My Acer Predator Orion 9000 (PO9-900) Is catching fire.

Hi, I'm having serious issues with my Acer Predator Orion 9000 (PO9-900), I was using it yesterday evening (browsing) and out of nowhere I saw a bright flash from the corner of my eye as well as a sizzling sound. I leapt out of my seat and quickly pulled the plug on it. Having removed the side panel, a very pungent odour was emanating from the pc, I thought maybe the power supply had given up the ghost and had its day. I decided to power it up again (to confirm a power supply failure) but this time I filmed it, fortunately the psu was fine, unfortunately the pc was igniting on fire. I've only had it for a few years, still I don't expect it to be a fire hazard......not a happy customer right now. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/940929420703703061/1063104608660107285/20230112_133346.mp4

20230113_101530.jpg

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NeoGeo

Looks like your Motherboard VRMS have burnt out due to high temps - were you using liquid cooling on the CPU? and were the VRMS covered with a heatsink? - this will require a motherboard replacement

Broka

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1173498#Comment_1173498

Hey NeoGeo (i'm a big snk fan myself😅), not changed anything in regards to cooling.....it's what was supplied with the pc (Predator-branded Cooler Master liquid processor cooler) afaik. Also yes, the vrm's have their own heatsink, I did used to notice the fan speeds ramping up to a 70-80% out of nowhere, just when it was idling. I suspected it needed a motherboard change, but on who's dime?

NeoGeo

Unfortunately it just seems like bad luck, usually when i've seen VRMs blow up it's because there wasn't any heatsinks on them. Voltage regulator module ensures the CPU is getting nice clean power, don't think you should try it on again even if it powers up as it could potentially take out your CPU ( hopefully thats fine ).

If it's under warranty then it will be covered but out of warranty means you'll have to foot the bill unfortunately, this is the motherboard you'll need.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185624595664

NeoGeo

@Broka

Just seen your video that's crazy - so it looks like it's the VRM capacitors located above the VRM heatsink, likely hood as it happened straight after powering on is , that there was a surge from the PSU - if you're getting another motherboard , you may need to make sure the PSU is good so it won't happen again.

Also is that a RTX 3090 in the system? - what PSU were you running?

Broka

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1173525#Comment_1173525

it initially occurred whilst the pc was on (browsing websites), just glad I caught it on camera the second time round.

NeoGeo

@Broka

If you get a chance check the PSU label for the Wattage - i'm sure the system came in different configurations with a larger 1000w one for the sli cards and a lower one ( 730w ) - and i can't read the card properly on the video but i think it's a rtx 3090.

Broka

PSU is an FSP 1000W, which came with the pc (ps some of my posts are not showing up, they have to be approved apparently).

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1173525#Comment_1173525

NeoGeo

@Broka

Tht PSU is more then capable, which leads us straight back to the capacitor being the main culprit, a sign of a bad capacitor is a bulge at the top but this isn't always the case, if you get a chance take a picture of those top rows of capacitors where the flames happened near the motherboard leds.

Broka

Unfortunately I think my warranty is out by a couple of months, plus I am in the UK, so purchasing that motherboard (via the link you posted) would be difficult. Wouldn't this fall under 'not being fit for purpose' or having a manufacturing defect, no pc should be catching fire. Also yeah, thats a founders edition 3090. I'll take some pics when I get home.

Broka

Also do acer staff actually visit this forum or should I hit them up via customer services, due to the nature of the failure....seing how catastrophic it is.

NeoGeo

Contact them via the support page and create a ticket they may be able to do something for you, when i contacted ACER support for more information regarding the front panel connector for a new motherboard their response was hilarious here's some quotes:

[Content Removed]

[Edited the content to hide sensitive information]

GotBanned

Outch!

Thankfully your dead motherboard looks to be a normal one and not one of those proprietary ones. I'd never pay that much for an OEM mobo as in the link above. Maybe it's time to get another one and nice CPU to go with it? Used ones can be had for reasonable price.

If you don't need all those PCIE slots, I think mATX or even mITX board would fit your case nicely.

Broka

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1173598#Comment_1173598

For real? This doesn't sound good. How hard is it to repurpose the case (say for another motherboard/cpu), including the front panel/rgb etc? I did check the caps and all were fine. Not my first rodeo in this regard, as my first ever pc i built with an msi motherboard suffered the blown cap issue (this was back in the early 2000's though), This issue I think is an inherent fault, something acer need to face up to (i know they've had fire issues with aspire laptops and monitors catching fire in the past). But yeah, paying £3k for a fire hazard is never a good thing.....glad i was at home to be honest,

Broka

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1173692#Comment_1173692

Thanks, I agree....it's too expensive. Unfortunately all LGA 2066 motherboards I've come across are ridiculously expensive, seeing as its an EOL product. It's actually cheaper to buy a motherboard/cpu bundle in some instances, then you have to worry about the case and its usability with a new motherboard setup. This is a headache I could do without right now.

NeoGeo

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1173704#Comment_1173704

Was looking at the motherboard front panel pin outs for your board, look quite similar to if not the same to what ACER is using now, is the front panel connector one entire block or seperates? , if you can take a close up picture of the pin outs they're printed on the board, i'll post mine here for comparison, that way we can figure out the easiest way for a motherboard transplant.

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