Molex cable supplying GPU got BURNED!!

[kuriakos]

So, i was playing a video game, specificly witcher 3 - wild hunt (its not promotion of the video game, just mentioning to whom may concern), and i smelt plastic burned. When i was about to pull back my chair and have a look at it, my monitor shut and i quickly closed the desktop.
I opened my dekstop tower and checked firstly my GPU for any damagebut it was fine, including the temperature. The only damage was the 1 male 4 pin molex with 2 female 4 pin plugs on the other side.

Here are some pictures of the damage(I MENT TO SAY THE MOLEX IS CONNECTED WITH PSU NOT CPU**) :

I replaced it and my computer works fine, but i am still curious what might have happened.
Did i pressured my GPU too much cause i play the game based on the minimum requirments ? Might have been any kind of short-circuit?

 

[Supahos]

Best guess is you have a bargin bin power supply. You really shouldn't run a gpu with molex. No power supply that has any business running a gpu doesn't have pci cables

 

[kuriakos]

So your say is that i need to change my PSU ?

 

[Supahos]

I would buy one that has the actual connections you need, yes.

 

[maxalge]

So your say is that i need to change my PSU ?

adapters on a sub standard psu that lacks pcie cables is never recommended for this very reason

 

[mcnumpty23]

thats why i say never use those things for your gpu power

as supahos said if your psu doesnt have the cables on it to run a gpu its likely a pretty poor psu

 

[13thmonkey]

Often those splitters may have thinner cables than needed. so you've taken a single molex (that can't supply enough power to the pci-e socket by itself) and split it into two so that the pci-e converter has two connections (but it's really only one).

Plus your PSU doesn't have PCI-E connections for a reason...

What is the PSU, and what is the rest of your system.

 

[kuriakos]

Indeed it is, i have my Dekstop tower 7 years and i changed my PSU about 5 years ago. So the very next thing i will do is replace my PSU.
Until then, i will run my computer smoothly without preassuring my GPU. Thanks people.

 

[kuriakos]

Often those splitters may have thinner cables than needed. so you've taken a single molex (that can't supply enough power to the pci-e socket by itself) and split it into two so that the pci-e converter has two connections (but it's really only one).

Plus your PSU doesn't have PCI-E connections for a reason...

What is the PSU, and what is the rest of your system.

CPU : Intel Core i5 750 @ 2.67GHz Lynnfield 45nm Technology
RAM : 6 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 664MHz
MOBO: MSI 2A90h
GPU : 1023MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE (MSI)
and my PSU supports 450W Max.

 

[13thmonkey]

And what is the PSU? Personally I think that a poor enough PSU to be only 450W and have no PCI-E connectors, on older processes that are more power hungry should not be run, especially as it gets warmer.

 

[Sakkura]

Molex adapters in general are best avoided. The old adage is "Molex to SATA, lose all your data" - the difference with Molex to PCIe is you're carrying ten times as much power so the fire will be ten times as bad.

(Using Molex connectors directly, for what they're intended for, is fine)

 

[13thmonkey]

Indeed it is, i have my Dekstop tower 7 years and i changed my PSU about 5 years ago. So the very next thing i will do is replace my PSU.
Until then, i will run my computer smoothly without preassuring my GPU. Thanks people.

I'm not really sure where you got 'run it smoothly' or 'without pressure' from.

DO NOT RUN IT, replace the PSU now, not after you've played for another week, do it before you turn it on again. It could very well become a fire hazard, and be prepared to replace the GPU, it may have died.

 

[kuriakos]

And what is the PSU? Personally I think that a poor enough PSU to be only 450W and have no PCI-E connectors, on older processes that are more power hungry should not be run, especially as it gets warmer.

The psu is a Passive PFC 450W, i understand that its old enough so i should look to replace it. Should i be aware for any compatibility requirements between a new PSU and any other part of my desktop ?

 

[kuriakos]

Indeed it is, i have my Dekstop tower 7 years and i changed my PSU about 5 years ago. So the very next thing i will do is replace my PSU.
Until then, i will run my computer smoothly without preassuring my GPU. Thanks people.

I'm not really sure where you got 'run it smoothly' or 'without pressure' from.

DO NOT RUN IT, replace the PSU now, not after you've played for another week, do it before you turn it on again. It could very well become a fire hazard, and be prepared to replace the GPU, it may have died.

I got that from my mind first of all, since i run this GPU 4 months now, and until yesterday when i reached my computer to its limits judging by the noise, i havent faced any problem at all. Luck maybe ?