bru · 2 Aug 2016 at 23:01

Don't most MSi cards have a 3 year warranty on them, so it should still be in warranty till November at least.

Seanspeed · 2 Aug 2016 at 23:05

That'll buff out.

Benjamham · 2 Aug 2016 at 23:08

bru said:
Don't most MSi cards have a 3 year warranty on them, so it should still be in warranty till November at least.

Well I hope so, are you saying till at least till November due to that being the release date?

Benjamham · 2 Aug 2016 at 23:09

Seanspeed said:
That'll buff out.

Please tell me this isn't a joke

philo-sofa · 2 Aug 2016 at 23:10

Well it's not really acceptable for your equipment to catch on fire. It'd be a slog to actually take through a tribunal (or whatever the UK equivalent is) but you're in the right, so a strongly worded email might result in a replacement if you can get a receipt.

Also: Jesus man, that's bad luck, my sympathies.

Perfect_Chaos · 2 Aug 2016 at 23:25

That's terrible, really lucky you were home. That could turn out to be a serious fire hazard.

Wonder if it was the watercooling that caused it, bet you will want to leave your PC off every time you leave the house now.

Competitor rules

Graphics card set on fire, what to do next?

Vore

Vore