Corsair VX550 = BANG!

Pigeon_Killer · 18 Oct 2007 at 22:31

My dad's PC has just been killed by his new PSU. He plugged in the connectors, flicked the switch and it sparked and started smoking. It's definitely killed his ASRock 939 motherboard and my old 7800GS, that I let him borrow, and we're unsure if his CPU is dead because we don't have anything to try it in. The memory, hard drive and DVD drive will get tested tomorrow but he's not a happy bunny.

Best thing about this is he's tried the PSU with another motherboard and it powered it up fine. I thought PSUs committed suicide before taking out components but this one has done the exact opposite

Pigeon_Killer · 18 Oct 2007 at 23:08

Cheers. No voltage switches on the back, it's all done automatically. The connectors can only go one way unless you force them.

Pigeon_Killer · 19 Oct 2007 at 19:43

Yellowbeard said:
Just so I am clear, are you saying that the PSU was tested in another system before or after the failure with the Asrock 939 board you noted above?

After. He tried it with his current 939 motherboard first and and then an old Abit KG7-Lite after his 939 died.

I've told him to RMA it but he's worried the retailer will just send it back and say it works fine.

Pigeon_Killer · 20 Oct 2007 at 19:08

UPDATE

Tested the memory and DVD drive and both seem to work but the HD is dead. It doesn't power up so that's even more damaged done by the ****** PSU. I've been very happy with my HX520 but I won't be touching another Corsair PSU after this

Pigeon_Killer · 20 Oct 2007 at 22:06

Yep. My head was almost in the case when my dad turned it on and it sparked and started smoking instantly.

Pigeon_Killer · 20 Oct 2007 at 23:29

iviv said:
Could have been static from your hair?

I've got a skin head and don't make a habit of putting my other head near the internals of a PC. Stopped doing that after I got it stuck in the floppy drive

Raikiri said:
If the PSU still works I don't see how it possibly could be the problem.

The only other component that my dad changed was his graphics card for my 7800GS. Unless that developed a fault in the two weeks it was out of my system and subsequently fried the motherboard and his hard drive it must've been the PSU.

A power surge could've been the cause but I don't see how that would've killed some components and not the PSU itself. I'm more inclined to believe it overvolted and fried some components before shutting down.

Just bad luck at the end of the day. Could've happened to anyone.

Pigeon_Killer · 20 Oct 2007 at 23:44

8igdave said:
Do you recon that if you bought a new pc and the psu killed it instantly you can rma it all and get new stuff or would they only replace the psu?

The warranty would cover everything if the PSU took out other components. Doesn't work that way when you build a system which is why it usually works out cheaper to do it yourself.

Pigeon_Killer · 20 Oct 2007 at 23:48

8igdave said:
when i said bought a new pc i ment building. so OCUK would not refund everythin? seems outragous if they supply me a psu tht blows it all up. Of Course ultimatly corsair should pay up.

No idea. If OcUK sold the VX550 I would try and find out.

Pigeon_Killer · 21 Oct 2007 at 15:47

My dad got an RMA yesterday and it's being collected free of charge on Wednesday. Only problem is they said it might take four to six weeks for a replacement so I assume they'll send it straight back to Corsairs HQ in America for testing.

I've told him to look on the bright side and use it as an excuse to upgrade so it's not all bad.

Pigeon_Killer · 2 Nov 2007 at 12:11

Update

Corsair found a fault with my dads PSU and have sent a new one. No idea what the fault was but they've acted a lot quicker than the quoted 4 to 6 weeks.

Just hope the new one doesn't destroy his new components when he buys them.