Can a Bad power supply blow up the CPU?

Question

Well, it happened.  I finally blew up a computer for the first time today.

I went to check on something online today and found the comuter was off and wouldn't turn on.  I pulled the desktop out to check the cords and noticed smoke coming out of the power supply fan.

I opened the desktop and with a DMM, I quickly figured out that the power supply blew.

I bought a new power supply and installed it.  The LEDs on the CD-ROM and the power button came on.  The fan also came on on the motherboard.  However, the PC would never "turn on".

So...my question is....

When the power supply goes on a PC, it is common and/or possible that the motherboard gets ruined as well?  

I figured I'd ask before I started randomly buying new parts.  With the price of PCs now a days, its probably just cheaper to buy a new one anyway.

falconsport · Accepted Answer

well, power supply supplied all the electrical power your pc need.
if you use bad/low quality power supply it's possible to ruin everything inside your pc (motherboard,graphic card, and hardisk is the ones usually suffered).... i really uggest you get a better power supply from well known brand like antec, tagan, or silverstone...

oh, and dont forget, buy a ups, it help your pc by providing more stable electrical current and keep your pc on when electricity is out.

Anonymous · Answer

I don't know how common it is, but it has happened to me.  A power supply takes 120 (or 240) volts and converts it to 12 volts DC (and less) on the power rails.  If the unit just fails and stops providing power all the components are unaffected.  But, if that conversion doesn't happen correctly and the motherboard gets more juice than it should it goes poof, and the margin for error is small with electronics.

Nikolas S · Answer

Yes it can happen but the question is what caused the failure of the power supply; was it an external, internal or the quality of the power supply unit? 

My advise is get a new machine and don't spend any money on the old one unless you can detect the actual origin of the problem and any other damage caused on any other component of your machine.

If you get a new machine you could install your old hard drive into the new machine and reclaim all of your data. However, you must make sure that your old hard drive is in good working condition before you place it in your new machine.

Sorry I couldn't be of any further help.

Good luck

Justin A · Answer

it is very very possible if the power supply shorts and allows full current to go to the motherboard instead of regulating it, the motherboard could be fried plus anything else connected to the power supply. If you know anything about this check the resistors and make sure they are still within tolerance as that could be your problem.

datamanipulator · Answer

It's possible, I've had it happen before.  Cheap no-name power supplies can do this, so avoid them in the future.

Anonymous · Answer

very comon on emachines
not comon on compaq

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Can a Bad power supply blow up the CPU?

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