Gpu popped and fried, comp still works on integrated

Mar 30, 2018
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Tldr; title says it all, but to paraphrase, my card blew during an intense game of WoWS, comp still runs on integrated graphics, no capacitors appear to be blown on the mobo, in the psu, or gpu, but gpu smells fried, wondering what if the gpu commited suicide or if i should suspect the psu as the culprit, and if so, could the pcie slot be bad? specifics below

I have a i3-6100, gtx 960 2gb, on asrock h110 itx board, 2x4gb patriot Ram, and a 430w evga 80+

I got the computer for a good deal a while back(200$), cleaned it up, ran furmark to stress, gpu ran a little hot(74c-80c under load after 20 minutes), opened it up, cleaned it up, applied new thermal paste etc, plopped it back in temps are now 65-70 under load after 20 minutes as well as hours of gaming of varying demands. I play 2011 skyrim, fo4, cod blackops and IW, and World of Warships.
Comp was runnin strong for months so i quit monitoring her as frequent and Im playing WoWS and i get torpedoed, and as my ship blows up, i hear something like muffled bubble wrap popping on the gpu side of my comp. Everything on the screen glitched out, i could smell burning electronics smell, i shut down the comp, restarted it, it sounded like it was going through the boot sequence but there was no display. So i unplugged the displayport cable and put it into the mobo i/o and i got display on the login screen(it indeed booted through).
So i again turn it off, take out the gpu and as i go to sniff it, it def seemed like the aroma was very strong, in fact smelling it now, it still smells like that.
But nothing seemed odd, so i put it back in and tried starting it, and the fans werent spinning(i have no idea if they did on the previous restart, at crash they went full throttle). Tried plugging back into the mobo and this time it had not booted through... Turned it off pulled the gpu, restarted and the comp is running fine. Have been using it since. Videos, WoWS(i know, gotta watch out for those torpedos), everything seems fine.
I ordered a new gpu(rx560) and i decided to order a new PSU just in case, but would really like to be alright with just the new gpu...
I dont know if my psu should be considered culprit or not, its def enough to handle the build, and more so with the rx560 as it takes less power. Im also wondering if the pcie could be dead.
I did take apart the heatsink off and saw no signs of burning, or short circuit. The capacitors do not appear to be bulging, definitely was not leaking anything... But it still smells like burnt electronics... I reapplied paste but dont know if i care to try it.
The psu appears slightly dusty but did not notice any bulging or leaks, and the wire coils are still shiney. The mobo looks the cleanest and best out of all of them imo though.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. No i do not have another build to test the gpu in. No i dont have another gpu or psu to test in this build. All of my friends have prebuilt fancy pcs that dont want the risk of exposure to damaged hardware, as it might be the plague....
Thanks.
 
Solution
I think the GPU burnt out, but I'd bet the PSU is fine. The sniff test points to the GPU.

When you got the computer and cleaned it off, you tested it. The GPU was running hot then. Imagine how hot it had been running for who knows how long before you got it. I think that's why it burnt out, previous stress from before you reapplied the thermal paste.
I think the GPU burnt out, but I'd bet the PSU is fine. The sniff test points to the GPU.

When you got the computer and cleaned it off, you tested it. The GPU was running hot then. Imagine how hot it had been running for who knows how long before you got it. I think that's why it burnt out, previous stress from before you reapplied the thermal paste.
 
Solution