PSU failure! 2nd time in a year!

Prophet · 4 Mar 2007 at 23:24

My PSU has just died (well partly) for the second time in less than a year!

The first time the 12v rail went on the Enermax unit so I replaced it with a Hyper Type R 580W that has worked well for the past 6 months.

I needed to burn some disks so went to my PC but it was off which is odd as its on 24/7. No power at all so I disconnected the mains lead and reconnected it, then flicked the switch on the psu. All the fans started but there was a strange clicking sound and the leds on the fans went on/off with the ticking. I turned it off straight away and removed the PSU.

As a test I plugged it into an old UPS as not to use the house electric and as soon as I turned it on the UPS spat its dummy and reported a full load on the display (Usually sits at 2 out of 5 on the meter)

The PC works fine but has 2 similar PSU faults within a few months. The UPS sortware hasnt reported a dodgy power supply so could something in the PC cause this fault over time?

The spec is as follows.

AMD Barton XP2500+ Clocked to 3200+
1GB RAM
Abit NF7-S
3 X HDD
2 X DDVD
ASUS Ati 9600XT
3 X 80mm fans

I'm going to get a replacement PSU (cheap one for now) to see if there's any other damage.

Whats the cause of this. Two faulty PSU's or something in the system killing them off over time??

First problem is RMAing the PSU as I can't remember where I bought it?

Any ideas on the possible cause of this?

Edit.. Just tested the PC with another PSU and it still posts as usual!

kmistry · 4 Mar 2007 at 23:34

Could be anything to be honest, but the Hiper's aren't the most reliable PSU's there have been many reports of them failing and it looks as if when you replaced your original one, it was a bad one too

The first time your PSU died was probably bad luck

mishima · 4 Mar 2007 at 23:49

Another hiper gone boom! It's down to faulty goods with the Hiper, there have been countless PSUs going bang on this forum and you are the latest victim!

Did you order it online? Have a trail through online invoices on e-tailers.

mattpj · 5 Mar 2007 at 00:19

11th i have witnessed since mine blow up approx 5 weeks ago

What a joke they are!

mnemonix · 5 Mar 2007 at 00:21

Do you use surge protection on the mains supply ? I might consider that before blaming the psu given it's now happened twice with 2 different makes.

Justintime · 5 Mar 2007 at 00:46

Make that 13 mate. Theres some issue here then, had 2 go in the space of a week in a clients 2 rigs. Both psus are roughly 4 months old.

BTW, orangepeel, in the small chance it was'nt the craptacular hiper, i've had an NF7-S that was a certified psu killer. Had in a server for a mate and it killed 4 psus in a year before i killed it with my hammer. The case was well ventilated etc.. and the replacement board, i think an Epox Socket A something is still doing its duties years later in the same setup.

Prophet · 5 Mar 2007 at 20:33

Thanks for the replies guys

There's one other possibility that could be the cause.

We have an old style hot water tank that heats up over night. I've recently noticed that when its on my monitor has a very fast flicker. Could the heater elements large current draw cause an instability in the electric supply that over time causes the PSU to work over time to smooth out the supply to the PC? Long shot but worth mentioning.

The PSU has been behind a APC UPS for a few months but running without for about the same amount of time. I was just worried there was another cause as two different faulty PSU's seemed a little bit unlikely?

The UPS seems to work fine and I've never had spike recorded by its software or MBM5.

Hopefully its just another crappy Hiper and not something else. It was purchased online at one of 3 places. I'm away till Wednesday so as any IT geek will confirm its horrile knowing my PC is dead at home and I can't sort it till Thursday at the earliest!!!!

Prophet · 9 Mar 2007 at 09:17

I now have time to purchase another PSU. I will be getting the Hiper RMA'd so I can use it as a backup however I'd like to get another, more reliable unit.

What is the current PSU of choice?

I was thinking about a Seasonic?

Messiah Khan · 9 Mar 2007 at 09:28

Seasonic would be a fine choice. Either that or a Tagan.

