AX1200i Replacement Blew Up - Could My Other Components Be Damaged?

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syketh

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Hello,

Two weeks ago I sent my PSU (Corsair AX1200i) off for RMA as it was emitting a faint but audible electronic buzz that could be heard over music and game play. On Monday past I received my new replacement, another AX1200i. I plugged it all back in and was grand for a few days. Last night whilst playing a game my computer knocked itself off with no warning, there was no bang like others have experienced when their power supply croaks. I tried pressing the power button again, no luck. After opening my chassis I could smell something burning and instantly thought it was my GPU's as my 780 Ti was still hot from playing games. After poking my nose in and having a sniff I could tell it was actually the power supply, so I pulled that out and had a look.

Inside there seems to be a grew goo-like paste on a few of the coils and around one of the big capacitors that I don't believe were there before. I even tried the self-test button on it but it's done for. I'm worried that my other components could be damaged.
I quickly tested my build with my partners power supply, a 750W Corsair and everything booted alright but I seen a few people mention that down the line it could cause artefacts or my CPU could become unstable. Should I send everything off to the retailer and have them look at it?

About an hour before my PSU died my fiancée decided to change the fuses downstairs, which knocked my computer off whilst it was on, however it still booted up and was fine until that happened. Do you think that could be the cause? I thought Corsair's PSU's were built to deal with any accidents like that. I'm also using a surge protector 4 plug adapter.

I honestly have no luck with electronics as this is the fourth piece of equipment I have had to send back to Scan.co.uk since this time last year. Over the phone a few weeks ago I heard the support advisor mention something about giving me an A grade piece when replacing my old CPU (The overclock they put on it became really unstable and messed the CPU up). I don't think he meant to say anything about the grade of their equipment but it got me thinking that they could be panning me off with old gear or items that have been returned in the past.

Apologies about the long post, I'm kind of at my wits end right now.

Thanks in advance!
 
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Karsten75

Karsten75

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Just contact them, tell then the PUS failed almost right out of the box and arrange for another RMA - as Forrest Gump said "Stuff happens". 4 is kind of a tough streak, but still within a bell curve, IMHO. THe UK is'nt known for that bad power, except if the wiring in your house is old or degraded. Why were your fiancée fuxxoring with the fuses (fuses> really? or circuit breakers?) in the first place? That may be a major clue to the string of issues you are having with electronics.
 
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syketh

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Haha, yeah. I just seem to have a rough time with these things, especially on my holidays. She decided to replace a fuse for our shower that has been on the blink recently and in the process knocked everything off upstairs. I have ordered an "Extreme Belkin Surge Protector" and a socket checker to see if the plug I am using is suitable. The wiring in this house is pretty old and upstairs light bulbs blow every few months. There's not much I can do, hiring an electrician to re-wire the house would be pretty costly right now. The only thing I can do is check the plug and use the new surge protector when it comes.

I am just off the phone with Scan there now and they have issued another RMA for the PSU. They assured me that with that sort of PSU there would be little to no chance of it taking my other equipment with it, unlike other cheaper models / brands. So I hope that is the case. I just wonder what caused it....
 
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syketh

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I only ran that PSU in my computer for a total of maybe 10 minutes, but all the lights on the motherboard came on, and everything loaded so I hope you're right! :)

I have two 780Ti's in there and they're both superclocked. As well as a 4930K @ 4.6GHz and quite a bit of ram. I'm just going to use my partners computer in the mean time, haha.
 
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syketh

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I'll have a look into that! Do you roughly know the cost of a line conditioner, what exactly does it do?

Thanks!

Edit: £190 is probably the lowest priced one. It will have to do, I don't want to take the risk of damaging anything else. Do you think this would be suitable?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tripp-Lite-LC2400-Conditioner-Regulation/dp/B0000514OG
 
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syketh

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Awesome, thanks. I've decided that i'll be taking my computer elsewhere to avoid any other issues. It would be awesome if I didn't have to rely on another device to make sure my PC doesn't suffer.

Just another question since you've been so helpful. On the latest PSU (That blew up) I decided to use the green braided cables I purchased, Corsair made AX & AXi cables - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsair-individually-sleeved-psu-dc-cable-kittype-3-(gen-2)-for-axi-ax-hx-rm-txm-green Those to be exact. Do you think that could have been the cause? I doubt it but I want to rule it out. Don't think i'll be using them when I get my replacement PSU in a few weeks - just incase.
 
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Karsten75

Karsten75

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I strongly doubt (outside of a manufacturing defect with the cables) that they could contribute to the issue. If there is a problem, it would probably manifest itself in any of a number of more immediate and attributable ways.

I'm thinking sparks, smoke, overheating or other impressive electrical failures. :)

A KillAWatt (http://www.amazon.co.uk/P3-International-Electricity-Monitor-P4400/dp/B00009MDBU) is a cheap and half-assed way to assess the quality of the power delivered from an outlet. It will tell you highest and lowest voltage on a line, for instance. That may help you determine if you really should invest in the line conditioner.

Edit: You can also get a PSU tester to test the output (voltage only, not load) of the cables from the PSU - that should give you peace of mind regarding your custom sleeved cables.
 
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westom

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Anything a line conditioner might do is always done better inside the PSU. That is why a PSU exists.

Protectors are another joke. Is your AC voltage exceeding 500 volts? Protectors do nothing until 230 V increases to somewhere around 500. Now, do you have a voltage problem? That would be obvious because incandescent bulbs change intensity especially when other appliance power on or off. Even 1930 wires are sufficient. But a defect may exist in wire joints. But first, you must know if the defect exists. Wild speculation solves nothing.

PSU tester can only identify a few type of defects And cannot say any power supply is good. Power supplies (properly designed using standards that existed before PCs existed) cannot damage other parts.
 
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syketh

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Hi Weston, sorry for the late response.
I was thinking that myself, I don't want to have to fall back on an expensive line condition when an already expensive PSU should be able to handle a spike every now and then. I do believe it could be down to the wiring of my partners house and I have decided to bring it back to my apartment in the mean time.

The one thing I can still smell inside my PC - with the PSU removed - is the smell of something burnt, much like the smell of the dead PSU. I don't know if it could be the smell lingering or something else...
I have taken a sniff around and can't pin point it. I've actually got my fingers crossed that something else is damaged so I can send the whole thing back and get credit or my money back, but i'll have to check it when I get my replacement AX1200i back. I'm done with this build and the problems I've had with it.
 
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