Should I RMA my PSU?

[ff4930]

Hi Everyone,

Here is my situation:
Couple days ago my computer suddenly shuts off and restarts and after that my computer would not POST. Most likely it was a power surge, not entirely sure. So I narrow down the problem to my PSU and GPU. The thing with my PSU is that, it powers my computer fine and all my fans spin.

My problem is, I am not entirely sure if the PSU is defective or caused by power surge. I still have 1 year warranty for my PSU (is OCZ). Should I RMA my PSU? Only thing is I have to pay shipping to OCZ. Worst case: I lose money on shipping, best case: I get a backup PSU.

What you guys think? And is there any way to tell if a PSU is power surged or just plain defective?

Thank you.

 

[the_crippler]

Ouch.

Really, that doesn't sound like a PSU problem at all. That sounds a lot more like an overheating problem. What are some details about the system?

Is it really dusty inside?
Did you build it yourself or purchase it prebuilt?
If you built it yourself, did you remember thermal paste on the CPU? (and replace it any time your removed the CPU cooler?)

Another thing that's quick, cheap and easy to check that has given me problems before: If the machine is a few years old, try replacing the battery on the motherboard.

 

[mcnumpty23]

should always have a good surge protector on your pc

only way to know for sure is to try your psu in another pc or try some one elses psu in yours

 

[inzone]

Was the power supply pluged into a surge protector. Are you saying that the computer turns on but won't post? If yes then are there any beeps when you turn the computer on? Usually MB have a feature that tells you if something is not working , like it will give you a sort of morse code to tell you , example; 3 long beeps and 1 short could tell you that the video card is bad , 3short beeps and 1 long could tell you the memory is bad and so on . If you look in the trouble shooting section of the owners manual of the MB it will tell you what number of beeps is for each component. That is of course if your motherboard has that feature and you are in fact hearing any beeps. If you had a power surge and you were not pluged into a surge protctor then you can try this ; turn off everything and unplug your computer from the wall socket, then take and unplug the power connectors from your MB and video card and hdd's , reseat the video card and then start reconnecting everything with the wall socket being last and then turn it on and see if that helps. Also do you have a power supply tester or can you get one ( borrow,or buy).

 

[ff4930]

I have already diagnosed the problem to the power supply and video card as I have used my friends psu and vid and my computer works fine.

And I didnt have a surge protector at that time but now I have!

I was just wondering if the PSU is worth a short RMA'ing if there is a slight chance it could be a power surge.

 

[mcnumpty23]

rma it if its financially worth doing--ie how much to ship it and whats the psu worth?

 

[ff4930]

the psu right now on newegg is about $60 usd after rebate and i reckon the cost to ship it would about $25 usd.

So this is why I ask if you guys think is a good idea or not.

 

[mcnumpty23]

probably worth doing--as long as they have no small print that allows them to say that the psu wasnt faulty and hit you for return postage--read the terms and conditions of their rma

 

[ff4930]

The OCZ warranty policy say it doesn't cover power surge but I'm not 100% sure if it is caused by power surge or just plain defective because like I said before the psu powers on my comp and my fans.

 

[badtaylorx]

it depends on your available funds........do you have enough for a better psu??? if so ,,, upgrade....if not ,,, rma


good luck

 

[mcnumpty23]

does it say anything about should they decide its not covered by the warranty that you would be hit with the return postage? or a fee for testing it?