Urgent PSU help Needed! Switches on for less than a second

Zain Cheema

Honorable
Aug 9, 2013
55
0
10,640
So I have a low end 750 watt psu and I recently just upgraded from a gtx 285 to a gtx 590. So I was in the middle of playing watchdogs and my system cut out. The PSU gave a horrible smell though there was no noise when the system cut out. I noticed this same smell as I was playing other games, mainly when the sysem was put under load.

Now when I press the power button i can see the fans spin for about half a second and then it is dead. However, the motherboard light remains on. I tried this PSU in another system and I get pretty much the same result. Also I tried Another psu in my system with the motherboard and cpu connectors only plugged in and the system works though this psu is no good as It can never supplyy enough power to a gtx 590.

Is there a way to fix my psu. I had a look inside and every thing seems to be normal. There are no bulging capacitors. I really dont want to part with this PSU as it holds a lot of sentimental value to me. I would Really appreciate it if anyone could help me fix this.

The rest of this system includes

Core i7 3770k cooled by an akasa venom vodoo
8gb corsair vengence ram
Asus p8p67 lga 1155 mobo
point of view gtx 590
1tb western digital caviar blue hdd


 
Solution
If it gave off a horrible smell something let the magic smoke out so it needs to be replaced. The GTX 590 has a TDP of 365W, the GTX 285 was only a 204W TDP, thats a big increase in power especially for a PSU you describe as low end.

You should NOT repair a PSU. It likely blew out one of the switching transistors not a capacitor so it will require a full disassembly to get to, and even if "repaired" it likely still lacks the capacity to support that system. There will also still be voltage on some of those caps, enough to seriously hurt you if you don't know what you are doing, ditch the PSU or relegate it to being a doorstop, it serves no purpose to anyone anymore.
If you have a lot of sentimental attachment to the PSU, put it on a shelf and look at it. You need a new PSU because of the new graphics card. You might be able to repair it but even repaired it won't handle your new load and it will cost a lot more in money and time to repair it than to replace it.

You may have damaged the CPU or some other components on the mobo to create the smell but it sounds like you definitely toasted something. Out of spec low voltage is just as bad for a computer as over voltage.

 
If it gave off a horrible smell something let the magic smoke out so it needs to be replaced. The GTX 590 has a TDP of 365W, the GTX 285 was only a 204W TDP, thats a big increase in power especially for a PSU you describe as low end.

You should NOT repair a PSU. It likely blew out one of the switching transistors not a capacitor so it will require a full disassembly to get to, and even if "repaired" it likely still lacks the capacity to support that system. There will also still be voltage on some of those caps, enough to seriously hurt you if you don't know what you are doing, ditch the PSU or relegate it to being a doorstop, it serves no purpose to anyone anymore.
 
Solution