PSU Blew Up

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ExecutionLCR

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Nov 5, 2013
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System Spec:
motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth 990fx
CPU: AMD 8350FX 8 core
Memory: Corsair 8gb 1600
GPU: Geforce 220gt

So my PSU just blew up with blue sparks and a little bang..

I really don't care about the psu as it is a old one, however I have only had the motherboard, cpu and ram for two days! I will be devastated if the PSU has caused damage to any of those components as I had to save to buy them!.

System has be running absolutely fine for two days with no high temperatures and no blue screens / freak restarts etc.

The obvious reason is the psu being only 400watt did not have enough wattage to power 't the system.

The only component i was able to test which is still working is the wireless keyboard..so that at least is a glimmer of hope if the USB sockets weren't fried..Will be getting another PSU tomorrow to test and i will report back.

I did however have a really old 350watt power supply but it didnt have the full 28pins (or is it 24) so didn't power the motherboard at all.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Cheers
 
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vmem

vmem

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Feb 17, 2012
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this is why I so often go on rants about how they PSU is NOT a wire that somehow connects your PC to the wall socket.

contrary to popular belief, I typically blow my computer budget on two rather unpopular components, the Case and the PSU. all the rest I'm actually rather judicious about my decision making and save wherever possible. This is because when a PSU blows like yours did it can easily take down the rest of the system, and spending the extra buck on a nice looking case is often worth it if you care about aesthetics and proper air-flow. not to mention that the case will typically out-last all of your components.

Anyway, given your system, a 400W PSU should actually be plenty. I guess yours is just old enough that it can no longer support what it was rated for.

good luck with the new PSU, and hope the rest of your system is still working
 
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ExecutionLCR

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Nov 5, 2013
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I forgot to mention that all my computer power cables are plugged into a decent surge protector, most likely that does not matter.

but i really need to know what the percentage of the other components being fried are, surely this board has something in place to stop that its brand new and a decent enough board. (I know psu's sometimes have something in place to shut off in such an event but this one decided to go off like a firework - typical since its bonfire night!!)
 
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rolli59

rolli59

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Oct 27, 2007
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Quality PSU's have internal protection to protect other hardware from damage. Cheap generic units have little to none and tend to kill components when they blow. No way of knowing until it is powered on.
This is actually the biggest argument for QUALITY PSU's.
 
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ExecutionLCR

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Nov 5, 2013
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Ah well...I'm praying to the almighty that it's not damaged the other components. I have a question though, should that old 350watt PSU of been able to power the board even though it only had 24pin and not 28?

The PSU in question (the one that blew) is a 400watt CIT - Model: 400UB. The only hope I have is that I had one do the same thing years ago without blowing anything else in the case.

This is it here http://microdream.co.uk/pc-components/pc-components-power-supplies/cit-400ub-400w-atx-psu-power-supply.html#.Unk0anBBKSo - does this have the internal protection? please say yes..
 
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vmem

vmem

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Feb 17, 2012
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it's possible if you get a proper converter for the header but it's not worth trying. honestly listen to everyone's advice and wait for the new, hopefully quality PSU to arrive. seasonic, superflower, antec, corsair, are just a few of the nice brands out there.

also, honestly don't count on your motherboard to protect your components from massive power spikes generated by an exploding PSU. it just doesn't have the proper components for that kind of purpose
 
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ExecutionLCR

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Well I was planning on ordering a new corsair 700watt PSU, which i still will after going to my friends computer unit tomorrow and lending a decent psu to test. By the way nothing looks odd on the motherboard..but it was an almighty surge so chances are it's done some damage but i hope for the best.

Rolli59 what do you mean by, 24pin motherboard, 4 pin CPU?
 
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ExecutionLCR

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Well my PSU had 20+4 - and the little one only had 4. I was skeptical of using this old PSU in the first place but when it worked without any problems and i done some research on it i just carried on using it. Do you think that might of been the problem?
 
