[SOLVED] Spark and smoke from motherboard after cold boot, how worried should I be?

[Mngereso]

I booted up my pc this morning from a cold boot and heard a sound and a puff of smoke came from my motherboard. I immediately disconnected everything and inspected the inside and couldn't see any issue, I then did a quick (and risky) test to see if it would boot and it successfully booted into windows with no issue.

I then took everything apart and honed in on the source of the smoke and found it to be the Mosfets on top of the CPU shown in the images attached. (Images show front and back of the affected area.)
My question is, how risky is it to run my system with that burned/faulty Mosfet?

Computer specs:
ASUS AM4 TUF Gaming X570-Plus
Ryzen 3900X
64GB RM
EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3
EVGA 850BQ PSU

 

[lvt]

My question is, how risky is it to run my system with that burned/faulty Mosfet?

You have 1 power phase less, it means the other power phases need to work a bit harder to stabilize the electricity that feeds the CPU.

 

[Flayed]

I booted up my pc this morning from a cold boot and heard a sound and a puff of smoke came from my motherboard. I immediately disconnected everything and inspected the inside and couldn't see any issue, I then did a quick (and risky) test to see if it would boot and it successfully booted into windows with no issue.

I then took everything apart and honed in on the source of the smoke and found it to be the Mosfets on top of the CPU shown in the images attached. (Images show front and back of the affected area.)
My question is, how risky is it to run my system with that burned/faulty Mosfet?

Computer specs:
ASUS AM4 TUF Gaming X570-Plus
Ryzen 3900X
64GB RM
EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3
EVGA 850BQ PSU

That doesn't look good is it still under warranty?

 

[geofelt]

Spark and smoke???
Yes, you should be worried.
Replace the motherboard.
Continuing to use it puts your other high end parts at risk.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Hopefully it's still under warranty....

It might still operate but, as @lvt notes, you're one phase less in the VRM area so it will be with lessened stability. But it's going to be very sketch as there's a potential short across the blown power stage which could take out CPU and even PSU should it make contact in the future.

I'd try the warranty option first. But if you can't and are desperate about not throwing more money in this system, or just like living on the edge, completely remove all dregs of the blown power stage so you can at least minimize the chances of releasing more smoke and sparks. And the loss of more expensive hardware in the future.

 

[Mngereso]

That doesn't look good is it still under warranty?

Yes, I contacted Amazon and I'm going to RMA it for a full refund

 

[Mngereso]

Spark and smoke???
Yes, you should be worried.
Replace the motherboard.
Continuing to use it puts your other high end parts at risk.

Replaced it already, couldn't risk frying everything else, especially the GPU, I got a Gigabyte X570 AORUS Elite Wi-Fi, I'm going to RMA the Asus motherboard for a full refund.

 

[Mngereso]

Hopefully it's still under warranty....

It might still operate but, as @lvt notes, you're one phase less in the VRM area so it will be with lessened stability. But it's going to be very sketch as there's a potential short across the blown power stage which could take out CPU and even PSU should it make contact in the future.

I'd try the warranty option first. But if you can't and are desperate about not throwing more money in this system, or just like living on the edge, completely remove all dregs of the blown power stage so you can at least minimize the chances of releasing more smoke and sparks. And the loss of more expensive hardware in the future.

Hi, thanks for your reply, I replaced the motherboard with a Gigabyte X570 AORUS Elite Wi-Fi, I contacted Amazon & I'm going to RMA the Asus motherboard for a full refund.

 

[DSzymborski]

You really ought to replace the PSU as a precaution. The BQ series is only in Tier C (Cheap mid/low-end systems) on the curated PSU list housed here by virtue of being a rather mediocre double-forward hec-built unit. There are many systems you'd be OK running with this -- even if it's not a PSU I'd personally buy -- but the high-end of the 30 series has been notorious for having issues with even upper mid-range PSUs with unimpressive topologies. There are even some otherwise pretty OK FSP-made EVGA units (GQ) which have failed due to a 3080's robust power requirements. This is an $800 GPU that costs $2000 to replace and you've already had one power-related issue; you'd be crazy to continue on with this.

 

[Mngereso]

You really ought to replace the PSU as a precaution. The BQ series is only in Tier C (Cheap mid/low-end systems) on the curated PSU list housed here by virtue of being a rather mediocre double-forward hec-built unit. There are many systems you'd be OK running with this -- even if it's not a PSU I'd personally buy -- but the high-end of the 30 series has been notorious for having issues with even upper mid-range PSUs with unimpressive topologies. There are even some otherwise pretty OK FSP-made EVGA units (GQ) which have failed due to a 3080's robust power requirements. This is an $800 GPU that costs $2000 to replace and you've already had one power-related issue; you'd be crazy to continue on with this.

I'll consider this, Definitely don't want my components dying on me in future, lemme get a good deal on a PSU and I'll get one ASAP.
Thanks.

 

[geofelt]

I'll consider this, Definitely don't want my components dying on me in future, lemme get a good deal on a PSU and I'll get one ASAP.
Thanks.

Do not look for a good deal.
Buy only quality. Yes, it may cost a bit more,
A quality psu will last for several upgrades.
The wattage you need is mainly determined by your graphics card:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
I have no problem overprovisioning a PSU a bit. Say by 20%.
It will allow for a stronger future graphics card upgrade.
It will run cooler, quieter, and more efficiently in the middle third of it's range.
A PSU will only use the wattage demanded of it, regardless of it's max capability.

Look for a psu with a 7 to 10 year warranty.
Here is one list of psu quality tiers:

[EOL] PSU Tier List rev. 14.8

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (END OF LIFE) Last Update: 27-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue ...

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