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My power supply fan went out so the 3.3v would jump up to ~4v . So I bought a new 550watt from amamax.com (the cheap $17 one). I threw her in and she worked like a charm. I smelled some burning when I came home hte other day but my case didn't "smell" like the source, so I figured another monitor was on it's way out. Then a heard the wonderful fizzle fizzle POP! sound. And my computer was turned off, but the light on the mobo was still on. I tried to turn it back on for kicks and teh fans would spin once then stop and nothing would happen. I pulled the power supply out and tried one from another machine, power but no boot up. Pulled out my sound card and WOW! She fried! The POP! sound I heard was one of the cylinder things shooting into the side of my case. I left the soundcard out and the system booted right up with the temp power supply.

Ok so my sound card's fried and the new 550watt power supply smokes if you try to power it up. So who killed who? If it was the power suuply frying my sound card I'm going to kill amamax.com, if it was the other way around, I'll just be quiet ;)

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Dani AI

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Short take: the facts described (3.3V out of spec, a replacement PSU that smokes, and electrolytic “cylinders” bursting on the sound card) strongly point to a power-supply failure damaging the card. That said, don’t assume only the card is affected — follow the checks below before declaring anything final.

Quick diagnostic checklist

  • Do not power the smoking PSU again. It’s unsafe.
  • Photograph the damaged card, the PSU label, and any scorch/bulging caps on the motherboard — you’ll need these for warranty/seller claims.
  • Visually inspect all cards and the board for bulging or leaking electrolytic capacitors and burn marks. The “cylinders” that popped are almost certainly electrolytics.
  • Boot the system with a known-good, quality PSU and the minimum parts fitted (CPU, one RAM stick, onboard video or single GPU). If it POSTs, add devices back one at a time to find failures.
  • If you can measure voltages, check rails with a multimeter or — safer — a dedicated ATX PSU tester: 3.3V and 5V should be very close to nominal; 12V has wider tolerance. If rails are way off, stop and replace the PSU.
  • Consider sending the sound card manufacturer photos and the PSU seller your receipt and evidence if you want reimbursement or RMA help.

Repair and next steps

  • Replacing popped capacitors can sometimes revive an older card, but that’s a repair for someone comfortable with soldering and diagnosing possible secondary damage. Otherwise replace the card.
  • Check the motherboard and other peripherals carefully; hidden damage can show up later (random reboots, corrupted data). Keep backups.

Preventive notes

  • Replace failed PSUs with a properly rated, well-reviewed unit that lists protections (OVP/OCP/SCP), continuous rail ratings, and a decent warranty. Regularly monitor PSU cooling; a failed fan is a common failure mode.

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Member Avatar for feigned

My power supply fan went out so the 3.3v would jump up to ~4v . So I bought a new 550watt from amamax.com (the cheap $17 one). I threw her in and she worked like a charm. I smelled some burning when I came home hte other day but my case didn't "smell" like the source, so I figured another monitor was on it's way out. Then a heard the wonderful fizzle fizzle POP! sound. And my computer was turned off, but the light on the mobo was still on. I tried to turn it back on for kicks and teh fans would spin once then stop and nothing would happen. I pulled the power supply out and tried one from another machine, power but no boot up. Pulled out my sound card and WOW! She fried! The POP! sound I heard was one of the cylinder things shooting into the side of my case. I left the soundcard out and the system booted right up with the temp power supply.

Ok so my sound card's fried and the new 550watt power supply smokes if you try to power it up. So who killed who? If it was the power suuply frying my sound card I'm going to kill amamax.com, if it was the other way around, I'll just be quiet ;)

A cheap but "powerful" PSU aren't all that they're cracked up to be.

It probably didn't put out enough sustained voltage to power everything in your case.

You want a quality PSU. I recommend an Antec.

But talk to amamax since you just bought the PSU, they'll probably replace your sound card.

Did you check everything else? If one thing goes, it probably fried a few other things.

Member Avatar for ExTS

My power supply fan went out so the 3.3v would jump up to ~4v . So I bought a new 550watt from amamax.com (the cheap $17 one). I threw her in and she worked like a charm. I smelled some burning when I came home hte other day but my case didn't "smell" like the source, so I figured another monitor was on it's way out. Then a heard the wonderful fizzle fizzle POP! sound. And my computer was turned off, but the light on the mobo was still on. I tried to turn it back on for kicks and teh fans would spin once then stop and nothing would happen. I pulled the power supply out and tried one from another machine, power but no boot up. Pulled out my sound card and WOW! She fried! The POP! sound I heard was one of the cylinder things shooting into the side of my case. I left the soundcard out and the system booted right up with the temp power supply.

Ok so my sound card's fried and the new 550watt power supply smokes if you try to power it up. So who killed who? If it was the power suuply frying my sound card I'm going to kill amamax.com, if it was the other way around, I'll just be quiet ;)

The power supply killed the card. Never use a cheap PS. Cheap ones don't have the same safeguards built in to them to protect hardware in case of failure.

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