A2Z · 9 Mar 2007 at 10:31

lol if you had done any sort of research you would have known about the Hiper's troubles

Corsair is the PSU to get.

Prophet · 9 Mar 2007 at 11:08

A2Z said:
lol if you had done any sort of research you would have known about the Hiper's troubles

Corsair is the PSU to get.

I did do a lot of research before buying the Hiper and not one bad word was said. Most of the info was from this forum too!

I wouldnt have bought it if there had been a list of documented problems.

I really like the look of the Corsair. The reviews seem to sign its praises, especially in the power delivery and silent running departments.

I've not found where I purchased it, however they say I can't return it because its out of warranty. I know it has a 3 year manufacturers warranty. Does the supplier have a duty to replace the PSU or do I need to go directly to the manufacturer?

Kyo · 9 Mar 2007 at 12:56

Orange Peel said:
I did do a lot of research before buying the Hiper and not one bad word was said. Most of the info was from this forum too!

I wouldnt have bought it if there had been a list of documented problems.

I really like the look of the Corsair. The reviews seem to sign its praises, especially in the power delivery and silent running departments.

I've not found where I purchased it, however they say I can't return it because its out of warranty. I know it has a 3 year manufacturers warranty. Does the supplier have a duty to replace the PSU or do I need to go directly to the manufacturer?

I had the exact same problem as you last week. My Hiper 580 blown itself too. I checked that the warranty is 3 years but you can only enforce it if you still have the original receipt from where you bought the Hiper PSU.

Once you have that you can in touch with Hiper directly and rma it. For me i lost my receipt and warranty was not a option

.

I went for the Corsair 620W and although it doesn't look at snazzy as the Hiper i can tell you it was easy to fit and like most have mention it quite silent in the sound department. So far so Good

Darg · 9 Mar 2007 at 14:07

I would reccommend keeping your PC plugged in behind the APC UPS. That will protect from surges and it always smart just in case your power goes

The flickering you noticed could be simply electromagnetic disturbance. Similiar to the flickering you see on a TV when a mobile gets called or gets a text. I doubt it has anything to do with the power line as once the heater turns itself on it should draw a pretty constant load. If it still happens behind the UPS then it's definitely not the power line.

Corsair does get good reviews. I have heard of so many Hiper problems now. I tried pursuading a guy on the wwiio forums not to get a Hiper but he just wouldn't believe me. I think he got the same 580W version that seems to be going bust all the time too.

Prophet · 9 Mar 2007 at 14:34

Kyo said:
I had the exact same problem as you last week. My Hiper 580 blown itself too. I checked that the warranty is 3 years but you can only enforce it if you still have the original receipt from where you bought the Hiper PSU.

Once you have that you can in touch with Hiper directly and rma it. For me i lost my receipt and warranty was not a option .

I went for the Corsair 620W and although it doesn't look at snazzy as the Hiper i can tell you it was easy to fit and like most have mention it quite silent in the sound department. So far so Good

Bummer about the warranty mate

I've found my recipt so I should be OK. I'll have a search for Hiper and see where I get to. I didnt buy the Hiper for the looks so not bothered if the replacement doesnt have LED's etc. Just want a strong reliable PSU

Prophet · 9 Mar 2007 at 14:36

Darg said:
I would reccommend keeping your PC plugged in behind the APC UPS. That will protect from surges and it always smart just in case your power goes

The flickering you noticed could be simply electromagnetic disturbance. Similiar to the flickering you see on a TV when a mobile gets called or gets a text. I doubt it has anything to do with the power line as once the heater turns itself on it should draw a pretty constant load. If it still happens behind the UPS then it's definitely not the power line.

Corsair does get good reviews. I have heard of so many Hiper problems now. I tried pursuading a guy on the wwiio forums not to get a Hiper but he just wouldn't believe me. I think he got the same 580W version that seems to be going bust all the time too.

The monitor hasnt ever been behind the UPS so I'll add that on to see if the problem persists.

Should hopefully get a replacement PSU by Monday so will report back when I know more.