I improved my SMPS and graphics card, but the burning occurred with the connected HDD and SSD.
I improved my SMPS and graphics card, but the burning occurred with the connected HDD and SSD.
I built an 850W SMPS from Deepcool and connected it to my motherboard and CPU cables. My CPU is an i7 12700k, so I initially used just one CPU cable but am unsure if two are needed since the board has two ports. I connected the SATA cable from the old SMPS, which includes a fan controller, along with a 2TB HDD and a 500GB SSD on the bottom left port. For my graphics card, there are three 8-pin PCI-E slots (Asus ROG Strix 3070ti), so I connected them in left-to-right order to the SMPS and GPU. After turning on the PC, it didn’t start immediately—it blinked briefly before finally booting. I unplugged cables one by one; after removing the SATA cable, the system started but the SMPS fan didn’t spin. I removed the HDD and SSD, reconnected the SATA power cable, and everything worked except for the missing drives. I tried reconnecting them multiple times without success.
My questions are:
1. Were all cables connected correctly?
2. Is my GPU safe in this cable order since it’s running now?
3. Should I connect both CPU power cables from the motherboard?
4. What happened to my motherboard SATA ports or SMPS ports? A burning smell came from the SSD and HDD.
5. Do I need a replacement SMPS? After switching back to the new SATA cable, fans worked but one LED strip burned out—just rotating, not glowing.
6. Is it safe to keep using other components now that the PC runs, except for the missing drives and the burnt fan LED?
I played a few games after setting everything up.
Avoid using power cables that aren't compatible with the one included. Mismatched cables can cause damage. It's unsafe to rely on older power supplies. Ensure you're using the correct set for the new power supply. Incorrect cables can stop the LEDs from working. Power cable standards are shown where components connect, not on the supply itself. Spoiler: This matters.
Using the latest cables seems to work, but the only issue might be the old SATA cable itself. It appears you don’t need to replace anything else.
Just insert them and see how they perform. They either function or they don’t.