Question Smoke came out of motherboard - Is it still safe to use?

[JDNjkasdnjkgnjsnlkf]

When I assembled a new system today and powered it on, smoke came out of the motherboard for a few seconds and I turned it off. I noticed that there was an extra standoff in a place where there shouldn't have been, and I assumed that it was shorting the motherboard and caused the smoke. I removed the standoff and now the PC seems to be working fine. Do I still have to worry about it or can I continue using the motherboard?

Thanks

 

[lvt]

You should investigate, did the smoke come from the motherboard or the PSU?

 

[drea.drechsler]

If your not confident you can deal with issues as they come up it's probably better to replace it. It's kind of a trust thing as you'll never really know just what's causing them.

 

[JDNjkasdnjkgnjsnlkf]

You should investigate, did the smoke come from the motherboard or the PSU?

I'm pretty sure it came from the motherboard. It was around the area the extra standoff was installed.

 

[JDNjkasdnjkgnjsnlkf]

If your not confident you can deal with issues as they come up it's probably better to replace it. It's kind of a trust thing as you'll never really know just what's causing them.

It's new so the warranty should cover it for a few years. I don't mind if I have to get it replaced at some point in the future as long as it's safe to use right now.

 

[drea.drechsler]

It's new so the warranty should cover it for a few years. I don't mind if I have to get it replaced at some point in the future as long as it's safe to use right now.

It may be working OK now but one of the more significant risks is it has stressed a part that could fail in the future which in turn damages another component such as the CPU, GPU or an SSD drive. The warranty might replace the motherboard but it never covers consequential damages or data loss. It's your choice and if it's a system only used for entertainment there's not much more than replacement cost of failed parts not covered to worry about.

 

[drea.drechsler]

It's new so the warranty should cover it for a few years. I don't mind if I have to get it replaced at some point in the future as long as it's safe to use right now.

Oh...and one other thing. I suppose it could be possible the standoff overloaded a +12V line (or other voltage) from the PSU but not enough to trip over-current protections. I'd carefully look for evidence of overheating at the 24 pin connector, the supplemental +12V connectors near the CPU and the wires leading back to the PSU.