Seasonic 860w 80 Plus Platinum

sopran2 · 8 Feb 2013 at 21:20

Seasonic are great PSU's but my one https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-015-SS makes me mad. It switches PC off randomly and after that i cant turn it back on. Have to leave for minutes, then plug some usb device to consume all the rest of power from PSU (something like reseting) and then it switches back on. My PC holds load easy Prime95+ QCCT+Furmark+Afterburner all same time (tested for 3 hours) Then i stop testing and computer switches off instantly - i ran out of ideas whats the problem. I changed Graphic card and happens the same. I Changed RAM and tried to test with only 1 module - the same. Unplugged all HDDs left the one which runs with no problems in another computers, unplugged all optical bays - the same. Unplugged wifi module from mobo (Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE Intel Z77) - again the same. Unplugged all USB units - the same. Unplugged all USB and audio sockets - the same. Reseted BIOS, updated BIOS and tested all available versions- the same random shutdowns. No blue screens, nothing - just instantly switches off. PSU is less then 2 month old and actually this problem persists from first day

Bios shows stable 12 and 5 volts. PSU tester shows everything is OK. And as i said stress test 3 hours ran with no problems.

It happens with clean windows with no crappy ASUS drivers and software as well.

Is the PSU going in some like protection mode for some reasons to prevent any damage? What else can be problem? RAM? MoBo? All components are brand new and with another pc's works fine.
If someone could give me advice i would be happy, otherwise i spent nearly 2 grand on PC and its not working like it should. I have built about 20 computers for friends, family and myself and never got any problem, and now i'm stuck!

Overclockers have best service and best RMA service i have seen, but RMA is last thing i want to do till i will understand what's the problem

In this link is my actual rig and specs:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=23500839&postcount=6696

Help me please if u can. Thank YOU!

RJC · 8 Feb 2013 at 21:23

One possibility is a component shorting to the case, try running your system on bench / table and see how it behaves.

You might be unlucky and have a faulty unit.

sopran2 · 8 Feb 2013 at 21:44

RJC said:
One possibility is a component shorting to the case, try running your system on bench / table and see how it behaves.

You might be unlucky and have a faulty unit.

Thank you for your post! I will try to take out the mobo when i will have little more time. It will be not so easy

All cable routing.... omg

Faulty unit will be the worst scenario, because RMA will take long time and i will have to buy new anyway.

lee32uk · 8 Feb 2013 at 22:04

Would it run for 3 hours if it was shorting on the case ?

olivier renault · 8 Feb 2013 at 22:14

lee32uk said:
Would it run for 3 hours if it was shorting on the case ?

no. Would most likely never run at all, or be sporadic.

RJC · 8 Feb 2013 at 23:10

At the the end of the day its worth a go, chances are its not but the op may need to dismantle anyway.

decto · 8 Feb 2013 at 23:10

What do you have plugged into the CPU fan header?

When the PC idles, is the connection spinning so slowly it's tripping the auto power off?

Many mobo's have a minimum fan speed for the CPU before triggering a shut down.

If whatever CPU device you have is on speed control vs temp then at idle you can trigger a power off

AD

Bacon? · 8 Feb 2013 at 23:49

Why will the RMA take a long time? If you bought it from OcUK they deal with the entire warranty on behalf of Seasonic.

sopran2 · 9 Feb 2013 at 02:39

olivier renault said:
no. Would most likely never run at all, or be sporadic.

Thats exactly what i thought - it will run not at all. But i have read in some forums, and i search a lot, that some people have similar issues and PC could run for day and then shutdown unexpectedly because motherboard was touching case. It is not adding together in my mind, but somehow it does happen or these people are simply lie...

sopran2 · 9 Feb 2013 at 03:05

decto said:
What do you have plugged into the CPU fan header?

When the PC idles, is the connection spinning so slowly it's tripping the auto power off?

Many mobo's have a minimum fan speed for the CPU before triggering a shut down.

If whatever CPU device you have is on speed control vs temp then at idle you can trigger a power off

AD

In CPU fan i have connected Zalman's CNPS20LQ radiator Fan because it is PWM and motherboards Fan controller can control only PWM Fans in CPU socket. If i will plug the pump in CPU socket it will run constantly on max speed and give me little bit noise. Radiators colling Fan is set to minimum and it is approx. 20% of fan speed (915 RPM) it can not get lower cuz its not allowed by Fan controller software.

Pump itself is connected to chasis 4 and set to 50% constantly running. If i set it lower some terrible rattling appears and also i think it can damage pump. Higher speeds of pump (max 1400) is not necessary because it makes change 3-4 degrees.

My CPU idle temp is about 40 degrees. It is high on sealed watter loop but i have low FAN speeds and absolutely silent system (loudest things are WD Caviar Black HHD's)
Also i have raised my GPU idle Memory clock and core clock because there are some problems running audio from HDMI when idle clocks are on lower level (this is known problem on AMD and its HDMI sound drivers), but i am not sure is it affecting CPU performance

As i understand fans speed shutdown triggers can be customized in bios anyway, and i actually have changed them, the alarm values are set much lower than actual fan speeds. I will play little with these settings and also will rise up CPU socket connected FAN speeds.

I like Asus mobo's but those buggy sensor readings and triggers are really annoying. AI suite shows me -134c on mobo or 5 volt rail voltage = 0v , also 12 volts rail =0v.

The question is HOW i can know what are the minimum FAN speeds on current Motherboard before there is shutdown Trigger activated?

sopran2 · 9 Feb 2013 at 03:27

Bacon? said:
Why will the RMA take a long time? If you bought it from OcUK they deal with the entire warranty on behalf of Seasonic.

Well, it will not be very long but can be up to month. I have send back some HDD's and replacements came in about 40 days. No offence it is like it should be but PSU is not HDD which i have about 20. I got 1 and only PSU at the moment left. I sold out old PCS. That means i will be without my new PC and as i mentioned i need it also for some work. I still have MSI GX660r laptop to use (even for some gaming if i want) but i was planing to sell it as well.

lee32uk · 9 Feb 2013 at 03:47

Have you tried with the stock intel heatsink/fan ? This would then rule out if it was the zalman fan causing the issue.

sopran2 · 9 Feb 2013 at 04:35

lee32uk said:
Have you tried with the stock intel heatsink/fan ? This would then rule out if it was the zalman fan causing the issue.

No i did no tried it! Thank You for idea. And then again if the issue is in the coolers fan, then why does the PC not turning on after shutdown. PSU is in some protection mode? Or there are protections on MoBo against that? I feel i have long way to dig in....