Hi All, 
 
I just RMAed my EVGA 650w G2. I had a previous thread on the forum showing it was faulty. 
 
Anyway, the replacement arrived two days ago, it took a while to get working, and it involved resetting my CMOS.  Anyway, I got it working, the next day, I started it up, and downloaded an update for a game, and then it suddenly black screened from the loading screen.  I was a bit frustrated at this point, anyway, I ran a series of tests including the included psu tester, which it passed. But still, it felt exactly like the previous issue, with the faulty psu as the ethernet cable lights were on, and there was a slight move of the cpu fan when I pressed the power button.  I therefore, unplugged everything from the psu (but not from the mobo) apart from the 20 pin, on the theory that it might be cpu related and pushed the power button.  My graphics card immediately caught fire. Although the fire is out now, I'm still slightly in shock.  I don't know what caused the fire, mobo, psu or Gpu, or if it was my fault. Could someone let me know whether I should RMA the RMA, or if this is my fault.  If anyone could let me know which components are likely to be safe for reuse.  I am tempted to run a monitor directly from the motherboard but I am not sure if it safe. 
 
Picture of my GPU now: https:// cdn. discordapp. com/attachments/600461647072591909/741326090978590800/image0.jpg 
 
Best,

Hello black_falcon120
 
 
Sorry to see your system is having all the issues.
 
1) PSU does have safety circuits that can shut it down or stop it from starting ... if an issues occurs ... so, I do not know the root cause of the failure you mention in your post.  --> Was the failure to start a symptom of the GPU having an issue ?
 
 I'd call EVGA and get input from them as to your Next step in the process.
 
Testing is the only way to determine if a component is damaged after a close inspection for obvious issues
 
2) If It was mine, Id do a careful inspection of: MB, Case, GPU "fingers" that go into the MB PCIe slot
 
3) If only the GPU is damaged as shown in your picture --> & None of the PCIe "fingers" that plug into the MB shown sign of arcing or other damage.  No arcing on front or back of MB.........  then you might try the CPU's iGPU & see if your PC can safely boot.  I'd also unplug everything from the Case except the start button
 
--> You are taking a risk of causing More damage to your PC, if you miss damage or it is the PSU
 
Have a list of your Hardware handy when contacting EVGA, post it in this thread could be helpful
 
MB brand, Model,  Version & BIOS info
 
CPU
 
RAM
 
PSU:  EVGA 650w G2
 
Did you build the PC ?
 
What is your general experience level ?  first PC build, .................. built many PC this last year & previously (gives us an idea of what detail you may need)
 
 

sparetimepc
This kinda makes me think you might of had a different part of your system causing the problem even with the original power supply that was RMA'd  So if you use your power supply tester the power supply you have right now is working ok?

Possibly, but the original was definitely faulty, as it failed the psu tester.  The problem went from the cpu and case fans would spin up for 10 sec, to only the cpu fan would move perhaps 2mm.  
 
Just checked, the psu still works, but I can't see how one 20 pin connector is enough to cause literal flames to come out of back of my GPU's pcb. 

sorry I'm having trouble posting on the Forums today - other members have mention the same "Forums issues"
 
 
Did you Replace EVERY wire when you changed the PSU ---> Using Only the cables that came with that PSU ?
 
You see, not Every PSU has the same outputs & the cable set is "custom" to that PSU design ... so the correct Voltage & ground connections happen @ the device end
 
Note: yes one of the contact "fingers" on the card edge that goes into the PCIe bus on the MB is shorter that the rest of them -- this is normal

It's not unheard of for those video cards (GTX 980Ti) to short out or even catch on fire/burn up..Try/get another card and everything will hopefully be fine..In the meantime just connect your monitor to the motherboard and use the  Integrated Processor Graphics the i7-6700 has.

sparetimepc

black_falcon120

sparetimepc
This kinda makes me think you might of had a different part of your system causing the problem even with the original power supply that was RMA'd  So if you use your power supply tester the power supply you have right now is working ok?

Possibly, but the original was definitely faulty, as it failed the psu tester.  The problem went from the cpu and case fans would spin up for 10 sec, to only the cpu fan would move perhaps 2mm.  
 
Just checked, the psu still works, but I can't see how one 20 pin connector is enough to cause literal flames to come out of back of my GPU's pcb. 

Yeah i meant i was just wondering if another component took out your power supply that had to be sent in, or was it a brand new one that was faulty from the get go? Yeah this part i circled does not look right to me. Those traces are leading directly to the PCIe slot.

