[SOLVED] Is my motherboard dead?

[Rxmxdxc]

So a few days back I was playing Escape from tarkov (a game notorious for heavy load on components) for about a 4 hour session and I needed to tab out to check temps. As I hit alt tab my PC froze and shut down. I got a whiff of a fried component and started stressing so I unplugged everything and started investigations.

What I eventually found what that a pin in the atx 24pin connecter from the psu melted. Now I understand that something drew too much current but can someone elaborate and is my mobo dead?



Specs are as follows,

PSU: Raidmax Rx530ss

Mobo: Msi h55m p-31

Gpu: Asus ph-gtx 1050ti-4g

CPU: intel i7 860 (don’t mock me I know😕)



Mobo aftermath

Connecter aftermath

 

[jay32267]

I would look at it two ways.

Either the motherboard drew too much current.....or the PSU failed and the voltage went really high.

As far as I know Raidmax is a low quality PSU.

If the voltage went high....I would imagine the MB is fried,

If the MB drew too much current....I would imagine the MB is fried.,

 

[Hazzahead]

Never heard of Raidmax before, but it does have an 80 Plus Bronze rating. Do you know anything regarding your CPU/GPU temps/voltages, etc.?

 

[Rxmxdxc]

I would look at it two ways.

Either the motherboard drew too much current.....or the PSU failed and the voltage went really high.

As far as I know Raidmax is a low quality PSU.

If the voltage went high....I would imagine the MB is fried,

If the MB drew too much current....I would imagine the MB is fried.,

My pc would still boot up and work fine... I could use my browser and watch videos with no issues but as I tried loading a game it would freeze and shutdown. I reduced my graphics cards clocks and I made my CPU run on ultra saving mode and then it’d let me run any game albeit really slow.

 

[cdrkf]

My pc would still boot up and work fine... I could use my browser and watch videos with no issues but as I tried loading a game it would freeze and shutdown. I reduced my graphics cards clocks and I made my CPU run on ultra saving mode and then it’d let me run any game albeit really slow.

Given everything is essentially working I think the motherboard is probably ok. I would try replacing the PSU before anything else.

 

[Rxmxdxc]

Never heard of Raidmax before, but it does have an 80 Plus Bronze rating. Do you know anything regarding your CPU/GPU temps/voltages, etc.?

I’ve overclocked my pc before with no issues but when this problem occurred I was running everything completely stock.
My cpu usually runs at 60 ish degrees at max load after 4 hours of gaming and around the same for my gpu.

 

[jay32267]

My pc would still boot up and work fine... I could use my browser and watch videos with no issues but as I tried loading a game it would freeze and shutdown. I reduced my graphics cards clocks and I made my CPU run on ultra saving mode and then it’d let me run any game albeit really slow.

It could be that you got a brief voltage spike from the PSU.

This could be caused by something shorting......and then burning through to an open circuit.

....as was said....if things are working....I would replace the PSU.

Perhaps the MB didn't get damaged.

...but in my experience....motherboards are very fragile to electrical events that cause the burning like you describe.

 

[Hazzahead]

I’ve overclocked my pc before with no issues but when this problem occurred I was running everything completely stock.
My cpu usually runs at 60 ish degrees at max load after 4 hours of gaming and around the same for my gpu.

Hmmm... I don't believe that something like this can happen out of nowhere. Is your PSU plugged directly into a wall socket? Or is it on some sort of extension cord or power board?

 

[Rxmxdxc]

Hmmm... I don't believe that something like this can happen out of nowhere. Is your PSU plugged directly into a wall socket? Or is it on some sort of extension cord or power board?

It’s plugged into a surge protector extension plug.

 

[Rxmxdxc]

It could be that you got a brief voltage spike from the PSU.

This could be caused by something shorting......and then burning through to an open circuit.

....as was said....if things are working....I would replace the PSU.

Perhaps the MB didn't get damaged.

...but in my experience....motherboards are very fragile to electrical events that cause the burning like you describe.

In other threads I’ve seen people talk about mb current leaks after events like these and that my mb will never be the same. Thoughts?

 

[Hazzahead]

It’s plugged into a surge protector extension plug.

Well, extension cords definitely do not deliver full voltage. Usually they only supply 80% of power to whatever they are plugged into (in this case, your PSU). Could be some sort of voltage/heat problem because PSU was pushing itself too hard to deliver enough power. If we can't come up with any ideas as to how your slot melted, this would have to be it.
Edit: the pictures that you attached seem normal to me, or am I blind?
Edit: I am blind. There is obviously a bloody pin that is stuck there aha

 

[jay32267]

In other threads I’ve seen people talk about mb current leaks after events like these and that my mb will never be the same. Thoughts?

