Main cruncher down

[Ron Shurtz]

After swapping out a video card on my main unit, I powered it on only to smell a burnt smell and no boot.
I yanked the power cable out the system as fast as I could.

I removed the video card and put the original one back in and tried to boot.
No burnt smell but the video card fans and some case fans would start then stop immediately then start and stop, etc.
The power button light would also flash.
No boot.
I assumed I had fried my PSU.

I ordered an EVGA 750 watt 80 Plus Gold PSU and put it in.
Still no boot, blinking power button light, and the fan jitter.
The odds are long that I got a bad PSU, but it could happen.

I took out all of the RAM and started unplugging the other devices (video card, SSD, hard drive, keyboard, mouse, etc.)
Only MB connector and CPU connector left plugged in.
I expected to at least get a beep code saying stuff was missing.
Instead only a lone green LED on the MB lights.
The power button no longer blinks.
If I plug in a fan into the MB I can get it to jitter when I hold in the power button.

I removed the CMOS battery and tried a start. No go, no beeps.
I used a different power cable from the wall to the PSU. Nope.

I have come to the conclusion that I have fried my MB, CPU, or Both.

Specs:

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK
CPU: Intel i7 3770K


Any ideas for how I can diagnose this any further?
I don't have a spare compatible MB or CPU for cross swapping to try to find out if it is just one or the other.
The system is old enough that there are no warrantees.

I'm going to start trolling ebay for used MBs and CPUs to see what my minimum replacement costs would be.
(I think I will need to invest in lottery tickets to finance it. LOL)

Bottom line, I'm down a system.
It was my main one so all of my normal apps, shortcuts, and data are inaccessible to me.
It may take me a bit on my back up system to get things set up.
Like getting back on this forum.
It was just a cruncher that was remotely accessed.

I'm not looking for sympathy.
We've all been here.
I just don't have the confidence to know if I've done all I can to get the problem nailed down.
I'm open to any diagnostic suggestions.

Thanks,
Ron

[Mumps]

PM sent.