Hey everyone! I recently built my first desktop PC and it was running smoothly until today. While gaming, I suddenly noticed smoke coming from my graphics card, and the computer shut down automatically. There might have been a brief flame, but I'm not sure. After the incident, I powered everything off and checked the GPU power connectors and the three 8-pin PCIe cables—I didn't see any burning or damage. I even tried running the system without the graphics card, and it worked fine. There's a strong burnt smell coming from the GPU, so I'm pretty sure it's the culprit. Since this is my first build, I'm wondering whether this might have been user error or if it sounds more like a manufacturing defect. If anyone has been through something similar or has any technical insight, I would really appreciate your thoughts! Here are my system specs: - Motherboard: MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI - CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D - GPU: Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming OC - RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB - SSD: MSI Spatium M480 Pro PCIe 4.0 - Case/PSU: Corsair 3500X ARGB + RM850e 850W 80+ Gold - Cooler: Corsair Nautilus 240 RS ARGB AIO
2 Answers
It seems like a component on the GPU has blown up, which unfortunately can happen, though it's rare. Since it's new, definitely reach out to Amazon for a return. Don't forget your warranty claim, they should back you up on this.
It sounds like a manufacturing issue, especially since your system was working fine until now. I’d recommend trying to replace it under warranty without mentioning anything that could hint at user error. Just explain the situation, and they'll likely send you a replacement. In the meantime, if you have any integrated graphics, you might have to use that for now!
Thanks! I appreciate the advice.
Could this be related to my PSU? Is it safe to keep using it?