First build started smoking on startup. Help?

[whiten0iz]

Hi there. I hope you'll go easy on me, this is my first time building a PC and I'm not all that technologically inclined.

I just started up my new build for the first time after many months of gathering parts on a shoestring budget. Hooked it all up, pressed the power button, and absolutely nothing happened. No beeping, no LEDS (which makes me think I futzed up the F-panel connections somehow) and no signs of life. But a few minutes later, the whole thing starts smoking from both the back and the front. Me in my infinite wisdom, I didn't have the case open, so I have no idea where the smoke was coming from. There is a bit of melted plastic on the side of the motherboard, but not on or near any ports or connectors, but no other evidence.

There WAS a loose screw hanging out beneath the motherboard, could that have been the culprit? Or is a faulty PSU more likely? It could easily have been the f-panel, too, because for whatever reason the connectors that came with the old case I'm using aren't colour-coded, and they're quite a bit bigger than most of what I've seen online.

My specs are as follows:

Intel i5-6400 processor
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
Gigabyte GA-H110M-A
EVGA 430 W1 PSU

and 8gb of whatever RAM came with my last computer, the case as well. Kind of ran out of money at that point.

I know I'm not making a great case for myself here, and provided that the CPU is intact I'm probably just going to hope to get the PSU and mobo replaced and leave all the installation to an expert next time, but I'd really like to know where I went wrong.

 

[Zerk2012]

and 8gb of whatever RAM came with my last computer,

You had DDR4 memory in your last PC?

 

[whiten0iz]

and 8gb of whatever RAM came with my last computer,

You had DDR4 memory in your last PC?

...Nope. I thought I did, but it turns out it's DDR3. I thought all that mattered was the speed, didn't know there was a difference between DDR3 and 4. Has this seriously been my entire problem? I feel like such a doofus right now.

 

[captaincharisma]

yea it sounds like you tried forcing DDR3 sticks in a motherboard that doesn't support it

 

[captaincharisma]

and 8gb of whatever RAM came with my last computer,

You had DDR4 memory in your last PC?

...Nope. I thought I did, but it turns out it's DDR3. I thought all that mattered was the speed, didn't know there was a difference between DDR3 and 4. Has this seriously been my entire problem? I feel like such a doofus right now.

i understand it is your first time building a computer but did you not read the specs for the motherboard you purchased and just blindly bought whatever motherboard was the cheapest?

 

[Supahos]

Now the question did you break the ram, or the motherboard.

 

[whiten0iz]

and 8gb of whatever RAM came with my last computer,

You had DDR4 memory in your last PC?

...Nope. I thought I did, but it turns out it's DDR3. I thought all that mattered was the speed, didn't know there was a difference between DDR3 and 4. Has this seriously been my entire problem? I feel like such a doofus right now.

i understand it is your first time building a computer but did you not read the specs for the motherboard you purchased and just blindly bought whatever motherboard was the cheapest?

I actually bought a build recommended online, but I couldn't afford the RAM recommended. I had no idea the consequences of using the wrong kind would be so dramatic. I know it was a spectacularly stupid move on my part, I can't believe the RAM hadn't even occurred to me as the source of the issue.

 

[TheWhiteZombie]

Is it definitely a Gigabyte GA-H110M-A model you have? Some GA-H110M models support DDR3 memory such as the GA-H110M-H.

From having a look at this image https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fBF8eIbHxyk/maxresdefault.jpg the physical socket itself wouldn't have been a match and you would really have had to put some force into it to get the module in.

I would take your RAM chip out and see if it is broken where the key notch is.


Trying to find out where the fault lies is really trial and error, replacing a part at a time. The fact that there appears to be a bit of melted plastic on the motherboard doesn't sound too promising. I had a motherboard burn on me 10+ years ago, could see a small black mark on the board itself, wasnt near any chips or resistors, etc but the thing was a goner anyway and had to replace it.