Question My CPU and motherboard got fried beyond hope - - - why ?

[martinezkier.dacoville]

Good day,

Rrecently my i7-8700 CPU and MSI Mag Mortar B365M motherboard got fried beyond any hope. Does anyone have any idea what might have caused this? I tried to have it checked and troubleshooted in case there is still a chance to salvage either, but the CPU tested on an 8th/9th gen motherboard refused to power on or display anything. The motherboard also when tested with a working i3-8100 cpu refused to start on the test bench.

Before this happened I was just installing a new game (Armored Core VI) while playing a game (Fallout 4) and CPU temps where reaching 90+C (ambient temps [35C] are hot at home and no AC) and CPU usage was maxed out at 95-100% usage all cores/threads, i7-8700 was cooled by a tower cooler (Thermalright Assassing King 120 -TDP 150W). PC just suddenly turned off, that's it.

I troubleshooted by cleaning the ram, reinstalling and rebuilding everything to still no avail. PSU, GPU and Ram seems fine since I am using it on my other PC. Any input would help to prevent another setback.I brought a used 8th gen motherboard since I thought back then that only the board was damaged and since it was a cheap offer so I had no choice and get a compatible cpu. (I should have checked it first before pulling the gun on a board )

PC Specs:
CPU: i7-8700 i3-9100F
Motherboard: MSI Mag Mortar B365M B360M Gigabyte Aorus Gaming
RAM: 2x8GB 2666Mhz DDR4
GPU: Gigabyte G1 GTX 1070
PSU: Seasonic M12 620W Bronze Rated
SSD: 500GB NVMe
HDD: 2 x 4TB 3.5"
Case: Thermaltake Versa h15 mATX

 

[Ralston18]

This:

"PSU: Seasonic M12 620W Bronze Rated"

Original to build? New, refurbished, used?

How old? History of heavy gaming use, video editing, or even bit-mining?

 

[35below0]

I bought a SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze PSU in 2011. It served me well for 12 years, not heavy use though.
If OP's PSU is also old, it could be dangerous to use.

It was not a bad unit when new, but today it should be avoided. Replace with a new PSU.

As for what fried the CPU+motherboard, that's not easy to say. If the PC just turned off, it could have been a shutdown to prevent overheating. I don't know if this can cause damage. Maybe the CPU could take some damage because the cooler stops working, but that would not explain why the motherboard died.

Why not take the PC to a repair shop and ask them to investigate?

But since you have a new mobo+CPU, get a new PSU as well. A SeaSonic FOCUS GX 650 Gold would be a good choice.

 

[martinezkier.dacoville]

This:

"PSU: Seasonic M12 620W Bronze Rated"

Original to build? New, refurbished, used?

How old? History of heavy gaming use, video editing, or even bit-mining?

bought it new since 2017, I game only on 1080p 60hz maybe back then 6-8 hrs usage per day but since 2020 i barely use the pc anymore still works until now

 

[35below0]

That's 6-7 years now. And that's just use. Who knows when it was manufactured, because it's really really old.
Good PSU in it's day. And it may even work well today.
It's out of warranty though, right?

Definetly replace it. PSU components do not age like wine. They get worse with time.

Still no idea what caused the motherboard and CPU damage.

 

[martinezkier.dacoville]

I bought a SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze PSU in 2011. It served me well for 12 years, not heavy use though.
If OP's PSU is also old, it could be dangerous to use.

It was not a bad unit when new, but today it should be avoided. Replace with a new PSU.

As for what fried the CPU+motherboard, that's not easy to say. If the PC just turned off, it could have been a shutdown to prevent overheating. I don't know if this can cause damage. Maybe the CPU could take some damage because the cooler stops working, but that would not explain why the motherboard died.

Why not take the PC to a repair shop and ask them to investigate?

But since you have a new mobo+CPU, get a new PSU as well. A SeaSonic FOCUS GX 650 Gold would be a good choice.

That's 6-7 years now. And that's just use. Who knows when it was manufactured, because it's really really old.
Good PSU in it's day. And it may even work well today.
It's out of warranty though, right?

Definetly replace it. PSU components do not age like wine. They get worse with time.

Still no idea what caused the motherboard and CPU damage.

yes definitely looking to replace this.

On where I live power isn't very reliable, we get power surges and low voltages. But I bought a UPS plugged into a surge protector.

Maybe hot ambient temps 35+C? I do not have an AC and the before this happened I am getting 90+C from the cpu on games like Cyberpunk, maybe the vrms couldn't handle the heat, the old psu and the power hungry i7-8700?

 

[martinezkier.dacoville]

I bought a SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze PSU in 2011. It served me well for 12 years, not heavy use though.
If OP's PSU is also old, it could be dangerous to use.

It was not a bad unit when new, but today it should be avoided. Replace with a new PSU.

As for what fried the CPU+motherboard, that's not easy to say. If the PC just turned off, it could have been a shutdown to prevent overheating. I don't know if this can cause damage. Maybe the CPU could take some damage because the cooler stops working, but that would not explain why the motherboard died.

Why not take the PC to a repair shop and ask them to investigate?

But since you have a new mobo+CPU, get a new PSU as well. A SeaSonic FOCUS GX 650 Gold would be a good choice.

By the way when the damaged cpu parts was tested on the test bench the repairman said the parts were "grounded" which i can attest because i received a shock when i touched tower cooler.