PSU's keep burning out

Summermoon · 1 Jun 2010 at 18:02

What woud keep burning PSU's out on my PC that last, First one lasted 3 years and took out the CPU, a q9450, next 6 months and took out one of the GFX cards, next 6 hours didn't take any hardware this time.

PC Spec: MB Asus Striker 2 Formula, CPU E8600, RAM 8GB Crucial Ballistix, GFX Zotac 8800GT 512MB Amp Edition x 2 in SLi, 2TB in RAID 0+1, WinTV HVR1300.

I've built 23 PC's to date and this one has gotten me stumped.

Some suggestions would be great.

Thanks in Advance
D

EdwardTeach · 1 Jun 2010 at 18:03

what make of psu have you been using? do you use a surge protector?

Redmint · 1 Jun 2010 at 18:04

Brand/model number of the PSUs used? It's not uncommon for a PSU to die in 3 years, 6 months is just bad luck. If you're using decent brand PSUs they generally fail gracefully and don't kill other components when they die...

Troezar · 1 Jun 2010 at 18:11

Any other PC's in the house that have had probs? Was the rest of the hardware consistent, if not which bits are common to all three PSU's?

infernox · 1 Jun 2010 at 18:21

what brand are you using ?

spirits247 · 1 Jun 2010 at 18:24

Very strange.

Never has a PSU blow out ever. It should only happen during a huge power surge or if the PSU is under immense strain.

Sounds like you've replaced most of the PC - what's the common denominator? The motherboard? Any blackness on the motherboard connectors?

pastymuncher · 1 Jun 2010 at 18:52

The fact that they are taking out other components suggest that you are using cheap, poor quality psu's.

True_Scotsman · 1 Jun 2010 at 18:57

Cheap/unbranded PSU's are the cause here, what have you been using?

Summermoon · 1 Jun 2010 at 20:32

First PSU = Antec Phantom 500W

Second PSU = OCZ900MXS 900W

Third PSU Corsair HX850 PSU

None of these are cheap at over a £100+ Im quiet aware of the problems cheap PSU's cause.

However I am going to use a cheap PSU to trouble shoot this one rather than blow the new one again.

All Protected via surge protector

The other 3 PC's in the house are all running fine. One other off the same wall socket as the PC which keeps frying PSU's

With the exception of the CPU and GFX card that were taken out the only other common demoinators are the motherboard, RAM, Second GFX card, DVD RW, Case oh and ME.

EDIT: I just found out the last PSU fried my PSU tester!!!

pastymuncher · 2 Jun 2010 at 11:50

What about the power lead to the psu? Have you changed that? Small chance it could be faulty.

PhillyDee · 2 Jun 2010 at 11:54

I would change the full power lead. Surge protector too.

alex24 · 2 Jun 2010 at 12:02

Surge protector could be the cause too, I've seen no compelling evidence to show that they're even worth using in most situations, and can actually cause problems.

There might be something on the same power loop in the house that's causing brownouts or distorting the power supply to an extent where the PSU is working quite hard to clean it up, so to speak. You could also check the motherboard, and also it's mounting to the case, which could be causing problems. These sort of issues can be very hard to troubleshoot.

tbz_ck · 2 Jun 2010 at 12:22

I'd invest in a UPS if I were you. It'll clean any input power before delivering it to your rig.

alex24 · 2 Jun 2010 at 12:34

tbz_ck said:
I'd invest in a UPS if I were you. It'll clean any input power before delivering it to your rig.

Not true.

A UPS prevents a loss in AC power to connected hardware and provides a battery backup in such circumstances, allowing you to shut down the machine safely. This helps only in a power cut or extended 'brown out' events.

If a UPS includes any 'cleaning up' it won't be any more than a standard surge protector does, which is negligible at best compared to the sort of power issues that are likely to cause these problems in this situation.

Summermoon · 2 Jun 2010 at 13:14

I used a new lead each time I replaced the PSU as a matter of course.

Ive taken the surge protector out of the equation for now.

Dam well missed the courier bringing the replacement, I was only next door too. PITA.

Phil2008 · 2 Jun 2010 at 14:39

alexhull24 said:
Not true.

A UPS prevents a loss in AC power to connected hardware and provides a battery backup in such circumstances, allowing you to shut down the machine safely. This helps only in a power cut or extended 'brown out' events.

If a UPS includes any 'cleaning up' it won't be any more than a standard surge protector does, which is negligible at best compared to the sort of power issues that are likely to cause these problems in this situation.

Well my UPS monitors the power before it enters my pc, and if it detects a increase or decrease in voltage, it knocks it to battery power untill the voltage returns to normal.. You need a UPS with AVR (automatic voltage regulation) todo this though.

tbz_ck · 2 Jun 2010 at 14:47

Phil2008 said:
Well my UPS monitors the power before it enters my pc, and if it detects a increase or decrease in voltage, it knocks it to battery power untill the voltage returns to normal.. You need a UPS with AVR (automatic voltage regulation) todo this though.

As mentioned you need a good one (and that is what I was talking about). I've got several APC UPS's at work and they DO clean the input power before delivering it to the protected device. If the mains then under or overvolts the UPS regulates it to normal before delivering to the device keeping a constant supply of decent power available.

GeX · 2 Jun 2010 at 16:43

dodgy house electrics

Summermoon · 2 Jun 2010 at 17:06

Dodgy House electrics - My thoughts exactly so I did call in a Sparky - One bedroom socket was dodgy but none down stairs where teh PC is and of course its on another circuit. (Another £150)

Must be Gremlins!!

thingemajib · 2 Jun 2010 at 17:16

i believe there are two typoe of UPS (active and passive?). one sits in between the power source and PC, so could act as a protector (possibly the AVP mentioned earlier), and one that sits seperate - it keeps itself charged, but only activates when the power cuts.

or something to that description...