New Build using an older PSU and having problems - does this sound like the issue?

mwaddoups

mwaddoups

mwaddoups

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12 May 2010
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I went back to a desktop PC today after using a laptop for 3-4 years, and put together a new i5 3570k + ASRock Pro4-M + 8GB RAM + ATI HD 7870 + Samsung 830 128GB SSD build. I was trying to keep the upgrade as cheap as possible, so stuck with my older case and looked up the power requirements for this build.

My older build used a 530W Tagan Modular PSU - this has two 12V rails with 20A each or the option to combine into one rail running at 33A (full specs here: http://www.epowertec.com/power_tg-530-u15.html). Stressing the CPU is fine, and apart from some strange voltage issues with OC'ing the chip I got it stable at 4.4GHz - though dialed it back to stock speeds for now.

All seemed fine, until I booted up a game (Guild Wars 2, so fairly graphically intensive). The PSU started to emit a buzzing noise (having had the case open I'm pretty sure this was coming from the PSU) and then I black-screened and reboot without a BSOD after about 10-30 seconds.

Obviously my suspicions lie with the PSU here, but by my observations there shouldn't be any particular issues with it's specs. Does anyone know of any methods of confirming this or anything else I could think to check? I'm going to run some stress tests on the GPU to confirm it's the graphics card under load that causes this buzzing noise and problem, and then check back. Thanks for any help and advice!
 
the psu will be at max during gaming which is why it will be buzzing.

my thoughts are your risking your components by gaming with it. Im sure tagan was/is a decent psu but how many 6 pin/8 pin outputs does it have for pci express? are you using a splitter for your vga?

consider buying a bigger psu
 
Looks like my decision has been made for me. I was continuing using the machine for web browsing (it had been running Prime95 on and off all day!), when I was shocked out of my chair by a loud bang followed by a burning smell. The PSU is now in the bin, I hope it hasn't caused any lasting damage!

A cautionary tale about skimping on an upgrade for anyone! Might try and pick up an OCZ ZS 650W tomorrow, or see if I can get something better delivered by Monday.

Could this also explain an issue I was having when overclocking: the VCore on the chip consistently jumped to 1.3-1.35v from 1.1-1.15v resting when under load, no matter the settings for LLC and even using an undervolted offset - I had put it down to the motherboard but it could feasibly be the PSU as well!
 
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