Is my PSU dead? Corsair HX620

Treebiter · 14 Jan 2010 at 20:53

I turned off my computer last night as per usual and after work today went to turn it on... but nothing happened. I have checked the cables, sockets etc and all are fine. However, turning it on at one point tripped the tripswitch for the room. When I tried turning it on there was no activity, not even a sign of life from the power light and no noise at all.

I have a Corsair HX620 which I bought about a year ago and I have not touched my configuration for a long time. I'm assuming it's kaput but thought I'd check in for some advice. How would I go about checking if it truely is the PSU? Also, I've heard about something called the 'paperclip trick' though have no idea what this is (I hope it's not like the ping-pong ball trick :eek:

). Has anyone else had any problems with Corsair PSU's? Am I right in thinking that they come with a 5-year guarantee?

A lot of questions I know but any advice would be warmly welcomed.

Q9300
ASUS P5E3
4x1gb Geil Evo Blackdragon DDR3 1600
ATI HD4870 1024
Samsung F1 Spinpoint 750gb
Creative Xtreme Gamer
Corsair HX620

()

chipps101 · 14 Jan 2010 at 20:54

http://aphnetworks.com/lounge/turn_on_psu_without_motherboard_the_paperclip_trick

if you try this remember to unplug your power supply at the wall while fitting the paperclip and unplug everything from it inside the pc.

RJC · 14 Jan 2010 at 21:20

I tend to plug a fan into one of the molex if poss.

Treebiter · 14 Jan 2010 at 21:51

Well I slapped a paperclip in the green wire socket and the black one next to it and... nothing. I don't really know what I'm trying at achieve as the power unit is dead when the Mobo proper is connected. The Fan doesn't spin, nothing happens... There's no coming back from that, is there? I even think I can see melted plastic through the grate on a black cylinder surrounding some wires. Though that may be the mind playing tricks.

Now I'm faced with a choice if so... RMA it and wait what, a month? Or order a new one, take the extra cost on the chin. Can I live that long without Dwarf Fortress?

chipps101 · 14 Jan 2010 at 21:53

by doing the paperclip trick you have ruled out everything else and know it is defo a dead power supply and not something else pulling it down.

i know this might sound silly of me (and i am not being patronising or anything) but you have checked the fuse in the plug ?

alex24 · 14 Jan 2010 at 21:53

How old is the product? Within a year OcUK will send a new one out straight away, well at least that's what they did for me.

FYI, the postage cost on the RMA to corsair is crazy. Ask them nicely if you can use their UPS account.

RJC · 14 Jan 2010 at 21:57

By linking out pins 13 & 14 you are proofing that the PSU is dead and not the mobo.
Have you checked the mains power lead to see if the fuse has blown.

thepeganator · 14 Jan 2010 at 22:03

RMA to corsair is in europe.

I have a vx650w in the attic broken just due to that.

Treebiter · 14 Jan 2010 at 22:20

I bought the PSU from OCUK a year and a half ago unfortunately. I'm just going to get HX650 as a replacement (I mean, I've heard nothing negative about corsair PSU's generally so I was just unlucky right?). The last thing I RMA'd to the Netherlands was some OCZ memory and it took over a month to get back to me!

Oh, and I used two different kettle leads and checked each was working with my monitor before testing. One last thing, I've just moved house and wasn't using a surge protector due to it looking 'untidy' (don't ask). Could this have been related?

chipps101 · 14 Jan 2010 at 22:28

i think you have just been unlucky unless you have bad wiring.

you haven't been having building work done have you ?

Treebiter · 14 Jan 2010 at 22:49

The house has recently been gutted and all the wiring looms are brand new. This was September however and the computer's been running every day since October so this would have happened earlier if it was a problem wouldn't it?

Just to make sure, concerning the paperclip trick, I connected the black wire directly next to the green one though there were quite a few other black ones. Was this right?... Oh, and I used a plastic paperclip. That doesn't matter does it? (joke)

mattyfez · 14 Jan 2010 at 23:22

Treebiter said:
Just to make sure, concerning the paperclip trick, I connected the black wire directly next to the green one though there were quite a few other black ones. Was this right?...

Yes that right, all the black ones are '-' negative so its not critical which - its the green + one thats important as thats the one that simulates you turning the pc on, so the PSU should fire up (if its not broke).

I think you should attach a fan or something to the psu when doing this, as apparently some PSUs wont power up without some kind of load attached.

Treebiter · 14 Jan 2010 at 23:38

Ah, that's ok. Wanted to be triple sure before forking out for a new one. I had a fan plugged in... 2 in fact so that should have worked. Ah well. I can have it up again by Saturday this way.