Smoke From CPU

Rowan88

Rowan88

Rowan88

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Glasgow
Help!

My friend said his computer unexpectedly powered off when he was watching netflix. He said it would not turn back on. I asked him to try removing and checking his power cables. He then attempted to power it and said there was a puff of smoke coming from between where the CPU Cooler (Rajintek Ereboss) and GPU (ATI R280).

Do you have any recommendations on what could be causing this and what to check/fix?

Thanks
 
It could have been a capacitor on the motherboard. However I thought todays capacitors were more reliable. So I suppose it depends on the motherboard they has.

He needs take the side/lid off and expect it (looking for burn marks).
 
He took out the GPU and he said there is damage on that, looks to be the problem.





1) What causes this
2) Can it be repaired
3) What is the warranty you can send this back under?

It can only be either the PSU (Superflower PSU) or GPU (ATI R9 280X DD) that has caused this.. one of them should be covered by a warranty.
 
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Sorry for the double post but my friend is freaking out over this as he spent £900+ on this just over a year ago...

If he takes out the GPU should be test the power again to make sure its ok?

Also, if its the GPU I take it we just RMA it.. if its the PSU that has caused it what happens with the blown GPU... surely thats Superflowers fault?
 
Take out the GPU and try it on the igpu. I doubt it would be he psu as superflower have a great reputation for reliable power supplies.

GPU can be RMA'd if still under warranty. Contact the seller to find out what to do.
 
Ok he took out the GPU and tried powering it and it powered fine.

I bought all the parts from here... So I take it Overclockers can arrange the RMA?

EDIT: I posted it in the customer support thread..


What could have caused this then if not the PSU? Is it just faulty and XFX won't harass me to find out what "i" did wrong?
 
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I severely doubt anyone did anything wrong. And I have never heard of a company harassing their customers during an RMA.

Ocuk have a deal with xfx that should fast track the RMA process
 
Great,

I will send the XFX away to be repaired/replaced.

He is running the PC just now on onboard graphics... Is there anyway to test the PSU to make sure it isnt something there that caused it so it doesnt happen again?
 
How long do OCUK usually take to reply in the Customer section for RMAs?

Haven't heard anything all day so wondering if I need to phone?
 
Haha sorry , my friend is very impatient...

They have sent me an email to sort it.

Is there anything I can do to test his PSU out to make sure it is working correctly... and that the PCIE 6pin cables are working fine?
 
Rowan88 said:
Haha sorry , my friend is very impatient...

They have sent me an email to sort it.

Is there anything I can do to test his PSU out to make sure it is working correctly... and that the PCIE 6pin cables are working fine?
Click to expand...

Not that i know of but possibly. What PSU is it? The only way you could test it is in a different system. But if the rest of the system powers on without the GPU then you can pretty much determine that it was the GPU at fault. Those AMD cards run really very hot.
 
You can do a basic test with a paperclip to make sure it works.

To test it properly, you'd need a voltmeter/multimeter and to know what you're doing.

The simplest way of course is to plug it into spare parts or another system and see if it works.

Whatever you do, please be careful.
 
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Thanks, well he has it plugged in still into his PC (just with the GPU removed) and using onboard graphics and all seems fine... Must have just been the fan stopped working on the card and then its burnt out or something..

I have the RMA set up.. hopefully it will not take too long.
 
Hopefully the XFX RMA procedure is better than it used to be, it's the reason I stopped using their products personally and for my business. They sent a faulty GPU back 3 times :/. I have faith in OCUK though.
 
They told me it could take up to 28 days.. hope its not that long for him, hes mainly playing League of Legends so onboard graphics should do him for now.
 
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