Multiple blown PSUs!

alex.mc · 10 Sep 2012 at 10:09

I have a problem that has been going on for some time, and I've yet to get on top of, mainly through not having the time, and the usual life gets in the way stuff!

Built a PC last year, the essentials are:

Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Z68 Socket 1155
i5 2500K
16gig G-skill ripjaws 1600mhz DDR3
OCZ Aglity 120gig SSD
XFX HD 6870 video card

The video card came about a month after the build and I fitted a bigger power supply, of about 600 watts?
All was fine for about 3 months. Then one day I came back in and the PC was dead and wouldn't fire up. Dead power supply so replaced it under warranty.

Another month or two, and then "Bang!" the PSU went pop and all was dead! The shop who supplied the PSU said they only replaced a faulty PSU once as policy, and so in desperation I went elsewhere as I needed to get the PC working pronto!

I won't bore you all with the details, but due to a massively difficult past few months the PSU's (650, 750 and 880 watts!) have all gone bang, but leave the motherboard and all other components apparently fine and working!

I've just taken apart the last PSU to have a look (Not returning it, they would bolt the doors seeing me coming!) and there's a small 8 leg chip with it's top blown off. The source of the bang I reckon.

Cutting to the chase, I feel it's the motherboard causing this. I guess the other culprit could be the XFX 6870, but it would apparently fail when the card was at idle, and be fine when the card was working hard?
I've had the Motherboard out earlier nin the process and checked for any possible shorts/correct stand-off placement etc. I'm confident that nothing was ever wrong on that account.

Anybody had anything similar? I prepared to replace the motherboard if needed, but would like some opinion.

Many thanks.

alex.mc · 10 Sep 2012 at 11:33

First was one of these "removed"
Second was one of these "removed"
Third was an XFX PSU "removed"
And fourth was "removed"

PSUs will always fail at the worst possible point of course and I should add that In each case I was desperate to get my PC working again so I could access my data for invoicing customers etc. So it was generally a case of dashing out and buying something to stick in to get back up and running!

I thought the XFX should do the trick being better rated!

It was on a surge protector yes..... but it's the same surge protector my previous two PCs were on.

The failures seem random? It has failed when firing up a game and therefore the 6870 card...... and yet it would also fail when doing nothing and merely being in standby.

I'm in a different house now, with different wiring of course. I wonder if I ought to invest in another PSU of quality, and try again without the old surge protector? The other PC here has not had a problem.

alex.mc · 10 Sep 2012 at 11:58

Ok, done..... new here so don't want to upset the mods!

I can pick up an OCZ ZS750W-UK reasonably locally for an OK price. So I might give that a try under the new conditions?

alex.mc · 10 Sep 2012 at 12:57

The old house had several PCs over a few years, all on the same surge protector. The last PC is the one spec'd in the original post and is the one which has had all these problems.

The new hause has recently been Electrically tested for it's certificates and comes up fine.

So..... I will purchase a new PSU, the OCZ mentioned, and a new surge protector..... and give it a try. In a slightly cynical frame of mind, I will at least get one return or swap to the retailer if the problem continues in the new house and wiring set-up.
I'm not going to shed any tears really for the retailer though if I do as it's that large one with branches everywhere!

alex.mc · 11 Sep 2012 at 07:31

I popped out yesterday and picked up the OCZ 750w PSU I mentioned above, and amongst a busy day managed to install it.
I didn't have much time, but fired it up (without surge protector) but got BSOD'd straight off! I got an irql_not_less_or_equal so I'll have to have a look at that....... but at least the PSU hasn't gone bang! :-)

I did use the same surge protector on all my PCs the past 8/9 years yes..... but this is the first time I've really had any major trouble. I have to say I'm not overly convinced by their use.

alex.mc · 11 Sep 2012 at 10:04

I am a little ignorant of the finer points of surge protectors and why they are needed. I originally thought they were to flatten out any major spikes in mains electricity due to lightning strikes etc. But it may well be possible that most mains electric is pretty stable on the whole and we're being sold a product we don't really need for 99.99% of the time? Let's face it, it wouldn't be the first occasion would it?

PSU is working nicely! But the PC is BSODing despite all efforts. I have pulled the SSD now to drag off my data and think I will do a clean install!

alex.mc · 13 Sep 2012 at 10:24

The PC is up and running now, although I'm still keeping my fingers crossed!

The item that failed in the last PSU was a small 6 or 8 leg chip. The whole top had blown off. I didn't open up previous PSUs as they went back generally, but I did hear a bang in association with a couple of failures.

The BSOD was only associated with the last failure. The stuff showing was, IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
and the long string was, 0x0000000A (0x000000016, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0x82E5AA5B)

I could get into safe mode, but couldn't find any way of repairing what was flagged as a driver issue. In the end my patience gave out and it was easier to reinstall.

The surge protector was quite a good quality item originally, but it was getting on a bit really. I would have thought a quality PSU would have plenty of it's own built in protection anyway, which is why when the XFX failed I wondered about what other components might be at fault?

alex.mc · 17 Sep 2012 at 12:32

Hi Westom,

You are correct in what you say, but unfortunately I haven't had the time, or facilities to conduct a forensic investigation.

I was hoping that someone might look at my spec, and possibly flag up a known issue with it? Failing that, someone who has been in the same situation and managed to determine their problem which might have pointed me in the same direction.

The PSU I opened had the whole top blown off the small chip! There wasn't much left of it!

It's possible thet I had a selection of cruddy PSUs, including the XFX which should have been decent enough, but I just don't know.
I could start repacing parts one by one, but it would be my luck to replace the offending part last of all! I was hoping someone might have had a simliar experience that might help me narrow my aim a little?