[SOLVED] GPU is Smoking

Mar 7, 2021
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So a couple of months ago my PC started to crash at the start of any video game(specifically cyberpunk) after about a year of working fine. Today, I decided to uninstall the drivers and load the original drivers on the cd that came with the box. To my surprise, it worked and Cyberpunk started running like it usually did. However, about a minute after starting it my PC completely shut down and smoke was coming from the case. It seems like the cpu shorted since the only thing that works now are the fans. I know its a broad question but does anyone have any insight on if the cpu is the problem or the graphics card? My original thought was that the graphics card was the culprit but in this case, it seems like it was the cpu(the heatsink over it smells like burnt wire). I would just replace both if I had that kind of cash just lying around. Thanks.

PC parts:
- AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
-EVGA 750W power supply
-ASrock x570 phantom gaming otherboard
-RTX 2080 Super gpu
 
Solution
I just found that the capacitor next to the SATA connector is fried, my fan was connected to the prongs next to it. My heatsink was in contact with the cpu so thats not likely the problem. So two questions,

  1. Does this mean that i probably need to replace my gpu and cpu as well as the motherboard?
  2. My psu is 750W which should be enough for my system but it definitely seems like its a psu problem from what ive been discovering. Could the problem possibly be coming from a bad outlet?
If there was a capacitor that exploded on the motherboard I would blame the motherboard before the PSU. I would either get a new motherboard and test all other components with it or go to a local PC shop to test components other than the...

akimbo.curly

Reputable
Jan 14, 2018
6
2
4,515
Could you press down (gently) onto your heatsink and see if there is any give? Sometimes if the CPU heatsink was not making perfect contact to begin with, it can droop down over time leaving the CPU to overheat.

Normally though if there's smoke I'd say it was neither CPU nor GPU. GPUs have well designed thermal solutions that wouldn't get overwhelmed so quickly. CPU would shut off before anything burnt provided there was adequate contact with a heatsink. I'd have a look for melted wires, bad capacitors on mobo and also at that power supply.
 
Mar 7, 2021
2
0
10
Could you press down (gently) onto your heatsink and see if there is any give? Sometimes if the CPU heatsink was not making perfect contact to begin with, it can droop down over time leaving the CPU to overheat.

Normally though if there's smoke I'd say it was neither CPU nor GPU. GPUs have well designed thermal solutions that wouldn't get overwhelmed so quickly. CPU would shut off before anything burnt provided there was adequate contact with a heatsink. I'd have a look for melted wires, bad capacitors on mobo and also at that power supply.
I just found that the capacitor next to the SATA connector is fried, my fan was connected to the prongs next to it. My heatsink was in contact with the cpu so thats not likely the problem. So two questions,

  1. Does this mean that i probably need to replace my gpu and cpu as well as the motherboard?
  2. My psu is 750W which should be enough for my system but it definitely seems like its a psu problem from what ive been discovering. Could the problem possibly be coming from a bad outlet?
 
I just found that the capacitor next to the SATA connector is fried, my fan was connected to the prongs next to it. My heatsink was in contact with the cpu so thats not likely the problem. So two questions,

  1. Does this mean that i probably need to replace my gpu and cpu as well as the motherboard?
  2. My psu is 750W which should be enough for my system but it definitely seems like its a psu problem from what ive been discovering. Could the problem possibly be coming from a bad outlet?
If there was a capacitor that exploded on the motherboard I would blame the motherboard before the PSU. I would either get a new motherboard and test all other components with it or go to a local PC shop to test components other than the motherboard.
 
Solution

akimbo.curly

Reputable
Jan 14, 2018
6
2
4,515
If there was a capacitor that exploded on the motherboard I would blame the motherboard before the PSU. I would either get a new motherboard and test all other components with it or go to a local PC shop to test components other than the motherboard.

This could be a risky approach because if it was the PSU that caused the capacitor to bust, you might find that you've bricked another motherboard. I would be quite optimistic that the surge protection on the motherboard saved the GPU and possibly the CPU as well.

RMA if in warranty, too.
 
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This could be a risky approach because if it was the PSU that caused the capacitor to bust, you might find that you've bricked another motherboard. I would be quite optimistic that the surge protection on the motherboard saved the GPU and possibly the CPU as well.

RMA if in warranty, too.
It is many times more likely that the motherboard had a bad cap than the PSU damaging only that one cap on the motherboard. If it was the PSU that went boom you best believe that if it blew up a cap it probably took more than just the motherboard with it.