caught fire.- ASUS Crosshair V formula-Z

[enjoiskaterguy]

To start I just wanna stress how hit and miss these boards can be. I have always thought of ASUS of having high standards (other than their RMA call centers negligence and lack of quality reps who understand tech problems) and great quality products. I have now had 3 of these boards have issues. (just check my previous posts).


So now to the story of the motherboard that caught fire on its PCB....


So under a stress test and even down clocking my FX8350 voltage on a previosly stable 4.7Ghz overclock to get better temps my motherboard PCB went up in flames after only 3 minutes in prime95 with core temps reaching only 60? and the socket only 70?. I was about to turn off prime95 even but my computer shut down to prevent damage but then immediately turned right back on and my motherboard PCB near the VRM mosfets/chockes went up in flames. Other parts including CPU, RAM look fine.

I am not sure what might have caused this. I did tweak some power management settings in BIOS to prevent voltage droop and adjusted the HT link speed to its safe max - 2600mhz. My CPU voltage was lowered from 1.46 to 1.45v. Then after testing it, the smell came on and then all he'll broke loose on the motherboard PCB....and I thought PCBs were coated with fire-retardants. Apparently not this one.

Note: CPU and NB were cooled by EK waterblocks and had been for some time.

Note 2: hadn't stressed tested system after getting replacement NZXT Hale 90 ver.2 PSU 1200watts (gold rated)...it had never given me problems before so I'm not sure this could be the culprit.

Note 3: this is the 3rd ASUS CROSSHAIR V formula- Z motherboard I have recieved from ASUS...all having previously had faulty DIMMs or other problems.

I have contacted both AMD and ASUS for RMA and advice but I thought I'd let the hardware communities such as yourselves be aware of stuff like this.

this thread is also being discussed on the ASUS ROG forums

 

[Woody1999]

NZXT Hale series are in tier 3 of the PSU Tier List. Not recommended for high end gaming systems, especially overclocked AMD ones! It could have supplied some dodgy voltages to the VRMs and caused a lot more heat to be produced.

Talking of PC parts setting fire, I had a reference Radeon HD 6990 which set itself on fire after the fan stopped working. I was kinda surprised when smoke started pouring out the back of my case but the PC was still working!

Woody

 

[Calvin7]

Water cooling blocks are no substitute for air cooling. Fancy heatsinks are of little use if no air is flowing thru them.

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

NZXT Hale series are in tier 3 of the PSU Tier List. Not recommended for high end gaming systems, especially overclocked AMD ones! It could have supplied some dodgy voltages to the VRMs and caused a lot more heat to be produced.

Talking of PC parts setting fire, I had a reference Radeon HD 6990 which set itself on fire after the fan stopped working. I was kinda surprised when smoke started pouring out the back of my case but the PC was still working!

Woody

well the NZXT Hale90 ver.2 it's rated for 90% efficiency. I did have one that ws faulty though and it's ratings on newegg, etc are about a 3/5 all around. A lot of people have reported some DOA parts and have had multiple problems with them.

...come to think of it...when i did get my new NZXT Hale 90 ver.2 it was the only new hardware i had put in my computer before doing any prime95 testing.

Any suggestions as how to test the PSU or should I send it back to NZXT for further testing?

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

Water cooling blocks are no substitute for air cooling. Fancy heatsinks are of little use if no air is flowing thru them.

I have read that watercooling can push a few degrees lower temps compared to huge heatsinks....plus they are bulky and more difficult to monitor your PC should you need to look at your MB parts.

 

[Woody1999]

NZXT Hale series are in tier 3 of the PSU Tier List. Not recommended for high end gaming systems, especially overclocked AMD ones! It could have supplied some dodgy voltages to the VRMs and caused a lot more heat to be produced.

Talking of PC parts setting fire, I had a reference Radeon HD 6990 which set itself on fire after the fan stopped working. I was kinda surprised when smoke started pouring out the back of my case but the PC was still working!

Woody

well the NZXT Hale90 ver.2 it's rated for 90% efficiency. I did have one that ws faulty though and it's ratings on newegg, etc are about a 3/5 all around. A lot of people have reported some DOA parts and have had multiple problems with them.

...come to think of it...when i did get my new NZXT Hale 90 ver.2 it was the only new hardware i had put in my computer before doing any prime95 testing.

Any suggestions as how to test the PSU or should I send it back to NZXT for further testing?

Efficiency is no sign of good quality power supplies. Look at Corsair's CS line, they're awful power supplies. Was there any chance that water wasn't flowing very well through your blocks? It seems way too extreme to water cool your motherboard, maybe it's just too much.

Woody

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

Efficiency is no sign of good quality power supplies. Look at Corsair's CS line, they're awful power supplies. Was there any chance that water wasn't flowing very well through your blocks? It seems way too extreme to water cool your motherboard, maybe it's just too much.

