Power Supply burntout AGAIN 3rd time, what gives?

[anderson2005]

Hello all, it's me again bringing you another episode of 'Anderson's PC Problems!"

Jokes aside... yet again, my PSU keeled over and died. To paint the picture, I have the following specs:

CPU: http://prntscr.com/dbqrd3
Caches: http://prntscr.com/dbqrog
Motherboard: http://prntscr.com/dbqrtk
Memory: http://prntscr.com/dbqrzy
Graphics: http://prntscr.com/dbqs6k

This is what I had at the very beginning with no issues at all. GTA V was then released and I decided to get a new graphics card, an ATI Radeon R9 290x. This required a new PSU as it simply didnt have the right connectors plus I was concerned with the wattage not being sufficient as I have 550 with this Antec PSU that I have now.

Here comes the first problem...within about 8-9 months, the computer died on me. It would run fine without the GPU inside but fail to boot with the GPU in. I returned the card, they sent it back saying the card is fine, replace the PSU. I replaced the PSU - shockingly everything was working fine again. Several months later, BAM exact same problem occurs again. I didnt waste time sending the GPU and just replaced the PSU as it takes them about 2-3 weeks start to finish. Except this time, the new PSU didn't help boot the computer. So I returned the GPU to them. They this time just offered a full refund so I assumed the issue was the GPU causing the PSU's to fail. I had to revert BACK to the graphics card you see in the picture, AMD 270x or 260x I believe. Now, several months later, I leave my comptuer on over night (which is not unusual and not common either just depends on what I was doing the night before, IE, waiting for something to download.) And during the night, I wake up to a burning smell. I turned off my fan (not the computer fan, my actual bedroom fan thinking it was that...as it was only a cheapy one) and went back to bed. I woke up in the morning and could still smell the burning and I looked at the computer which was fine...and I opened case, couldnt really smell anything... so I just figured the bedroom fan had pumped out a lot... so I left it and started using PC. about 30mins in, the computer shutsdown without warning and refused to turn back on. That's when it dawned on me that again....the computer had issues....I open the case and look for any signs of burnt'ness and i see nothing, no smell really... a slight faint smell of burning....so I assumed it was the computer afterall..and so I gently touched the top of the PSU and BOY it was hot... couldnt touch it too long kind of hot. So once again, my PSU has died and from seemingly over heating.

My question is this.... I dont want to keep wasting time buying new PSU's if there's a fault elsewhere causing this issue. I'm seriously considering buying a new motherboard bundle and seeing how this goes? I don't know what else to do at this point... I know 100% it is not the GPU causing this because this is now my original one from years ago...and it never had problems in the years that I used it... I do/did have 3 hard drives connected this whole time, could it be a faulty hard drive? should i just go down to 1? I'm at a loss here guys, please advise.

 

[anderson2005]

What make and model psu's have you had die on you? It's not down to the power draw of the pc as the current setup is fairly low power and even with the 290x I doubt if you would pull more than 350w at the wall, probably not even that much.

Have you tried using a different wall socket to plug the pc into? Everything connected up properly? What case do you have and is the psu mounted with the fan facing up or down? Is the case sitting on a carpet?

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What make and model psu's have you had die on you?

Corsair CX750M is the one that just died. I can't recall exactly what the previous one was that died but it was a reputable make like COrsair as I know the important of cheap ones and I didnt want to risk damaging other parts due to poor quality PSU.

Have you tried using a different wall socket to plug the pc into?

I havent tried exactly this but I did replace the extension lead that I originally had when the previous PSU's failed. I have another computer in the house on another socket from the wall and that has no issues at all, never has done. I will when I get my new one, plug into that instead.

Everything connected up properly?

As far as I know yeah, I've upgraded memory/hdd/graphics many times in the past on previous machines without issues and so It's not COMPLETELY new to me to upgrade the graphics but as far as I know, I've done everything correctly. All cables are firmly seated and correct cables connected to the devices e.t.c.

What case do you have and is the psu mounted with the fan facing up or down?

This is my case: http://prntscr.com/dbrowa

I wasn't aware of this before but going by the make of the case (antec) i guess this PSU (the original that's is now back inside the computer) must have came with the base itself and this PSU unit (antec) has fans that face downwards whilst the new PSU's the Corsair for example and the previous one that also failed, both face upwards. I figured facing up would be better anyway?

Is the case sitting on a carpet?

Yes, my computer does sit on the card. But there are no vents (as far as I know) under the case so nothing should be getting blocked there unless I'm missing something?

 

[anderson2005]

The Corsair CX range are not very good quality and use cheap internals. The VS series are even worse so avoid them at all costs. Still, that doesn't explain why three psu's with a lot more capacity than your components could ever draw have failed. If that CX750M is less than 3 years old you can RMA it for a replacement.

I will certainly be taking this back to the retailer as it's within 1 year so i'll have them either replace or refund. I think im going to opt for a refund at this point and maybe get another one entirely.

The reason I asked about the socket is that it could be a fault with the wall socket and it may be worth getting the socket tested.

Unfortunately this isn't my house and I cannot arrange that, I will be moving soon anyway and thus would be able to test things if needed at that point which I shouldnt need to. In addition to this though, I have another PC that is even newer/more expensive and has a bigger graphics card in it, 980Ti which is running from another socket entirely I have switched my computer over to that socket so both are using that now so if the socket is faulty, I should not experience any further issues and if I do, I know then that it cannot be the socket.

