So my graphics card caught fire...

Kryja

Kryja

Kryja

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12 Sep 2009
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Location
Sunny Bournemouth
I decided to reapply the TIM on my CPU yesterday and do a bit of cable management to try to cut my temps (was hitting 50c while folding). So pulled my pc to bits. A dollop of paste and a few cable ties later I was back in business.

Left it running for an hour or two. No problems. Nipped out to the shops quickly but when I came back my pc was off. Looked about and couldn't see any reason. Switched it back on and this happened.









Needless to say my heart skipped a beat. Just glad it didn't happen while I was out.

I was hoping to buy a whole new set up in the comming months and give my old one to my parents to replace their aging Intel Celeron. Which leads me on to my question.

I assume that both my GPU and motherboard are dead beyond repair now so am looking for a replacement. Browsing the shop I came across this;

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-357-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1482

I did look at cheaper boards but they did not have intergrated graphics. I'm looking at these as the main thing it will be used for is browsing the internet and I think the most GPU intensive app will be when my dad plays sudoku =P

The spec (what's left) is

Athlon 64 x2 (6600 I think)
500w PSU
2 gig of Kingston 667 DDR2

Will that board be okay?

Any suggestions / criticisms appreciated ^^

~K
 
Just a bit hehe.

My room stank of melted plastic = /

Possible reasons; dust, dodgy board / PSU or a new Nvidia marketing technique?
 
Almost impossible to give a sensible conclusion based on a couple of pictures, but I'd doubt it was a power surge due to the fact that you'd expect something odd around the actual power connectors in that case. Dust/short could be prime candidates given the fact that you had just disturbed everything inside your case.
 
Yeah I thought that'd be the case. Just thought it was odd that it ran for a few hours before without any problems. That and it's not the first time it's been taken to bits. Thanks for your input both of you.
 
hard luck, it happens


erm AMD X2 6400+ is AM2 socket or something like that can't remember what my old rig is

oh yeah AM2 >_>

not sure if that would run on a AM2+ socket :(
 
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from the tiny thumbs, it looks like a 12v short.

the board will still work, if you made sure there is no short inside the slot, but that pcie slot and card should both be regarded as totally gone.

the X2 6400+ (faster than any of the FX's aside from the dual FX74 which is quad core and not AM2) is the fastest AM2 cpu. all AM2 cpu's work in AM2+ boards. all AM3 cpu's should work in AM2+ boards with suitable bios + power support. your existing cpu + ram should be ok in new board..

i would check out your psu carefully however and try and find the cause of the burnout.
its likely a scrap of metal, a miss-seating, loose screw or liquid spill thats caused it (or some stray arctic silver/similar)
 
Amonlym said:
from the tiny thumbs, it looks like a 12v short.

the board will still work, if you made sure there is no short inside the slot, but that pcie slot and card should both be regarded as totally gone.

the X2 6400+ (faster than any of the FX's aside from the dual FX74 which is quad core and not AM2) is the fastest AM2 cpu. all AM2 cpu's work in AM2+ boards. all AM3 cpu's should work in AM2+ boards with suitable bios + power support. your existing cpu + ram should be ok in new board..

i would check out your psu carefully however and try and find the cause of the burnout.
its likely a scrap of metal, a miss-seating, loose screw or liquid spill thats caused it (or some stray arctic silver/similar)
Click to expand...


thank you I was thinking before the X2, I always throught the FX to be the, well like the extremes are to intel pretty much
 
Re-up some proper pictures can't see anything, would a cable-tie been left on top of your graphics card that could have melted with heat?
 
Sounds like you forgot to install a firewall... lol.


Definitely bad luck >.< But I agree with the others that the board itself should be ok, as long as there isn't a short inside the slot. From the small thumbs, it looks like it shorted on the card, so it might still work...

Does that board have onboard video? got an old PCI graphics card you can try?
 
Sorry for late reply. End of the month so long reporting days at work =/

Misread the early replys that the new board was okay not my old one >.< And in my haste I bought the new board. Seems to be working okay but after reading whats been said have I needlessly blown cash to solve the problem?

About the pics - I thought I had uploaded thumbnails for larger images. Like so;







ETNiES said:
Re-up some proper pictures can't see anything, would a cable-tie been left on top of your graphics card that could have melted with heat?
Click to expand...

I didn't see any ties on it when I gave it the once over, nor any remnants after the event.


SMAndy said:
...I agree with the others that the board itself should be ok, as long as there isn't a short inside the slot...

Does that board have onboard video? got an old PCI graphics card you can try?
Click to expand...

I don't have a PCI graphics card to test it unfortunatly and the board doesn't have onboard video.


So... Judging the full size pics should my old board still be perfectly fine? (Burnt slot aside).

~K
 
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If your old board has a second pci-e x16 slot then its a possability,

Not a chance i would want to take though.

I certainly wouldnt try any other graphics cards in that slot.
 
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