I am in desperate need, I was playing a game and i started to hear sparks and a sound that...

[HarryOnPC]

I was playing DiRT Showdown until I started to hear sparks and a sound that sounded like a wire was interfering with a fan out of what i believe was the power supply seeing how the noise was coming from the top right hand corner of my pc so I shut the game down and turned off my pc, there was a very strong smell i don't know if it was necessarily the smell of burning, after a minute or so I turned it back on and the fans turned like crazy and everything ran okay from there on but I need to know if any permanent damage was done and if this will effect the quality of my components, I think can send the psu back seeing as I have a year warranty from corsair but will they accept the power supply back if it's not necessary broken.

Maybe something in the psu melted because Dirt showdown is fairly graphically intensive and my pc is very tradition with only a few fans. However Im not sure if this is even a problem with the psu. My psu is very good quality brand like corsair and promised a 3 year warranty with 80% efficiency.

So what I'm really asking is have any of you had a noise like that before and whether or not I need to replace my psu?

 

[Dogsnake]

I would unplug the unit, open it up and give it a VERY close inspection. Look for blackened wires and connectors. Get down in it and sniff (with your nose) and see if you can find a spot with strong odor. Check every fan wire and connector. It sounds like something was rubbing, shorted and is most likely no longer working. Pull out the video card and inspect it also. If you can get a look at the back side of the MB check for burnt looking areas along the solder traces. If after all these inspections you find nothing, plug it back in at try to start it up. Look at every fan to see if it spins (Case fans, cpu cooler, video card and PSU FAN). Something defiantly happened and you need to find out what. Damage may very well have been done. If you smell some sort of strong odor from the PSU send it back.

 

[Dunlop0078]

If you did indeed hear sparks that is not a good sign at all. I would take the cover off your pc and inspect the motherboard for any burn marks or corrosion if you see nothing maybe take a flashlight and try to look through the vents on your power supply the best you can for burn marks, corrosion, etc. I would say that you are right it is most likely the power supply and i would replace it sooner rather than later because if it completely goes it can take other parts out (especially if its a cheap generic psu) with it like your motherboard,gpu,cpu or anything being powered by your power supply. What is the make and model of your power supply?

 

[HarryOnPC]

I opened the pc case while the power was on and it turns out a small loose wire which was connected from another fan to the motherboard had got caught inside another case fan below the psu and stopped the fan from moving, Ive untangled the wire and all the fans seem to work fine. The odor must of just been hot air because not all of the fans were working. Not too much damage done maybe to the wire but not any components i don't think. I probaly should have opened the case to see if what the damage was before starting this question. Do you guys think I need a new bigger pc case because clearly wires are getting tangled and there isn't nuch space to hide them behide and my case is fairly traditional and isn't designed for graphically intense games.