I think we can rule the case out as being the problem. Even though the first psu was fan down and the case doesn't have a vent for the psu it does sit on tabs that keep the psu clear of the case floor and it wouldn't explain the second two psu's that had their fans facing up.

Yeah I never noticed the old antec PSU faced down to be honest, I did think it was a bit odd when I installed it back just now though... lol. And yes you're correct it's not directly on the base itself it has a little thing that it sits on like the harddrives.

Have the 24 pin plugs on the psu and the 24 pin sockets on the motherboard been ok? No burn marks or melting? Usually if the board is drawing too much power that's where you will see the telltale signs.

As far as I know the, the pins are okay I havent seen under the motherboard (the side that faces the rear of the case) but the front side appears to be normal, no obvious signs of burning or otherwise. I will double check this now.

Have you used the same psu lead (kettle lead) with all three psu's? If so I suppose it could be that at fault but probably not that likely.

I did change this with each new PSU, however just now.. I used the same PSU cable that the Corsair used but with the antec as I have no idea where the antec one is, I think I may have accidently put that in with one of the other PSU's that I had returned but I know that this one in right now is the most recent cable as it's got a little sticker on it matching the PSU.

The thing I keep coming back to is that wall socket as I have heard of faulty house wiring blowing psu's before and I can't think of anything else that would cause it.

This is what I'm beginning to believe too... I suspect strongly that if it is the wiring, it is that outlet specifically that is at fault as I know my other computer is fine..and has been all this time. So ive moved to that same outlet as the other computer and now lets hope and see...

 

[anderson2005]

Just to add to this, I intend on buying a new graphics card and I've kind of had my heart set on nVidia's GTX 1070 the MSI Gaming X one. It seems to be the best so far for the range excluding the Gaming Z one but that's a minimal difference doesnt really warrant extra ££.

With that in mind, what would you recommend as a new PSU should i be able to get a refund on the existing one.

 

[anderson2005]

I don't think you will get a refund on the CX750M but it depends on where you bought it from. Most likely you will be fobbed off to RMA direct to Corsair in which case you would get a identical model back.

One thing I didn't think of yesterday is that the CX series are only rated at 30 degrees C so if they where overheating that could have caused them to fail although they should have thermal protection to prevent this from happening. It's just another reason why these poor quality psu's should be avoided.

As for a replacement, a good quality 500w psu would be more than enough for your pc and still have plenty of headroom left. I have yet to see my pc hit 300w at the wall even with the 1070 heavily overclocked while benching. Normal gaming power draw is around 220-250w at the wall, depending on the game. That's including the water cooling pump, 6 fans, some led's and a couple of water temp monitors.

Unfortunately the vast majority of 550w psu's that we normally recommend are still out of stock so I will be suggesting some 650w units as well.


This is a cracking deal at the moment. Be aware though that the Superflower Leadex psu's have bright white led's where you plug the cables in and they cannot be turned off.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Super Flower Leadex Platinum 650W Fully Modular "80 Plus Platinum" Power Supply - Black= £94.99

Total: £105.49
(includes shipping: £10.50)
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Alternatively the EVGA Supernova GQ 650w is also a very good psu. It's a FSP built unit with the full 650w available on the single 12v rail and has a 5 year warranty. Jonnyguru gave it 9.4/10 in his review.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x EVGA GQ 650W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply - Black= £83.99

Total: £94.49
(includes shipping: £10.50)
​

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A couple of 550w units:-

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Super Flower Leadex GOLD 550W Fully Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply - Gunmetal= £83.99
• 1 x EVGA Supernova GS 550W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply= £57.95

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The EVGA GS 550w is a Seasonic built unit with a single 12v rail of 540w and has a 5 year warranty. We have had reports of it from users on here that the fan can be noisy. That coupled with the high normal price means I don't normally recommend it but it has a significant saving at the moment. Review here.

The Superflower has the full 550w available on it's single 12v rail and also has a 5 year warranty.



As for a GTX 1070 I see no reason to choose any card more expensive than the current price of the Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 AMP Extreme Spectra RGB. It's one of the fastest and coolest 1070's around and if you register it with Zotac within the allowed time period after purchase you get a whopping 5 year warranty. The cooler is a absolute monster though.

I would urge you to get the wall sockets checked out before spending any more money or at least use a different wall socket. I would hate for you to spend all this money for something catastrophic to happen. PSU's can kill other components when they fail. A decent one shouldn't as the protection should kick in but it's not unheard of.

Thank you for the advice, I'm holding off on buying any new GTX at the moment at least until I move out of this house and into my own. (To eliminate the electric being the cause)

Like you said, they wouldnt allow a full refund but allowed me to change it to another PSU which unfortunately, maplin (the place i got it) only seem to have corsair's so I was forced to get another corsair but the RM850x one instead. Hopefully these are somewhat better than the CX?

Depending on what you feel about the RM850x will determine whether I use it or not however as I may just buy awhole new PSU (from the list you suggested) instead nearer the time of when I get the GTX card.

Also one of the reasons I wanted the MSI is i hear it comes with various softwares that really help boost graphics and such, plus the specs are a bit better than the other cards. Is this not actually true? or whilst it is true, is it
simply not worth the price tag of £430?

[UPDATE]

So I just checked out the GTX 1070 Zotac you mentioned, price wise theyre the same cost for the Gaming X so is there any reason why you would choose the Zotac over the MSI? Are they more reliable/durable?