Woody

I was thinking that maybe it was a flow issue but my cpu temps are fine. My reservoir shows nice flow and I have never had an issue with my waterblocks. recall that the burn marks didn't occur directly on any choke/mosfet or even the Northbridge. (reference embedded photos) The occurred on the PCB which is quite odd.

If it is indeed my PSU then I doubt the company will admit that it was their product that caused this without proof. They will do anything and everything to not have to reimburse me for a damaged motherboard.

I need to find a way that my PSU is unstable or faulty. As of now all indicators point to a faulty motherboard until I can prove otherwise.

any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[giantbucket]

post pics here. NOBODY wants to register to some other site JUST to see attached pics. those types of sites/forums are crap for that. post/embed your pics here for us to be able to see.

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

post pics here. NOBODY wants to register to some other site JUST to see attached pics. those types of sites/forums are crap for that. post/embed your pics here for us to be able to see.

pics work on my desktop. if you are using a smartphone or tablet, the images may not show. I also uploaded the images here

 

[giantbucket]

I dislike having to repeat myself: upload the pics directly here. they do not show up on the ASUS ROG forum unless we register there. they might show up on your desktop since they're cached and you're likely logged into your ROG forum account. for anyone else who is only registered here, no pics are visible. I'm not using a tablet or phone - I'm using a normal laptop.

again, for us who DON'T have a ROG forum account, we CANNOT view the pics. it's an idiotic forum rule that (over there) we can read text but not see pics.

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

One..don't reply to threads if you don't like repeating yourself. Your built up anger issues are not welcome....so don't project them on others.

Two. I will do my part to upload the images.

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

images uploaded - bump for further assistance by anyone who would like to.

 

[giantbucket]

hang on - so are we seeing that it's the EDGE of the mobo that's gotten burned? looks like it's right along the edge and almost causing it to split apart. is that right?

how much space do you have between the edge of the mobo and your chassis in that location? I mean, there shouldn't be any electrical traces in the mobo that are right ON the edge (there's usually a keepout for safety and to allow cutting of the actual board when it's made), but maybe the board(s) are getting scraped when being installed?

EDIT

what power supply were you using when this happened? was it the Hale90 or a different brand/model?

it looks like the "fire" is happening between the +12V pins on the 8pin and 4pin power connectors, as if there's an imbalance between the two (either from the psu under load or the cpu/vrm) causing high current to flow from one to the other, like an onboard arc welder.

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

My PSU used is the HALE 90 v.2 1200w. They have half assed reviews but I got it because it's white and it matches my case. This was my second one (first was faulty but could hold a 4.7ghz overclock). It was the first time I did do a load test using prome95 since I got the replacement PSU.

Should I send the PSU back for load testing to see if it's busted? I already am in the process of RMA-ing the motherboard. This would be my 4th replacement motherboard should that be the cause of the fire. And yes I promise you, it did go up in flames.... I'll upload an image of the burn marks on the chassis.

The MB didnt touch the chassis itself. It was ele aged off using the standard chassis brass screw housing screws that screw into the various holes on the case. The placement of the board was tight near a fan (but that is plastic so it wouldn't cause electrical interference I don't think.

Note: CPU seems undamaged.

Update:

Burn marks are in the center near the fan.

 

[giantbucket]

since that HALE90 is a single rail supply, it's less likely to be a balance issue. if it was a 2-4 rail, then that would be more possible especially if the two CPU connectors are coming from separate rails - but then again are multirail supplies really using separate regulators for each rail? in a single rail supply like the HALE90, it's irrelevant.

i'd be curious to know what ASUS says is under those scorch marks. like, is there a trace running 12V between the connectors? was the trace too thin and it acted like a fuse? would it be safer to simply NOT use the 4pin connector and only use the 8pin? or are the 4pin and 8pin feeding separate VRMs that both need to be running? questions that ASUS could/should have some answers to.

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

I was thinking the same. When I call ASUS I do indeed intend to ask them those questions. I too am quite perplexed about this small area in between the 8 and 4pin. I do notice a small ribbon of Cooper channels but mostly it's just part of the plastic circuit board that was aflame.

I have read that both the 8 and 4pin are reccommeded for overclocking but I haven't gotten an official answer from ASUS.

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

talked to ASUS...issue getting escalated. I asked about the need for both the 8-pin and 4-pin and to my guess i was right - the 8-pin is necessary to supply the cpu/nb its 12v stream of power and the additional 4-pin is there for backup should someone overclock or use 2+ graphics cards. Jesse over at ASUS was awesome and very helpful. He, along with AMD who I also talked to today, said that its either the power supply or the motherboard given that their is no damage on the cpu.

...we will see what ASUS says. hopefully i can send in my board and get it advanced RMA'd.