Welp I've finally had what I assume is a blown capacitor (sounded like a gun with smokey smell). In the couple seconds it took my to pull the power, system was still running fine. I didn't see any flash or actual smoke so not sure where it occurred. So far the motherboard looks fine. Is there anyway to test the PSU for any fault without it being powered? I have 8 month old Corsair hx1200
idaWHALE
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Welp I've finally had what I assume is a blown capacitor (sounded like a gun with smokey smell). In the couple seconds it took my to pull the power, system was still running fine. I didn't see any flash or actual smoke so not sure where it occurred. So far the motherboard looks fine. Is there anyway to test the PSU for any fault without it being powered? I have 8 month old Corsair hx1200
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So... You aren't sure whether or not it is the PSU? That's going to be hard to diagnose then.
But an evident explosion sound is probably going to be from the PSU.
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Can you smell inside the PSU? Smell should be strongest there if it came from PSU. Electrolytics spray dielectric all over the place so should be easy to spot. If it an SMD then out of luck unless you want to take it apart.
Semiconductors can also rupture and create that pop, so it doesn't have to be a capacitor.
Semiconductors can also rupture and create that pop, so it doesn't have to be a capacitor.
An electronic repair shop could easily solder a new capacitor in, wouldn't be an expensive job if you took the mobo in. Trying to figure out what capacitor size is right may take some research.
I was thinking about this, but worried worried about other hardware.
Would this be safe for the rest of the components or is it possible there could be a more serious problem that triggered the cap?
I really don't want to risk M2's or GPU
Eh, capacitors go bad, it happens. Replace the capacitor and the system should work. That said, other hardware could have been damaged when it blew. The risk to hardware was when it blew, running it after it has been repaired is low risk. A better question might be, are there other capacitors like that and are they cheap capacitors? Are others likely to go? Some TV repair guys replace all the capacitors when they replace one, they figure if they are going through the trouble they might as well not do it a 2nd time. Mobo's are a little easier to access than TV circuit boards.
I would think the risk to GPU and M.2 is relatively low. GPU draws most of it's power from the power supply, and while M.2 is relatively new, I haven't heard anyone say their's went bad. It's the CPU that is most likely to be affected. Since you were already considering a new CPU and mobo...
Personally I'd try to fix it. It's likely a $3 fix if you know how to solder. If I were working on someone else's computer, I'd tell them to replace the motherboard. That's because I want them to have a 100% positive experience, and replacing the motherboard is a sure fix; while replacing the capacitor is not guaranteed.
I would think the risk to GPU and M.2 is relatively low. GPU draws most of it's power from the power supply, and while M.2 is relatively new, I haven't heard anyone say their's went bad. It's the CPU that is most likely to be affected. Since you were already considering a new CPU and mobo...
Personally I'd try to fix it. It's likely a $3 fix if you know how to solder. If I were working on someone else's computer, I'd tell them to replace the motherboard. That's because I want them to have a 100% positive experience, and replacing the motherboard is a sure fix; while replacing the capacitor is not guaranteed.
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