3 PSU failures in 3 years - just bad luck?

daveyg

daveyg

daveyg

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Joined
17 Jul 2006
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126
Location
Bristol, UK
Hi All,

Until 3 years ago I've never really had any component failures, although that said I always research my parts and never by the cheapest.

My aging 500w Enermax Liberty modular PSU gave out and I replaced it in September 2009 with a 500w OCZ modular one. This lasted until July 2010 (not even a year).

The RMA was going to take so long I needed another supply in the meantime so I bought an XFX 650W modular (its a seasonic underneath) in July 2010. This died in March 2012 (lasted 19 months). This time I went through RMA and they replaced it with a brand new 650w core edition wire one. This has just died lasting a massive 5 months.

The first to failures were fuse blowing totally dead events, the latter was a slow death with the 12v rail losing voltage, to the point where it now will not turn on.

Between the first 2 failures I changed the mobo, processor, GFX has been upgraded, I have moved house and it sits behind a Belkin surge protector.

I don't overclock and let the bios sort everything out.

My full rig is an i5 750 in an Asus P7P55e-LX, MSI GTX460 Hawk, 8gb RAM, Intel 160gb SSD, Maxtor 640gb HDD, SATA DVD writer, SATA DVD ROM, an Asus xonar sound card and a couple of case fans, so by no means power hungry.

My case is an ATX mid tower, with the PSU at the top (draws air off the mobo/CPU through it's own fan and out). I'm not aware of having temperature issues in the case, although I don't independently monitor the temperature with probes, I can only go on what the hardware monitors/bios tell me. My case is (a now fairly old) Jeantech Butterfly V2.

So, after a very long ramble. Am I just unlucky, do you think something more sinister is going on? Should I be putting whatever PSU I end up with in a BTX case so it only ever takes fresh air? I'm not really sure how to diagnose the failures as the companies never tell you why they failed, just that they have.

Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom, or am I just paranoid?

Cheers all

daveyg.
 
In the 10 years of using pc's, I have never had a psu go... so to have that many die in a fairly short space of time is rather odd....

do you use a surge protector?
 
A couple of silly questions but where does your case sit? On the floor, on a desk and do you have any pets? How do you clean the dust out of the pc and do you include the PSU in the dusting?
 
OK, to answer the questions as best I can:
Not sure about the current house's wiring, only lived here since December 2011 but I have never had anything else fail and it sits behind a Belkin 8 gang surge protector.

No pets. Case and everything generally gets a clean when the side comes off, but it never gets too bad. I wash the front case filter and use a camera 'rocket blower' to get dust out of fans, PCBs etc. It had a really good clean out in March when I fitted this PSU. The case sits in an oversizes apperture in a desk so on a flat wooden surface, open fronted, about 5 inches to the rear, 5 inches above and 4 inches to the side, so plenty of space around it.

Air normally comes out pretty cool, it was quite hot the other day but I assume that was becuase it was on its way out and pulling too much current as the 12v rail was only giving out 10v.

Some guys at work suggested overheating was a common killer but I have never really thought I had a heat problem in my case.
 
Yes straight forward Midi ATX case, PSU mounted in top rear, sucks air up off the motherboard and out the base.
 
Dirty supply (spikes etc) or heat.

As you have only been in your current house a short time it would be unlikely to be the supply that has affected three psu's..

Do you have a fan drawing air into the case?
 
I had one really cheap unbranded PSU which i think had got a bit damp blow up and blow fire out of the back (not spectacular flames or anything, but i think it still qualifies) :D that was interesting to say the least... But that was my own fault :D

Apart from that, all of my PSU's are fine. Even the one in my 10 year old P4 computer.
 
A 'dirty' mains supply could cause problems with the best PSUs, but the surge protector should filter that out. Nevertheless, I'd consider getting a Corsair HX/AX as a replacement, mainly for the 7 year warranty.

That way you've got the benefits of a quality PSU, and less chance of taking other components with it if it does die. And you'll have free replacements/upgrades for 7 years, which could be 7 PSUs at the rate you're going.


NB Look out for offers on the older HX Bronze/Silver models, as they've just introduced new 80+ Gold versions.
 
Yes front and rear case fans, 120mm drawing air in the front bottom, 80mm in the rear.

I think it might be time for a new case as it seems the only common denomiator, other than bad luck.

I am tempted by the Corsairs, problem is if they fail whilst they replace it it stills take 2-4 weeks to turn it around. I've still got 3 more years of free replacements on my XFX, but really I now need a spare supply that I can use when the next one goes.
 
I would have thought that a decent quality PSU would have sufficient built-in filtering to cope with "dirty mains" (within reason). And if "dirty mains" is the issue, I would think that other electronic items in the house would be failing. SKY/Freeview boxes, TVs etc usually have switch mode PSUs which would be just as vulnerable as a PC to a poor quality mains supply.
 
Well my Seasonic PSU let go on Monday after 5 years of faultless service and I have that going through a surge protector.

Im guessing the big thunder storm on Saturday probably caused some spikes which the surge protector and/or PSU wasnt quite able to cope with
 
Get a decent UPS, it will suppress any crap coming form the mains (e.g. spikes, surges, brownouts ect). APC units are usually highly rated.
 
I've read a couple of threads on tom's where people have had psu misfortunes similar to yourself. Where several psus have failed inexplicably it was sugested that bieng top mounted might be the problem. There was an entire article slating top mounting case for different reasons, having a negative effect on psu lifespan was one of them. Everbody monitors cpu/gpu temps but the vast majority don't pay attention to psu temps . Take it with a pinch of salt if you will but the trend of top mounted psus bieng on the decline must say something.
Just a stab in the dark. Statistically speaking, it's not that unlikely for it to be just bad luck given the amount of psus bought/sold.
 
daveyg said:
... but really I now need a spare supply that I can use when the next one goes.
Click to expand...
A useful answer (no speculation) could exist IF the failed part inside each supply was identified. Unfortunately most computer techs have almost no electrical knowledge; cannot provide that information.

A power supply must contain best filters for AC mains. Therefore 'dirty' power from a UPS in battery backup mode - typically much 'dirtier' than anything on the mains - is made completely irrelevant by that internal and superior filtering. Belkin does not even claim to do any filtering. Read its numbers. Near zero.

Computer supplies fail but power supplies in all other equipment does not? Curiously, senstive electronics in dimmer switches, RCD, clock radios, dishwasher, etc have no 'protector' and do not fail? Also informative.

Trivial temperature increase does not create failure. All computers must work fine and normal even in a 40 degree C room. Increased temperature is how to find defective parts; does not create them. Voltage variations must cause no damage since all computers are required to work normally even when incandescent bulbs dim to 40% intensity. Even short all supply outputs together and turn it on. Even that must not cause any supply to fail. Short circuits must not damage a properly designed supply.

So what is unique about your supplies? Again, those who really know cannot say much without hard facts such as what inside failed. Obviously, most all failures are not visually apparent. Finding the few who can actually answer that question is difficult.
 
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