Question Cooler Master PSU Smoked: Worried About Possible Damage to Components

[sarthak.saswat.das]

Bought a used Cooler Master MWE 650 V2 (still under warranty until December 2025) along with a used ASUS RTX 2060 OC Edition. It was a solid deal, and I received the package yesterday. Initially, I noticed some weird behavior, like random blank screens a couple of times, but otherwise, the system seemed fine, gamed for a few hours too. I suspected the 2060 might be the issue at first.

Today, though, things got worse—almost immediately after loading a game, the screen went blank and this happened three times in a row. I decided to test with a different GPU, and everything seemed to work as normal, even with the Cooler Master PSU. Thinking the 2060 might have been the issue, I swapped it back in, but this time the system wouldn't boot at all. The fans spun briefly before stopping, and after three or four failed boot attempts, smoke started coming out of the PSU!

I immediately unplugged everything from the wall. After that, I tested the rest of the system with my Corsair PSU, and thankfully everything seems to be working fine. But I’m worried the smoked PSU might have caused some hidden damage to my components.

Is there any way I can confirm that no collateral damage was done by the failing PSU? I want to make sure there aren't any underlying issues that might not be immediately noticeable.

Full System Specs:-
i5 12400f
Msi h610 Prime E
Corsair Vengeance LPX 8x2 3000Mhz
ASUS RTX 2060 Dual OC
CoolerMaster MWE 650 V2

 

[Ralston18]

If there is hidden collateral damage you will probably not know about it until something happens.

You may or may not get some warning.....

Pay careful attention to any future system errors, warnings, or informational events.

Ensure that all important data is backed up at least 2 x to locations away from the host computer in question.

Verify that the backups are recoverable and readable.

Power down, unplug, and open the case every few days for awhile.

Clean out dust and debris.

Use a bright flashlight to look for signs of damage: melting, browning/blackening, swollen component (capacitors), signs of moisture, cracks, overheating, etc..

Hopefully all will be well and at some point you will feel comfortable that that is indeed the case.

Just do, as always should be being done, regular backups.

The backup you miss will be the one just before you see more smoke.... Mr. Murphy does things like that.

 

[Nigel Spike]

Bought a used Cooler Master MWE 650 V2 (still under warranty until December 2025)

I assume you have verified this with Cooler Master, as this does not comply with the warranty policy specified on their web page.

 

[sarthak.saswat.das]

I assume you have verified this with Cooler Master, as this does not comply with the warranty policy specified on their web page.

I mean it does mention it needs to go through the retailer for RMA. I will ship it to the retailer in that case.