Question Popping sound from inside the pc

[viktorvok]

Hi, 2-3 days ago i heard a "popping sound" from the inside of the pc and then followed a burned electronic smell. Yesterday I visited a "pc repair shop", they checked everything, and said later that the popping sound and the smell came from my GPU which is a Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4GB. Today I opened the graphics card and i dont see any damage with the capacitors or anything. Could this be the graphical chip which popped or something else? Thanks for the answer and sorry for my bad english.

 

[Ralston18]

Has the GPU been removed from the pc? I believe that you have indeed done so ("opened graphics card") but do wish to make sure that I am correct. If not, remove the GPU.

Either way, take the GPU away from the pc case and start sniffing all around the GPU.

Very likely that you will be able to detect some residual burned smell within the GPU. Cracks or burn marks may not be directly visible. I.e., underneath a capacitor....

A bright flashlight and magnifying glass will help with a visual examination of the GPU.

And be sure to look inside your pc case. Power off and unplug. Look for bit and pieces that may have blown about - you do not want them to possibly short something else and cause more damage. Again: bright flashlight and magnifying glass.

 

[Barty1884]

The chip itself wouldn't "pop", no.

Please post your full system specs. My gut feel based on the info provided thus far, is it's a low quality PSU that's popping.... Could certainly be the GpU, but I'd expect to see some physical damage - especially if a repair shop were confident enough to state it was the culprit.
It's possible the damage is small enough that it wouldn't be particularly easy to see with the naked eye, but should still be visible.

 

[viktorvok]

Hi, thanks for the reply! My full specs are:

gpu: Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4gb
cpu: Intel Core I5 6600k
psu: Thermaltake Berlin 630W
mboard: gigabyte ga-z170-hd3p
ram: 16gb hyperx

I did already unplug the pc, removed the graphics card and the case from it and i see the fan and the heatsink. I checked every single cap and everything there are no black marks or anything...i can smell the burnt electronic from the displayport outputs on the graphics card.

 

[viktorvok]

the repair shop did not open or view my graphics card, they recognized that the smell came from my graphics card the most.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

1st thing id reccomend is to check if there any warrenty left on the gpu. If there is warranty left, i would rma it and get a new one.
If there isnt, you could search for a gpu teardown of your gpu online, follow each step carefully to take the cooler off, and inspect the board for physical damage such as burnt looking or smelling components, or an abnormal white color on the board. Youll need new thermal compound to reinstall the cooler, reverse of teardown. If you find damage, dont try to power the gpu on.
This very well could be the power supply, at the 470 is a relatively power hungry card and could easily stress a psu over time untill the psu fails. This usually has a popping sound, almost like a balloon popped near you, accompanied by blue or white smoke and a sometimes a burnt smell.
Id take both the psu and gpu out, and see if either one smells burnt. You could shine a flashlight in the fan of the psu to see if there is any burnt components or exploded capacitors. The psu is toast if it fails.

 

[viktorvok]

so i removed the heatsink and i found this:

https://imgur.com/WA5ySMU

View: https://imgur.com/WA5ySMU

can someone tell me what this? So my gpu is a rubbish now?

 

[Ralston18]

Unfortunately yes - the GPU is done for.

Do not, as mentioned attempt to plug the GPU again for any reason.

Dispose of it properly if not returnable under warranty.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

If there is warranty, tell them it stopped working and get a new one.
If there isnt, you may be able to sell the cooler for $15-30 on ebay if its worth it to you, but the board is fried and irreparable. It should be thrown out and never turned on again.