[SOLVED] My Zotac 2060 caught on fire while only being connected to mobo

OliverTwisted

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Apr 29, 2014
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Specs-
Zotac 2060
i7 3770k
p8z77-v
8gb ddr3 ram
2 month old GPU caught fire after turning on PC and installing new corsair PSU because my PC initially wouldn't turn on and i assumed that was why. Only the CPU and motherboard were connected to test booting and the GPU was just sitting in the motherboard with no connector. Rest of hardware working absolutely fine including new PSU with a much older GPU. What could i have done wrong? am i likely to get refunded? why did it happen at all? also could the PSU be damaged in any way because of the GPU burn out?
GPU: View: https://imgur.com/GBI5QkL
 
Solution
It was literally only socketed on the motherboard. no 8 pin connector was plugged in whatsoever, as for it turning on? I pressed the power button the thing sparked and smoked and i turned the psu off immediately. the pci lane still works with my older gpu in it with no fires
You should never power on your GPU without plugging the power cables as it will suck more power from the motherboard and probably damage pcie circuits on the GPU.

OliverTwisted

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Apr 29, 2014
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What's the make and model of the psu that did this?

Unfortunately, I don't see a refund being possible...
its a corsair cx550m 550w semi modular psu. while i didn't make it clear in the post, i was having issues with my pc turning on, the cpu fan would spin for a split second then nothing. I literally bought a brand new psu and the gpu exploded surely that doesn't come under user error? also the psu is working right now with my old gpu.
 

Phaaze88

Titan
Ambassador
its a corsair cx550m 550w semi modular psu. while i didn't make it clear in the post, i was having issues with my pc turning on, the cpu fan would spin for a split second then nothing
Failing psu, or perhaps the motherboard.

I literally bought a brand new psu and the gpu exploded surely that doesn't come under user error?
What's the new psu?
Yeah, it still does come under user error:
-You fully inserted the gpu and the required cables?
-You didn't mix or reuse the old psu's cables?
-You didn't do this with the psu plugged in and on?
-You didn't use any molex adapters?
 

OliverTwisted

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Apr 29, 2014
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Failing psu, or perhaps the motherboard.


What's the new psu?
Yeah, it still does come under user error:
-You fully inserted the gpu and the required cables?
-You didn't mix or reuse the old psu's cables?
-You didn't do this with the psu plugged in and on?
-You didn't use any molex adapters?
The new psu that was used when it caught fire and that I am using right this moment is the corsair 550w, my older psu was fully wired so no mixing/reusing cables, the only things that were inserted were the psu and motherboard cables which are wired as the psu is only semi modular, nothing was plugged in or on until connected. I basically connected the bare minimum to test if my pc would turn on at all, as that's what i was having issues with beforehand.
 

OliverTwisted

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Apr 29, 2014
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Ok, sorry. What was the old psu?
It could very well be that the damage was already done by that one before you even plugged the CX550 in.
Yeah i thought so too, rather annoyingly the old psu works absolutely fine so the replacement was redundant anyway. its why i'm really confused and worried about what the hell caused this
 

OliverTwisted

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Apr 29, 2014
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You turned on the gpu without the 8 and 6 pin?
It was literally only socketed on the motherboard. no 8 pin connector was plugged in whatsoever, as for it turning on? I pressed the power button the thing sparked and smoked and i turned the psu off immediately. the pci lane still works with my older gpu in it with no fires
 
It was literally only socketed on the motherboard. no 8 pin connector was plugged in whatsoever, as for it turning on? I pressed the power button the thing sparked and smoked and i turned the psu off immediately. the pci lane still works with my older gpu in it with no fires
You should never power on your GPU without plugging the power cables as it will suck more power from the motherboard and probably damage pcie circuits on the GPU.
 
Solution

OliverTwisted

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Apr 29, 2014
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Likely but not 100% sure. Did your GPU work before? It could be a GPU fault also.
Worked fine for the couple months since i bought it new, yesterday my computer simply wouldn't turn on, cpu fan would half spin then absolutely nothing, used that as an excuse to buy a semi modular psu to see if my old psu died and then it caught fire when i tested it today. both power supplies are currently working, cpu motherboard all running fine and tested with an older gpu, only thing broken is the thing that caught fire. just wanna know why haha