Loud pop followed by system shut off

[ak47fireshard]

Hello, this morning while I was laying in bed my computer made a very loud pop like my PSU had died but I don't believe it was my PSU dying because there was no smoke afterwards or smell of burnt electronics, and when it did that my computer shut down. Worriedly I unplugged the power cable from my surge protector and tore down my chassis to see what might have happened, only to find everything seeming normal. I looked on my motherboard and socket and found no noticeable capacitors blown, and my PC was idling when this happened so I doubt something like overheating happened. I post this in the CPU forum because I'm worried that it died, because my PSU will send power to everything as normal (or as normal as I could see I don't have an testing equipment) and all the fans spun at normal startup speeds, not at maximum. Neither my GPU or motherboard will output video to my monitor so I'm afraid my processor died, but before going to get a new processor I want you guys' opinion on what might be the issue. The lights for audio boost on my mother board are lit and it's like it was before I got my CPU in it when I was testing it, which is why I draw my conclusion about the CPU dying.
Specs:
i5-4670k
10GB DDR3 1333MHz
MSI B85-G43 Gaming motherboard
EVGA G3 SUPERNOVA 550 WATT PSU
CoolerMaster hyper T2 cooler
XFX GTS BLACK EDITION RX 580 8GB
What do you think it may be? If my processor is dead, what's the cheapest replacement CPU (preferably used) I could get to test the motherboard until I can replace my 4670k?
Thanks

 

[lumineZ]

Loud pop does not sound like the CPU to be honest.

If it is an blown cap then I would look at PSU, GPU and MOBO. And loud pop points towards a blown cap, but again hard to say since I was not there to hear the sound.

And there does not have to come smoke. Or smell the burnt electronic smell unless you get really close and smell. Like 1cm - 2cm away.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Hard to say. I usually get my nose deep into things when trying to determine if I smell magic smoke or not.

CPUs don't go pop, so you can rule that out as the source of the noise but it doesn't mean the CPU is fine, just that other parts are the culprit for any, "popping."

If you blew the power circuitry that feeds the CPU, and your motherboard has VRM heat sinks, the chip that blew is likely obscured by a heat sink. You would have to carefully remove the heat sink and investigate whether any MOSFET chips have bit the dust. If they have, your best bet is a new motherboard if you plan to salvage the build, after first having your CPU and RAM tested for proper functionality. If your CPU and / or RAM bit the dust as well, you have more of a decision to make in terms of how you want to proceed.

If you blew something in the power supply, a good way to verify is a power supply tester. A bad way to test a suspect power supply is in a known good system, unless it's only a test system. You don't want to go around torpedoing otherwise good systems with a bad power supply. I generally open up power supplies and look at them to verify if they have blown or not, if a tester is not an option. Be fully aware that opening a power supply voids it's warranty and presents the potential for fatal electric shock if you're careless.

A last resort, if the system stays on once you power it up, would be to test the voltage at a 4-pin Molex connector using a volt meter. The common would go on one of the black wires, yellow should give you 12 volts, and red should show 5 volts, give or take about a half volt.

 

[ak47fireshard]

Loud pop does not sound like the CPU to be honest.

If it is an blown cap then I would look at PSU, GPU and MOBO. And loud pop points towards a blown cap, but again hard to say since I was not there to hear the sound.

And there does not have to come smoke. Or smell the burnt electronic smell unless you get really close and smell. Like 1cm - 2cm away.

That's what I thought as well I've never heard of a CPU popping but nothing looks damaged and everything appears to be working like it did before I got my processor and only had my motherboard, PSU, older graphics card, and ram, it would turn on and do nothing but turn fans and the audio boost chip would turn it's LED on so everything seems to be proper except my CPU

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

You can determine absolutely nothing useful in terms of diagnostics by running a motherboard without a CPU.

By powering on your system without making any changes to it, you are determining that the power supply is providing some power. You aren't however determining that all power outputs are where they should be. Fans will spin and lights can light with incorrect voltages.

 

[ak47fireshard]

You can determine absolutely nothing useful in terms of diagnostics by running a motherboard without a CPU.

By powering on your system without making any changes to it, you are determining that the power supply is providing some power. You aren't however determining that all power outputs are where they should be. Fans will spin and lights can light with incorrect voltages.

That is true. Should I go ahead and RMA my PSU? I'm not sure if my warranty is still available

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

That's a question for EVGA.

You haven't determined what fault occurred in your PC yet so I would start with tracking down the failed part. If the power supply ends up checking out okay, you may end up paying for needless shipping costs.

 

[ak47fireshard]

That's a question for EVGA.

You haven't determined what fault occurred in your PC yet so I would start with tracking down the failed part. If the power supply ends up checking out okay, you may end up paying for needless shipping costs.

Yes but where would I start when everything seems fine? How would I test my PSU without tools to do so?

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

You can't. At the minimum, you need a good power supply to put in it's place to see if the problem goes away. Here is probably the best starting point on a budget:

https://www.amazon.com/HDE-Power-Supply-Tester-PCI/dp/B005UZHB6G

Do you have any friends that could lend you a working power supply?

Are there any computer shops near by or within traveling distance that you could have test your CPU / RAM?

 

[smorizio]

the pop came from the power supply. use a flashlight to look into yours see if you can see a burn mark or broken part in it. i would rma the power supply first if it has a warranty. the issue now is did the power supply back feed and kill any other part whe nit died.

 

[ak47fireshard]

You can't. At the minimum, you need a good power supply to put in it's place to see if the problem goes away. Here is probably the best starting point on a budget:

https://www.amazon.com/HDE-Power-Supply-Tester-PCI/dp/B005UZHB6G

Do you have any friends that could lend you a working power supply?

Are there any computer shops near by or within traveling distance that you could have test your CPU / RAM?

I do not have anyone to lend me a power supply or a computer shop at all near me let alone one that will test my CPU and RAM (very rural area)

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Well, either acquiring the means to test your equipment yourself, or going for an RMA on your power supply as smorizio suggests is probably your best bet.

 

[tas_kuris]

I had my power suply "POP" once, problem was psu giving only 25 amps when gpu needed 30 amps. I sugest you start with that. And if it is psu then get a new one, dont forget to check watage and amps on the lines you use to cpu and gpu, make sure it can handle it.