[SOLVED] Spark, then a burning smell, now no display.

Oct 14, 2019
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Like the title says, I was playing csgo like I very normally do, then in my peripheral version I saw a quick spark, the pc shut down, followed by a burning smell. Disconnected the power supply a waited a bit before trying to power it back on, turns on, shows the msi pre post logo screen, then quickly flicks to a black screen and there’s no more display output, my monitor still detects an output however since if there isn’t, it goes into a sleep mode. Mobo/Gpu lights/Fans still appear to be completely fine, peripherals all have their rgb power and stuff, just there’s a completely blank, black screen.

MSI Z270 PC Mate
i5 6700k
RX 570
2x8GB g.skill 2666mhz
EVGA 700 gold

Edit 1: Cleared cmos, tried entering bios, same thing, just a blank black screen, both with/without the gpu in.
 
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Solution
GPU card is likely still getting slot power which is why the fans are still going, but could be anything really.

What is the EXACT model of that 700w EVGA power supply and approximately how long has it been in service? Obviously, that is the MOST likely culprit, and there could certainly have been a failure on the PCI power circuit, which would not allow the card to have enough power for output, while still providing the board, and slot power, so that fans and small LEDs are still operating. Unless you can pull parts out and visually identify a leaking or bulging capacitor on the motherboard or graphics card, or for sure tell that there is a burnt smell coming from inside the PSU or a specific component, it's going to be hard to know...
GPU card is likely still getting slot power which is why the fans are still going, but could be anything really.

What is the EXACT model of that 700w EVGA power supply and approximately how long has it been in service? Obviously, that is the MOST likely culprit, and there could certainly have been a failure on the PCI power circuit, which would not allow the card to have enough power for output, while still providing the board, and slot power, so that fans and small LEDs are still operating. Unless you can pull parts out and visually identify a leaking or bulging capacitor on the motherboard or graphics card, or for sure tell that there is a burnt smell coming from inside the PSU or a specific component, it's going to be hard to know for certain what has failed.

I'd highly recommend that you tear the whole thing down and visually and olfactory (smell) inspection of each component. It is not worth the risk of guessing, unless you have to. Again, PSU is most likely but it would be best to make sure there isn't something with the board or graphics card that you can see or smell, so that you don't risk further damage to anything that isn't necessary.

 
Solution

MisterMeow

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Jan 29, 2016
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Definitely don't turn the system on anymore with that power supply. If it is the psu that popped, it's still possible that it can send current to other components killing them in the processes. See if you can't find a blown cap or some black burn marks to figure out what popped. I'd start there.

And if you happen to take the shroud off the psu, DON'T touch any of the components inside, just look. The capacitors can still hold a charge even unplugged.
 
A PSU shroud is something you hide the PSU behind in the case. On the PSU itself, you are talking about the PSU case, not the PSU shroud. If you're going to offer advise about what to do, or not do, and you ARE right about not touching anything inside (And really there is no reason to ever take the case off anyhow unless you are adequately trained in electronics anyhow), then you should at least get the terminology right so as not to confuse anybody.
 
A PSU shroud is something you hide the PSU behind in the case. On the PSU itself, you are talking about the PSU case, not the PSU shroud. If you're going to offer advise about what to do, or not do, and you ARE right about not touching anything inside (And really there is no reason to ever take the case off anyhow unless you are adequately trained in electronics anyhow), then you should at least get the terminology right so as not to confuse anybody.
"No user serviceable parts inside" i what's usually marked on PSUs.
 
Exactly. So if you pull the PSU out and it smells burnt or scorched, or you can see any evidence of over current draw on the cables or cable sockets, or there is any visible sign of damage, then you just replace the whole thing. You don't fix power supplies. If one thing inside is suspect, the WHOLE thing is suspect.

The ONLY exception to that MIGHT be the occasional fan replacement, IF you really know WHAT you are doing.
 
Oct 14, 2019
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So before I went to sleep last night I tried with a coolmaster 500w from my dads pc that I know works and the same thing happened, I’m thinking that something on mobo itself popped, however, I didn’t see any bulged capacitors or any blacks marks. Again, both with and without the graphics card.

When I get home from work I’ll try my cpu/ram in a h110m and see if it posts, if it does it’s probably just the mobo.
 
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If you tried it with a known good PSU and it didn't work, then yes, it is likely the motherboard, but it's definitely worth trying in another machine. I have a feeling there is more to this than what has been mentioned, but that's your business, so hopefully the board swap will tell you the real deal.
 
Oct 14, 2019
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So it turns out that it was neither my mobo or my psu, it was literally my monitor, for what ever reason any input is displayed shows up for 1s the flicks into a flat black screen, at least this happened for vga dvi and hdmi
 
Oct 14, 2019
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I tried my z270 board reinstalled with my tv and it was fine, then tried to hook my laptop up to my monitor and the same thing happened where it got the signal, displayed it for like 1-2secs, then went to a flat black again
 
Oct 14, 2019
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Maybe there was a power surge or something and it fried my monitor but only caused my pc to shut down, the burning plastic smell also was coming from the back of the monitor so maybe that happened, but they’re plugged into the same power bar so I don’t really get how that works