Yes, that bit you circled appears to be a burn mark in person, which is what I was trying to point out but it turned out I described it badly.... Sorry for the slow reply, the forum didn't appear to like me. It is about an inch from where the fire happened. The PSU was bought 3 years ago, so I seriously don't know.
 

bob16314
It's not unheard of for those video cards (GTX 980Ti) to short out or even catch on fire/burn up..Try/get another card and everything will hopefully be fine..In the meantime just connect your monitor to the motherboard and use the  Integrated Processor Graphics the i7-6700 has.

I mean, the problem is how do I tell if it's safe?  I wanted an ampere GPU when they come out, and I don't want to spend £500 on a new GPU which goes up in smoke immediately. 

sparetimepc
I believe if it was me i would be getting that motherboard out of there, those traces are for sure damaged and if thats your top PCIe slot on the board i wouldn't even think about tossing it i would just do it.

True, if I upgrade the only potentially salvageable bit is the psu, the case is a classic pre-built, the cpu is outdated, the ram is 2133, and the GPU is well... 
 
I am unsure if keeping that psu is a good idea, as it could be responsible for frying my motherboard and GPU, the fact I could see proper flames  on the GPU PCB suggests it isn't worth the risk, and it did feel like a psu fault when it bricked for the second time.  Also, the symptoms were different from both PSUs, namely one passed testing, one didn't and the behaviour of the cpu fan, so I'm scared to reuse it, suggesting there might be a fault in it. No one here seems to be advocating keeping it (apart from Bob) and I suspect if it turns out to work and I've RMAed it for a second time, I'll have to pay list prices for the new one EVGA send. 
 
I was hoping that this psu would at least fix it or failing that delay enough for me to build a Ryzen 4k & ampere build, potentially limping along with an iGPU for a month, but the advice here seems to be that's a questionable idea. I'm not sure whether I can use the i7's iGPU, reuse the psu or wait for ampere... 

sparetimepc
If your psu is working with the psu tester chances are its ok, but i guess at a minimum test would be unplug everything from the motherboard you can, just use 1 memory stick if possible, cpu, and igpu if you can and only one hard drive and see what happens. You don't really have much to loose now at this point.

What would I be looking for? it was dead before, why would it boot now? 
 
I'm on UK time, so I will have to reply in the morning... 

sparetimepc

black_falcon120

sparetimepc
If your psu is working with the psu tester chances are its ok, but i guess at a minimum test would be unplug everything from the motherboard you can, just use 1 memory stick if possible, cpu, and igpu if you can and only one hard drive and see what happens. You don't really have much to loose now at this point.

What would I be looking for? it was dead before, why would it boot now? 
 
I'm on UK time, so I will have to reply in the morning... 

I'm sorry, i just meant by doing that it would be a way of making sure your power supply was working properly and you would know your cpu was good as well. But after seeing the link for what your computer is i think it might just be time for a bigger better upgraded pc all the way around and you now have the reasoning and excuse to do it. Build on my friend.

True, but I was hoping to be able to use it until ampere and Vermeer were launched... 
 
btw, I tried this using a HDMI cable from my blu-ray player.  The screen took HDMI outputs from my work laptop through a USB C adaptor, but for some reason not from the HDMI sockets in my mother board, it appeared to work otherwise though, as in the peripherals RGB turned on, and the keyboard 'locks' all lit up when when the buttons were pressed.  Would buying a better HDMI cable solve the problem?  For reference I have a Samsung Odyssey G7 27" monitor, which can be temperamental about which inputs it accepts, but I don't have any other HDMI enabled monitors, as my other monitor (AOC 2460PG) doesn't have a HDMI port. 

sparetimepc

black_falcon120

sparetimepc

black_falcon120

sparetimepc
If your psu is working with the psu tester chances are its ok, but i guess at a minimum test would be unplug everything from the motherboard you can, just use 1 memory stick if possible, cpu, and igpu if you can and only one hard drive and see what happens. You don't really have much to loose now at this point.

What would I be looking for? it was dead before, why would it boot now? 
 
I'm on UK time, so I will have to reply in the morning... 

I'm sorry, i just meant by doing that it would be a way of making sure your power supply was working properly and you would know your cpu was good as well. But after seeing the link for what your computer is i think it might just be time for a bigger better upgraded pc all the way around and you now have the reasoning and excuse to do it. Build on my friend.

