[SOLVED] B350M Gaming Pro RAM slots damaged by improper voltage

[Gang Sabre]

B350M Gaming Pro Motherboard
New 500W Power Supply
NZXT Phantom 430 case
4GB DDR4 RAM Corsair Vengeance
New HDD and New SSD
Ryzen 5 1600 CPU with Wraith Stealth stock cooler
RX480 8GB Red Devil Graphics Card

I hooked up my fans wrong and smoke was coming out of one of the 200mm top case fans. These RGB fans obviously had way too much voltage. Long story short, my PSU may have fried my RAM slots, either that or the two sticks I have in my system are fried. I re-seated them at least 5 times and the red debug RAM light stays on. Right now I am still trying to wait it out, the red light means the component does not work or that the board is detecting the new part. The GPU has been tested in another system as working. The 8GB stick I originally had may or may not be working as I suspect the 2400 to 3333 overclocking I did was extremely unstable. When I added my 4GB stick, my PC would not show display supposedly due to compatibility issues. So my question is, did I fry my motherboard or my RAM sticks? I don't have another PC equipped with DDR4, and cannot test the RAM. I also replaced the PSU with one that has worked in the same build I tested the RX480 in at the same time.

 

[Gang Sabre]

Cleaning the RAM slots right now, if anyone has had a relatively same issue, please say so.

 

[Gedikpasha]

Well you need to test your components to make sure what part is damaged. Why did you focus on your RAM? Maybe CPU or Cpu slot is damaged. You can visit the PC services to test your components. You may buy a new mainboard.

 

[Gang Sabre]

Well you need to test your components to make sure what part is damaged. Why did you focus on your RAM? Maybe CPU or Cpu slot is damaged. You can visit the PC services to test your components. You may buy a new mainboard.

The B350M has debug lights on it, GPU and RAM are both glowing red. I suspected the RAM wasn't recognized , which sounds very strange. to a rookie. Thinking back, my PC wouldn't start simply because I added a 4GB RAM stick. I added up my voltage from every single component in my PC, I am way over 500W.

 

[Calvin7]

RGB fans obviously had way too much voltage

Connecting the fans to the wrong header can cause a short circuit which can damage the motherboard. A short circuit is a problem in an electrical circuit where two or more wires that are not supposed to come in contact with each other touch. A short circuit can result in a very high current flowing through the circuit. This high current can destroy components, and start a fire.

Your motherboard likely needs replaced. Customer induced damages are not covered by warranty.

 

[Gang Sabre]

I was using a fan hub that had only one small wire connected to my PSU, overvoltage destroying my motherboard sounds a bit impossible. The fan hub is used so maybe contacting NZXT about how dangerous it is to my components might be off of the table. There should have been a warning stating the dangers of setting up the fans incorrectly, especially if it was so dangerous that it cooked the motherboard. Still looking for an EVGA 800W power supply.

 

[TJ Hooker]

What exact PSU make/model do you have? What is this "EVGA 800W" you're referring to?

Edit: It sounds like you're combining two different RAM sticks (4 and 8 GB). RAM not sold as a package is not guaranteed to work together. Install only one stick and clear the CMOS. Try the stick by itself in each slot, and if that doesn't work try the other stick by itself in each slot.

 

[Gang Sabre]

The fans themselves are 30W and the Gpu is 8GB so it's very power hungry maybe even notoriously so. I tried a 600W also, no luck. TJ, the EVGA was either a 750 or an 800 on amazon. I refuse to believe that 2 different power connectors on my PSU fried my B350M. The red lights might be red because there is not enough power and the board cannot juice it enough for the debug light to respond positive.

 

[TJ Hooker]

What fans did you find that are 30W??

When referring to PSUs, please state the exact model, not just brand and wattage.

Edit: Not sure if you saw the edit in my above post about RAM debugging.

 

[Gang Sabre]

They came with my NZXT Phantom 530 case. 3x200mm, 1x180mm, 2x 140mm all connected to my fan hub. The fans also have red RGB lights.

Evga 750 N1 Series, 750W 100-N1-0750-L1

Edit: I tried one stick at a time alternating slots, the PC does turn on but I receive no signal.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Your case specs says it includes a 30W fan controller, which presumably means the controller can power up to 30W worth of fans. Not that the fans themselves necessarily draw 30W.

That's a mediocre PSU, I wouldn't get it. A good 550W is plenty for your build.

Edit: e.g. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Fd...onze-certified-atx-power-supply-cp-9020121-na

 

[Gang Sabre]

Your case specs says it includes a 30W fan controller, which presumably means the controller can power up to 30W worth of fans. Not that the fans themselves necessarily draw 30W.

That's a mediocre PSU, I wouldn't get it. A good 550W is plenty for your build.

I did state above that I also tried a 600W power supply with no luck either. My CPU alone consumes 200W in turbo 3.8Ghz, so that doesn't leave much for the other power hungry component, the Gpu.

 

[TJ Hooker]

My CPU alone consumes 200W in turbo 3.8Ghz

I really doubt it. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-5-1600x-cpu-review,5014-9.html

Did you try the debugging steps I mentioned earlier?

I don't understand where that 750W PSU fits in. You say you have a 500W, and you've also tried a 600W. So where did this 750W come from and what are you using it for?

 

[Gang Sabre]

I tried those steps, yes. But i also used a calculator as shown here; https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

Some of the parts in the calc are not the same, for example my GPU has 8GB.

As for the 750W, it hasn't arrived yet. We are looking at a case of under-voltage here. I'm probably wrong about the 1600 consuming 200W as it said 95 on amd's website.

 

[TJ Hooker]

We are looking at a case of under-voltage here.

What evidence do you have of this?

 

[Gang Sabre]

What evidence do you have of this?

Take a look at the calculator I shared. It includes monitors, hardware, even USB plugs. It wil say 470W but the Gpu wasn't 4GB and actually 8GB.