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ExecutionLCR

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Right then..got a lend of a 500watt (pretty standard - old psu) which powers it on with no display, now I'm pretty savvy so knew it had to be the ram, changed ram slots to the 3rd slot, bingo it now displays. So question is has that little power surge blew that slot?

Also being curious i tried another power cable on the PSU that caused the power surge and sure enough it blew the fuse in the cable, Now i dont know a lot about the electronics of PSU's so have no idea why it's blowing fuses in the power cables but i think it's safe to say that PSU is a gonner!

Anyway my main question is, is that ram slot now damaged as it appears because if so i'll be sending it back to the manufacturer.
 
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rolli59

rolli59

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Yes with an FX8350 might very well be, high power CPU need the 8pin.
 
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vmem

vmem

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Feb 17, 2012
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well, try a number of ram sticks that you KNOW works on that slot, if none of them lets you post then yeah, you have a blown ram slot.

Why are you trying to hard to get the bad PSU back on line? the typical user will spend around $1k on PC components and do you really want to play the lottery on that with a cheap PSU? especially after two accidents according to you? that aside, you'd have to post pictures of the innerds of the bad PSU if you want us to try to figure out exactly what happened to it. However, the typical causes are manufacturer cost saving moves by using cheap capacitors and bad soldering.

also, RMAing the mobo because of your own error is considered consumer fraud, just FYI

 
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ExecutionLCR

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I wasn't trying to fix the old PSU just wanted to know if it would blow the cable again which it did. I have spent nearly 1k on components and will be spending more from the same web site, 400watt as mentioned was more than enough to run this motherboard, cpu, gpu and ram, so that little stab that I'm committing consumer fraud is ridiculous. We all know bad hardware is sold all the time it's just one of those things, like a car. one can be perfectly fine whilst the other doesn't work and both built with the same machinery etc.

So yes it is perfectly acceptable to assume i have received a faulty motherboard or any of the other parts. Try putting yourself in my position for a minute, i have worked in many computer shops, worked for Microsoft etc so I am more than capable of assembling a computer without it failing whether it is a used PSU that caused the issue or maybe it didn't and the motherboard blew the psu because it's worked fine until i put those parts in.

As for trying different ram slots why would i? I know that ram slot worked before the surge because thats the slot it was installed in, now it doesn't display but does in the 3rd slot.
 
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vmem

vmem

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Feb 17, 2012
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well, let's talk about the ram slot first. I think it is worth testing it out since you were asking about a definitive answer as to whether or not one of them has been blown, which is why I made the suggestion. you're perfectly right in saying that the current situation already indicate to that particular slot being broken.

As for my 'little stab' as you put it, it really depend on how you RMA your board. You're not wrong in suggesting that it COULD be the mobo's fault. however, you yourself already have a strong belief that it isn't really the motherboard, but rather the fact that you used an old and probably poorly made PSU that led to this unfortunate incident. Therefore, all things seem to indicate that it really should be the manufacturer of the PSU taking responsibility for this, and replacing any components broken by their poor product. Is throwing everything at the mobo manufacturer when you know it's not really their fault essentially fraud? if not it is at least flawed logic imo, stemming from the fact that you spend good money on good components, and you're just pissed that they may be damaged.

In that regard, yes, I feel for you man, spending 1k on components and watching it blow hurts. I'm just suggesting that I feel the correct thing to do would be to thoroughly investigate the problem (it seems you're doing this), and if it is indeed the PSU (which is most likely out of warranty if it had any to begin with), you'd have to swallow the cost. Now, this is the morally correct course of action, whether I would do this or not in your shoes I leave to your own imagination/decision.

Oh, and just FYI, if you tell a mobo manufacturer that a cheaply made PSU exploded and took one of the ram slots on their mobo with it, I HIGHLY doubt they'll replace it for you free of charge. it would be considered user error. again, don't take this as a personal swing at you, just FYI
 
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