I think it's a crap shoot.
You may have gotten lucky..
The main thing is.....that it works.
I'd buy a Seasonic and try that. I don't think a bad MB (if it is bad) should damage a Seasonic.
....so if you have problems after that.....I'd keep the Seasonic and replace the MB.

 

[Rxmxdxc]

Well, extension cords definitely do not deliver full voltage. Usually they only supply 80% of power to whatever they are plugged into (in this case, your PSU). Could be some sort of voltage/heat problem because PSU was pushing itself too hard to deliver enough power. If we can't come up with any ideas as to how your slot melted, this would have to be it.
Edit: the pictures that you attached seem normal to me, or am I blind?

Wow, I never knew that... Thanks for the help really appreciate it.

 

[Rxmxdxc]

I think it's a crap shoot.
You may have gotten lucky..
The main thing is.....that it works.
I'd buy a Seasonic and try that. I don't think a bad MB (if it is bad) should damage a Seasonic.
....so if you have problems after that.....I'd keep the Seasonic and replace the MB.

Thanks for the help I’ll do so

 

[Hazzahead]

Wow, I never knew that... Thanks for the help really appreciate it.

Is this sarcasm?

 

[Rxmxdxc]

Is this sarcasm?

No I genuinely never knew that. Your help will probably save my next pc.

 

[jsmithepa]

The melted pin... did you fix/clean it? Sometimes, when connectors are not making solid contact, an artificial resistance is created and the connector turns into a sort of light bulb generating lots of heat, and needless to say not delivering all the power than it's spec for. Is maybe a cold solder joint on that particular pin, know your soldering?

By FRIED, people often equate that with COMPLETELY DEAD, well yours boots so Is not fried by de-facto tech language. Damaged and faulty by bad QA maybe. So whether this is fixable is all on your investigating and DIY skills.

 

[DSzymborski]

Crashing at load tends to be either temperature or power, so those are usually the first two places to look. Coupled with an odd smell, I tend to believe power supply, especially given the Raidmax line of power supplies is mostly terrible, full of really dire capacitors and ancient designs. The only real exception a few of their Gold-rated higher-end ones that are on one of Andyson's surprisingly good platforms and even there, they frequently minimize the gains by going with less-than-top-tier capacitors (though Teapos are far better than the usual Jun Fu types they've thrown into their power supplies).

Given the symptoms and the fact that I'd recommend replacing the PSU regardless of any problem, I think that's the first place to swap out.

 

[Rxmxdxc]

The melted pin... did you fix/clean it? Sometimes, when connectors are not making solid contact, an artificial resistance is created and the connector turns into a sort of light bulb generating lots of heat, and needless to say not delivering all the power than it's spec for. Is maybe a cold solder joint on that particular pin, know your soldering?

By FRIED, people often equate that with COMPLETELY DEAD, well yours boots so Is not fried by de-facto tech language. Damaged and faulty by bad QA maybe.

I haven’t tried booting the pc since I found the damage. I’m worried about damaging other components.
But I’ve seen people recommending that I solder a new atx 24 pin port? If that’s what you call it to my mb replacing the burned one as well as buying a new psu.

 

[Rxmxdxc]

Is this sarcasm?

I’m looking at getting a Corsair cx650m or a Antec vp plus 600w which one do you recommend?

 

[Rxmxdxc]

I think it's a crap shoot.
You may have gotten lucky..
The main thing is.....that it works.
I'd buy a Seasonic and try that. I don't think a bad MB (if it is bad) should damage a Seasonic.
....so if you have problems after that.....I'd keep the Seasonic and replace the MB.

I’m looking at getting a Corsair cx650m or a Antec vp plus 600w which one do you recommend?

 

[jay32267]

I’m looking at getting a Corsair cx650m or a Antec vp plus 600w which one do you recommend?

The Corsair.

But....I've read a LOT about the green and gray models.

Here's a quote from someone....

"The green CX are old models and are really crappy. The new grey models apparently are really good, like really good compared with the old ones. "

So if you get one....I'd make sure it's a grey one.

OR.....get a Corsair RMx series. I'm running two at the moment and they get good reviews.

 

[Hazzahead]

Corsair CX650M is tier 2 with an 80 Plus Bronze rating. The Antec VP series is tier 6. Not much else to say. Definitely CX650M.
Edit: also I got the Corsair TX650M a few days ago. It has an 80 Plus Gold rating, much better than the CX version.