Snap, Crackle, Pop, Smoke :/

[dogie]

Not been a good night tonight 1st System with 2 faulty PSUs, 2nd system gets close to setting on fire.

System:
ASUS P5B i965, S775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533 / 667 / 800,
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "LGA775 Kentsfield" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
2xEbuyer 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 667MHz PC2-5400 240pin Extra Value Ram
Point Of View 8800GTS 320MB DVI HDCP PCI-E Graphics Card
Maxtor STM3250820AS 250GB 7200RPM SATAII 8MB Cache - OEM
Arctic Power 500W PSU With PCI-E, SATA, 20+4, ATX12V, 8pin +12V Connectors - Retail Boxed
Thermaltake Soprano VB1000SWS Silver Mid-Tower Case with Side Window - No PSU
NEC Optiarc AD-5170A-0S 18xDVD±RW DL Silver - Bare Drive
Custom Wcing


At first I thought the sound/smell was coming from the GPU, so I took it out, and below where it was mounted on the mobo I can see 2 or so small black sqares with 2 silver contact things which have pretty badly melted/bubbled. RMA time?

[arthurleung]

Arctic Power 500W PSU With PCI-E, SATA, 20+4, ATX12V, 8pin +12V ... - £24.99

Of course your system will blow up. Your system need a PROPER 500W PSU about £50, not a crappy one.

I would guess your scenario was:
1. 8800GTS power up and draw 150W power
2. The card tried to draw from the 8pin connector but of course the PSU is not giving enough juice
3. The card suck power through the motherboard, exceeding the PCIe specification
4. Motherboard burnt out
5. Since mobo fried, card draw current from the PSU again
6. Wire overheats and burn?
7. PSU overload and protection kicks on / fuse blown

[charleski]

Yep, arthurleung's right. The two melted components are probably PCIe voltage regulators on your MB that have experienced too much current draw.

[Clunk]

Youll need to check all the components now, because the chances are that the savings on the PSU have just cost you a graphics card, a set of RAM, and/or a motherboard as well.

[shadowmaster]

I would say your motherboard is gone, but the rest of your components may well be fine. Just test them as Clunk said.

Not sure about how you could RMA a motherboard that has two melted PCIe voltage regulators. Unless you say that you received the motherboard in that condition.