True, but I was hoping to be able to use it until ampere and Vermeer were launched... 
 
btw, I tried this using a HDMI cable from my blu-ray player.  The screen took HDMI outputs from my work laptop through a USB C adaptor, but for some reason not from the HDMI sockets in my mother board, it appeared to work otherwise though, as in the peripherals RGB turned on, and the keyboard 'locks' all lit up when when the buttons were pressed.  Would buying a better HDMI cable solve the problem?  For reference I have a Samsung Odyssey G7 27" monitor, which can be temperamental about which inputs it accepts, but I don't have any other HDMI enabled monitors, as my other monitor (AOC 2460PG) doesn't have a HDMI port. 

Your saying the hdmi works on your blue ray player in your pc or an external blue ray player?  Have you gone into your bios and made sure you have enabled the igpu as the default since your not using a seperate gpu now?

Sorry, I wasn't clear: 
 

• Blu ray player => TV - works I think, I haven't used it for a while
• Work Laptop Usb C => Adapter => HDMI cable => monitor - Works
• Desktop => Monitor - Doesn't work. though the screen does appear to go from black to black with a backlight when it is plugged in. 

 
How do I change my BIOS settings, and is that possible without a working monitor? 

sparetimepc
Possibly, do you even see any kind of an image on the monitor when booting? Usually you would start tapping the delete button as soon as you push the power button and it would take you into the bios screen but some motherboards are different. I can't even find an actual manual for that motherboard anywhere but here is one of the motherboards itself on amazon.   https://www.amazon.com/HP-Thimphu-Intel-Motherboard-799926-001/dp/B01MR0VIY8

Yes, that motherboard seems very bespoke, I googled HP in general and got a BIOS, after hitting the esc key repeatedly (https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/bph07110), giving six options, 
 
f1 - system information
f2 - system diagnostics
f9 - boot device options 
f10 - BIOS setup
F11 system recovery 
f12- network boot
 
which is it? 

sparetimepc
more then likely in the bios f10 setup would be where it shows the options for graphics somewhere.

thank you! is it just the F10 key? It doesn't seem to register any keystrokes.

sparetimepc
well once in the bios you would hit f10 or during bootup you would tap the f10 button instead of the escape button i think

I'm now into the setup utility, but I appear to lose the ability to input commands as soon as a picture appears on screen, the keyboard is plugged directly into the motherboard, so I'm not sure what is going on. 

sparetimepc

black_falcon120

sparetimepc
well once in the bios you would hit f10 or during bootup you would tap the f10 button instead of the escape button i think

I'm now into the setup utility, but I appear to lose the ability to input commands as soon as a picture appears on screen, the keyboard is plugged directly into the motherboard, so I'm not sure what is going on. 

You can't even use the arrows up down or enter  or tab  keys ?

Arrow keys definitely not, I'll try tab in a second, I am half way through a CMOS reset, so I may be a minute replying

sparetimepc

black_falcon120

sparetimepc
well once in the bios you would hit f10 or during bootup you would tap the f10 button instead of the escape button i think

I'm now into the setup utility, but I appear to lose the ability to input commands as soon as a picture appears on screen, the keyboard is plugged directly into the motherboard, so I'm not sure what is going on. 

You can't even use the arrows up down or enter  or tab  keys ? Is your keyboard even lit up if it has lights?  I have had that happen before also and ended up having to use the older style keyboard with the standard plug instead of usb.

Hmm, the CMOS reset appears to have done nothing, it's still not registering either the arrow keys or the tab key..
 

ty_ger07

black_falcon120
I therefore, unplugged everything from the psu (but not from the mobo) apart from the 20 pin, on the theory that it might be cpu related and pushed the power button.  My graphics card immediately caught fire.

Although those video cards are prone to burn up even when used properly, you are the second person this week to have it happen coinciding with the video card power cable not being connected. In that video card thread, it was noted by someone else something like 'yup, they burn up when the auxiliary power isn't connected'. So, apparently it is a known condition to avoid.

HeavyHemi

james4083
Oopsie - re-seated everything and booted without the two 8 pin connectors. Must have allowed the machine to boot without over-current protection kicking in, unfortunately the card immediately let the smoke out.
Looks like it's toast - looking for a replacement now.
Best of luck to you, hopefully not as disappointing as my ending!

This sequence seems to be the key to letting the magic smoke out sometimes. I've seen several examples of this with a 1080 smoke checked without the PCIe power in and just using slot power.

Ah ok thank you, I should remember that for the future. I should possibly have known this before, it just seemed to be a sensible bug check to do at the time... 
 
Also one interesting thing I have noticed, is that without touching the BIOS menu, I don't think it boots properly because when I turn it off, I only have to tap the power button, rather than hold for three seconds...