What can cause motherboard short-circuit ?

anuragjainfzd

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Aug 25, 2017
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Hi there,
I am having a PC setup with following components
1: Gigabyte LGA1151 Intel Z170 2-Way SLI ATX DDR4 Motherboards GA-Z170X-Gaming 7
2: EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2, 80+ GOLD 750W, Power Supply
3: ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 8GB ROG STRIX OC Edition
4: Intel Core i5 6600K 3.90 GHz Quad Core Socket LGA 1151, 6MB Cache
5: Corsair 16 GB RAM
6: NZXT H440 case.
7: Cooler Master CPU cooler.


A few days back, the PC turned off abruptly and didn't start anymore. The motherboard won't power on. Since it was under warranty I got it serviced and the cause was short-circuiting. The technician suggested that I should change my Power Supply unit because this problem can happen again and in worst case can cause board burn.

Now I'm in dilemma if he's a valid point or now. Is there a way I can be sure that it's PSU which caused the issue ? Can there be some other cause which could have caused the short-circuit ?

The PSU which I have is still under warranty but I believe it'd take atleast a month for me to file RMA and receive the replacement. I'm in India bdw and these components were bought in USA.

What shall I do?
 
Solution
If it works 100% fine with the other CPU, I would say it looks like your 6600 has a problem. It is rare but possible for a motherboard that goes down to fry its CPU along the way.

anuragjainfzd

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Aug 25, 2017
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Would you suggest if I should take the risk of putting the repaired Motherboard with the same PSU?
 
I was under the assumption you already did that. So you don't know if PSU works? Then how you knew it was motherboard that failed if you didn't checked PSU? Anyway, the point is still the same: if PSU works, it shouldn't harm motherboard (it has all necessary protections); if it does not work, obviously it needs replacement.
 

anuragjainfzd

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Aug 25, 2017
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Sorry may be my previous comment was not clear. So when the problem occurred, we tried another PSU and motherboard won't start. So I got the motherboard repaired. The technician said, this might have happened because of some fault in PSU; you should replace it. That's what is causing the dilemma. I've not assembled the motherboard yet.

Before I do that how can I be sure that the PSU is in a good working state ? I've the self tester which came along with EVGA PSU. Will that be sufficient ?
 
Ok, it's clear now. Technician was generally right and his warning was solid piece of advice, because there are many crappy PSUs out there that could easily do such a thing. I wonder if you told him what PSU exactly you have, if he knew that he might be less likely to make such a warning, although I guess he would do that anyway because that's right thing to do.
One thing is sure: there is little point sending PSU for RMA to the other end of the world without actually making sure it's faulty. Make a paperclip test, take a multimeter and measure voltages. If PSU passes those tests, I don't see a risk. If you need more confirmation, then only thing to do is to take it to a local expert and let him test it.
 

anuragjainfzd

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Aug 25, 2017
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510


So I followed your advice and tested the voltage from 24 pin atx and 8(4+4) pin CPU connectors. As voltage readings were well within the range, I decided to assemble it outside the box. It doesn't boot, instead it keeps turning on and off in a loop. Also I don't see the LEDs on motherboard. What to do next? Should I test the motherboard with another PSU?
 

anuragjainfzd

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Aug 25, 2017
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0
510


Well you're right about the big trouble ahead. lol. It's not the PSU. Tried the different PSU and it did it same thing. Next we the processor to some compatible Pentium and it booted. Is my CPU busted ?