Short version: my PC died, and it turned out to be blown GPU capacitors — three tiny components fried on my GTX 1080 that took down the whole card. Here’s the blow-by-blow (pun intended) of how a routine boot-up turned into a multi-week repair saga, and what I learned about spotting blown GPU capacitors before they take out an entire graphics card.
It happened when i came home one day from work and, as usual, pushed the power button on my gaming desktop computer.
But instead of regular fan noise i heard a strange pop and then a loud electrical explosion, with sparks and smoke and all that came out of the back of my PC!
Just after the terror receded off my face I was on my phone, checking warranty terms for my 3 year old corsair power supply.
As i have pleasantly discovered, the warranty term for this Corsair 650W psu is 10 years.
Without hesitation i have opened up my case and pulled out the stinky power supply.
The KSP store refused to accept this without the cables, so i had to make another trip to bring them these stupid cables.
After about a week i got a brand new CoolerMaster V650 GOLD V2 which looks great!
But my PC still doesn’t turn on! 😖😱🥵😭😩
This is nightmare! Now i need to disassemble all of this to pull out this board! But its a chance to save 1000 sheqels. And i would need to pull it out either way eventually?
I had a quick though, maybe i just buy new pc? move the disks and go on with my life? But there’s just not yet a product available which will be considerably better.
So fuck this, i will not be lazy and just do it…
About half way through the unplug process, i suddenly had a feeling to give this another test. I plugged in the power and in a second the RGB light lit up and the fans start spinning!
After some testing i realized that my computer will not turn on with PCIX power plug connected into my GPU, the PSU just makes 2 clicks and nothing happens. But once i disconnect the pcix plug from the gpu, the pc turn on no problem. Weird huh?
OK, i guess i need to get this MSI GTX1080 tested ASAP! But first, lets put back the stock cooling.
…
Oh shit!!! Oh crap!! My gpu is out of warranty! Why does shit always hit the fan one month after warranty is over?! And have you guys seen the state of the GPU market?? This nightmare is worse than i expected… 🤮🤢🤮🤢🤯🤯
…
Diagnosing Blown GPU Capacitors
The tell-tale signs of blown GPU capacitors are easier to spot than you’d think once you know what to look for: a bulging or domed top on a normally flat capacitor, brown or white crust leaking from the seams, a faint burnt-electronics smell when you open the case, and — the symptom that actually gave mine away — the PSU cutting out or clicking the instant you plug in the card’s power connector, as if it’s seeing a dead short. On my card the PCI-E power rail was pulling the whole PSU down to a protective shutdown, which is exactly the behavior you’d expect from blown GPU capacitors sitting right on that power delivery path. A cheap ESR meter can confirm a suspect capacitor in seconds if you want to be sure before you start desoldering anything.
New development; After i have realized that my GPU shortens out my computer, i decided to strip it naked and properly eye every component, here’s what I found (its pretty impressive if you been reading this far);
I know it is a long shot but i will try to fix it. Because what choice do i have?
…
I have bought and installed used GTX1080 from a friend for 1k sheqels, it is working.
Suddenly repairing the old card doesn’t feel as urgent…
Is It Worth Repairing a GPU With Blown Capacitors?
Realistically, blown GPU capacitors are a job for someone comfortable with a soldering iron and a multimeter, not a first repair project. The parts themselves cost next to nothing, but reflowing or replacing SMD capacitors next to a GPU’s VRM without lifting a pad or bridging a trace takes a steady hand. If your card is still under warranty, blown GPU capacitors are almost always covered as a component failure — send it back before you touch anything. If it’s out of warranty like mine was, weigh the repair against just picking up a decent used card, because a botched repair on blown GPU capacitors can just as easily kill the rest of the board.
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After installing the card, as soon as i run any game or put any strain on it, the middle fan makes a rattling noise! Guys! don’t buy these 3 fan cards! The more fans you got, the more chance one of them will start making noise!
Anyway, i can’t work like this. I still have my good ol kraken g12 bracket and the the Corsair H90 AiO water cooling.
I was considering to use the H90 to cool my Ryzen 1700 CPU, but i realized that it does not support AM4 socket. So instead of fixing the noisy GPU fan, i will remove stock cooling entirely and replace it with the Kraken G12+H90 combo.
I also bough a new fan for the H90 (140mm Corsair RGB) and a new quiet Noctua 92mm fan for the kraken g12 unit.
The results are pretty good and i can use my PC comfortably again!
All these days go by as I’m without my computer. As an alternative i had to switch to Samsung DEX…
its ok.. but not without problems
If you want to avoid a repeat of this whole ordeal: keep your GPU’s VRM cooled (blown GPU capacitors are usually a heat and ripple-current problem, not a random defect), don’t skip the thermal paste re-application when you swap coolers, and if you’re doing the same Kraken G12 conversion I did, check out my full Kraken G12 + GTX 1080 installation guide for the step-by-step.
This post is a work in progress and i will keep to update until this adventure comes to an end…
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