Gtx960 founders edition in prebuild acer emitted smoke after dying randomly during gaming

[piotor988]

Yesterday I was playing pubg with a friend and my pc randomly shut off, my power button didn't do anything, no fans spinning, 0 response. My pc booted normally into windows after i removed the graphics card. I then tried many fixes from forums and yt videos. After trying to turn on my system with the card in with the 6 pin connector plugged into the videocard it some fans started spinning but my videocard emitted some smoke with a burnt electronics smell, then my pc shut off.

All this happened 2 days after I tried switching the components into a new case, which failed because the psu cables were too short to reach the mobo. So i put them back into the original case. Although the pc did run as usual for those 2 days before the graphics card died.

My prebuild's name is acer predator g3-605 with a Gtx 960 2gb founder's edition.

TL;DR:
PC shuts off randomly
It boots without video card but not with
After troubleshooting and trying to boot the PC my video card started smoking and the PC shut off

I wanna know what I did wrong and if the graphics card can be saved in any way?

And also if i put in a new graphics card into the PC can it die as well? As in can the fault lie in some other component that will destroy any graphics card that you pair it with?

 

[Jwpanz]

It sounds like your card blew a capacitor. This could be completely due to a defect in the card. As far as the PCIe lane being at fault it’s doubtful.

How old is your prebuilt and is it still under warranty?

 

[The Paladin]

hardware dies..... fact! suspense is when it will die. that's computers for you...

hardware dies suddenly because something was on the way out on the video card, nothing surprising there.
Can it be prevented.. nope unless you change your video card every 2 years..
Much like a car, the longer you hold on to it, the more likely it will puke on you, and cause you distress.

solution get a new video card and put it in..
as long as your motherboard is on the stand off that where originally on the prebuilt case and the back side of the motherboard doesn't touch the computer case itself, you should be just fine.

 

[piotor988]

It sounds like your card blew a capacitor. This could be completely due to a defect in the card. As far as the PCIe lane being at fault it’s doubtful.

How old is your prebuilt and is it still under warranty?

It's from oktober 2015, so a little over 2 years, it's not under warranty anymore (checked on acer's website with serial number). I was wearing an antistatic wristband, but basically I touched a capacitor and that way killed the card?

Also if it emitted smoke does it automatically mean it's full dead or if i would bring it to an IT shop would it be able to get repaired?

 

[Jwpanz]

The capacitors are located underneath of the cooler and cooler shroud so unless you took your card apart you did nothing to cause it. Electronics go bad from basic use over time and it’s a lottery system as to when it will occur. Some brand new cards could die imediately out of the box while others last for years.

Do not keep trying to run the card in your system as you risk starting a fire or shorting out other components in your system. If you take it to a shop then they may charge you about the same as it would be to replace the card with something brand new. But feel free to take it in and ask for a quote on how much it would be to fix it. Otherwise, it may be time for you to buy a new card.

I would suggest buying a GTX 1050 or 1050ti if you want similar (and slightly better) performance.

 

[piotor988]

The capacitors are located underneath of the cooler and cooler shroud so unless you took your card apart you did nothing to cause it. Electronics go bad from basic use over time and it’s a lottery system as to when it will occur. Some brand new cards could die imediately out of the box while others last for years.

Do not keep trying to run the card in your system as you risk starting a fire or shorting out other components in your system. If you take it to a shop then they may charge you about the same as it would be to replace the card with something brand new. But feel free to take it in and ask for a quote on how much it would be to fix it. Otherwise, it may be time for you to buy a new card.

I would suggest buying a GTX 1050 or 1050ti if you want similar (and slightly better) performance.

Thanks for the help!