Computer stopped working, fixed then stopped again

[kujoe2002]

So I have a custom built PC (see sig below) that I put together. It was working great until last night when I came home and booted that sucker up. It was running for 5 minutes then it shut down. The temps were crazy high (97c). I checked the CPU connection and found that the heatsink screws got loose on one side. I removed the heatsink, wiped the thermal paste on the CPU and heatsink, reapplied the heatsink. The temps got down to 34c steady for the rest of the night.

This morning I hit the power button. It turned on for 3 seconds then shut down. I started smelling a burning. I pulled the PC out and sniffed the power suppply where the smell seemed to come from. Before I take it all apart and buy all new parts, I need ideas on what could be broken?


One other note: when I removed the heatsink to reapply it, some of the thermal paste got on the PCI-E slot on the mobo (which I removed very carefully with a toothbrush and isopropyl, then let dry.

What should I check in the order of what might have burned. I hope to god that it's not he CPU mobo or RAM........I'm starting to really hate computers.

[proxops-pete]

Check the mobo and look for any kind of burnt/leaked/bursted caps and other parts.
Do you have a spare PSU to swap out with to test? Also, you can usually get into the BIOS setup and check the PSU health (how close the actual voltages are to what they are supposed to be)...

[kujoe2002]

if there is no burn mars or burst caps? It had the burned circuit board and plastic smell. id like to get a PSU asap if thats the issue

[kujoe2002]

its the motherboard. The capacitor that is next to the power 24 pin power cable is popped. I bought it from Newegg in Feb 2014 so I may be f'd.

Anyone can recommend a solid mobo with the following:

1155 chipset
32 GB RAM supported
SLI capable?
Full ATX

I'm already looking on newegg but I don't think I'll be getting another MSI mobo.

[proxops-pete]

MSI should have warranty... contact them and see if they will replace it.

[kujoe2002]

I contacted them for an RMA. They said they will get back to me in 2 days to start it. Can't wait. Ordered this:

ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard



Taking a chance with ASUS

[sulc84]

Why asus ?

[kujoe2002]

It's actually pretty nice. Sig updated!

I've RMA'd the MSI mobo but I'm not going to wait 2 months for them to see that the cap blew and the mobo has bubbled where the cap blew.

[kujoe2002]

this is odd. My comp is running into the same problem. in my bios, the CPU is showing at 77 celcius. It was showing that earlier today, I checked the CPU kit and after I checked, it seemed to be working OK. I come back 4 hours later and now it went up fromn 30 celcius to 70. Take a look at my sig. What could it be?

[proxops-pete]

Is there a good clean airflow inside the case? How is the PSU health?

[Vindir]

Just to make sure it gets asked....

How much thermal paste are you using between the cpu and sink? Too much could cause something similar with normal temps then weird swings as the glob bakes.

[kujoe2002]

I applied a nice thin even coat on the cpu and used the spatula to make sure the paste was smooth and even. The PSU is strong and healthy without any volt/watt or amp issues. The airflow is very strong. On my Antec 1200 v3, I have the two front fans and the side window fan (all 120mm pulling air in. The top 200mm, the upper rear 120mm fan and the dual 120mm fans on the CPU cooling pull air out. Nothing is obstructed so there is quite good unobstructed airflow.

The issue was the mobos. The MSI cap popped. The ASUS mobo came faulty. The MSI is currently going through an RMA process. They had better refund me my shipping cost (As they said they would) otherwise, MSI will have some big problems. The ASUS mobo came fault. All my parts were tested on another mobo and all came out clean. I replaced the Asus with Gigabyte Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2133 LGA 1155 Motherboards GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 so that I could still run SLI. After doing some research, I've found that the 2700k does better on a Z68 chipset over a Z77. I've had this new mobo for a week now without any issues in temp, lag or errors. The temps are a nice 29-30c and 60c on full throttle.

[Vindir]

Glad to hear you got it sorted out. Rough luck getting two failboats on motherboards in a row.

[proxops-pete]

Yikes... and a faulty one to start! I have had Gigabyte and MSI mobos and both have been great...

[kujoe2002]

Funny enough, After installing my gigabyte mobo, my MSI came back (brand new replacement). Kind of sad really. I always thought MSI was quality.