Homebuilt Broken?

[thnksqrd]

My homebuilt rig that has been working fine for a week and a half suddenly shut down without warning. It wont power back up now. Im thinking it's the PSU (a SeaSonic SS-650HT) but thought I'd ask here and see if it could be something else. Thanks in advance!

 

[jimmyzline]

Is there no response at all when pressing the power button or does it just not go to OS? First, check ALL power connections inside and out of the case. I mean from wall to surge protector to psu. Then check that the 24pin mobo connector is tight and clipped onto the board. Do the same for the 4pin or 8pin ATX cpu connector is clipped in. Lastly, check with another psu if possible.

 

[thnksqrd]

I get no response at all when pressing the power button, I've checked all the connections as well.

 

[Lutfij]

Can we have the specs for your machine?

 

[thnksqrd]

Here's everything.

Mobo: MB ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 AM3 R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131655

Ram: 2 x 2GB Mushkin 996947
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226154

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint 500GB HD502HJ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

PSU: Seasonic SS-650HT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151091

CPU: AMD Phenom II 955 Black Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808
(Using stock HSF)

GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD6850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908

Ill add the OD and the Case, just on the very off chance they could help.

OD: Lite-On IHAS124
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

Case: Rosewill Challenger
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

It POSTed perfectly the first time and ran great after, but like I said, just powered off suddenly and now I get no response at all from the power button. The Mobo Standby Power LED stays lit as long as the PSU is plugged in with the switch in the on position.

 

[Lutfij]

The sudden shutdown indicates that the PSU is at fault, but it could also mean that the connections to the board have been(in some way compromised). I'd ask you to take out the mobo and inspect/smell each part and also note the case-mobo-standoff's. It could be a short in your case or improper seating of the mobo.

Get another PSU i.e: another manufacturer such as Corsair or Antec and check if the machine POST's

 

[thnksqrd]

Assuming that it is the PSU at fault (as i desperately hope), did I load too much onto it? Is SeaSonic not a good brand? Did I possibly buy a low end model? Or did I get a bad unit? I know there's probably no definite answer. im just frazzled here, this is my first build and to start with the case arrived with the front panel connector posts all broken off, so I had to RMA that, and now I have to RMA the PSU as well, it's just driving me to my wits end.

On another note, I plan to Crossfire in the next year with another 6850, would this PSU be appropriate?

Antec CP-850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024

 

[Lutfij]

Here are a few recommendations:

I'm limiting to these as I've read alot on them and they are 80plus GOLD certified, this means ALOT, since you'll be pulling exactly 750 or so W's and they will be efficiently used by the PSU. They have cable management as well and they'll improve the airflow in your case and it'll look neater. The one you chose isn't bad, if your on a budget but its 80plus which means about 60-75% efficient. The new standard is Gold>Silver>Bronze where gold is about 85+% efficient (if i'm not wrong). This means less bills for the longer you run the machine and your future-proofing yourself for further builds

1| Tt Toughpower Grand 750W

2| Antec TQP 850W

3| NZXT HALE90 750W

I'd go for 1 or 3

Furthermore, I want to clear up a small misunderstanding with most consumers/buyers. SLI - Crossfire Certified doesn't mean the PSU is limited to a specific GPU maker. What You need to know is that the PSU in question has the necessary 8/6pin connectors for the GPU to supply power. So in essence, any PSU that has the wattage and the connectors is eligible for the SLI/Crossfire rigg.

in case you'd want to look a bit more

You can have a look on the forum to have a further read:
Links to guides for PSU and UPS
Tom's guide to PSU and links
Everything You'd want to know about PSU's

 

[jsc]

The one you chose isn't bad, if your on a budget but its 80plus which means about 60-75% efficient.

:lol: :lol: :lol:
Seasonic is one of the best PSU manufacturers around. That doesn't mean that a bad one didn't slip through. And 80plus does not mean 60-75% efficient. It means 80% efficiency at 20%, 50%, and 100% of rated output.

Seasonic is also one of the very few companies that makes their own PSU's.

1| Tt Toughpower Grand 750W

2| Antec TQP 850W

3| NZXT HALE90 750W

I'd go for 1 or 3

Of these three, I'd go with #2. Tt's quality control is erratic, especially in their lower powered units and NZXT is a relatively new supplier without an established record.

Seasonic is a much better brand than ThermalTake.

Work through our standard checklist and troubleshooting thread:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-read-posting-boot-problems
I mean work through, not just read over it. We spent a lot of time on this. It should find most of the problems.

If not, continue.

I have tested the following beeps patterns on Gigabyte, eVGA, and ECS motherboards. Other BIOS' may be different.

Breadboard - that will help isolate any kind of case problem you might have.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/262730-31-breadboarding

Breadboard with just motherboard, CPU & HSF, case speaker, and PSU. You do have a case speaker installed, right? If not, you really, really need one. If your case or motherboard didn't come with a system speaker, you can buy one here:
http://www.cwc-group.com/casp.html

You can turn on the PC by momentarily shorting the two pins that the case power switch goes to. You should hear a series of long, single beeps indicating memory problems. Silence indicates a problem with (in most likely order) the PSU, motherboard, or CPU.

Remember, at this time, you do not have a graphics card installed so the load on your PSU will be reduced.

If no beeps:
At this point, you can sort of check the PSU. Try to borrow a known good PSU of around 550 - 600 watts. That will power just about any system with a single GPU. If you cannot do that, use a DMM to measure the voltages. Measure between the colored wires and either chassis ground or the black wires. Yellow wires should be 12 volts. Red wires: +5 volts, orange wires: +3.3 volts, blue wire : -12 volts, violet wire: 5 volts always on. Tolerances are +/- 5% except for the -12 volts which is +/- 10%.

The gray wire is really important. It should go from 0 to +5 volts when you turn the PSU on with the case switch. CPU needs this signal to boot.

You can turn on the PSU by completely disconnecting the PSU and using a paperclip or jumper wire to short the green wire to one of the neighboring black wires.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXgQSokF4&feature=youtube_gdata

This checks the PSU under no load conditions, so it is not completely reliable. But if it can not pass this, it is dead. Then repeat the checks with the PSU plugged into the computer to put a load on the PSU.

If the system beeps:
If it looks like the PSU is good, install a memory stick. Boot. Beep pattern should change to one long and several short beeps indicating a missing graphics card. Silence or long single beeps indicate a problem with the memory.

Insert the video card and connect any necessary PCIe power connectors. Boot. At this point, the system should POST successfully (a single short beep). Notice that you do not need keyboard, mouse, monitor, or drives to successfully POST.

Now start connecting the rest of the devices starting with the monitor, then keyboard and mouse, then the rest of the devices, testing after each step. It's possible that you can pass the POST with a defective video card. The POST routines can only check the video interface. It cannot check the internal parts of the video card.