System failure

[shep66]

Hi,

I'm pretty sure this is a PSU problem but would appreciate your thoughts. I built a new rig on the weekend with all new parts, except the graphics cards. It fired up and I installed the OS and other programs but after about an hour it shut itself down (in the middle of formatting my storage drive). Nothing whatsoever would work, except the board had enough power for the onboard power & reset switches to light up (I tried these too but no response).

I then swapped back my Corsair 750TX and it works. My question is, if the board was still getting some power - presumably only 5V - does this seem like the 12V rail has failed? Is that just bad luck?

Coolermaster HAF X
Asus P8Z68V-Pro
Coolermaster silent pro gold 1000W
i7-2600k @ 3.4GHz
Arctic Cooler Pro
8GB Corsair Vengeance CL8
OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 120GB SSD (system)
WD 450GB Velociraptor
2 x Asus GTX480 SLI

I was also getting a code 43 on the 2-slot card but that's another thread, unless anyone has any suggestions. I'm going to swap slots later in the week and I've already tried a different SLI bridge.

Thanks.

 

[treefrog07]

If the Corsair 750TX runs the system and the CoolerMaster SilentPro gold 1000W does not, then you have likely found the problem. Keep the Corsair and return the CoolerMaster for refund - it did not work.

 

[Cripple13]

+1 to treefrog, definitely sounds like psu to me.

 

[vx53c]

Another cooler master psu gone bad. It's not a surprise.
It could be the 12v rail, it could be some other rail... psu's are all about material quality. If it goes bad, just give it back. Get a Corsair, Enermax, Lepa, Superflower, Seasonic, Antec and enjoy real stability on the rails + longevity on that thing.

 

[shep66]

Thanks all. I just thought it was odd that some power was getting to the board but it still wouldn't work. I'm going to try my luck with another of the same - they can't all be crap.

 

[vx53c]

yeah they can
see if you can switch brands.

 

[shep66]

I'm going to remain optimistic...then I'll change brands.

 

[Cripple13]

I would agree with VX and say you should switch brands. You will get one that works for sure, but it won't last as long down the road because of the brand. So if you want to get a new one in a year, stick with the cooler master, if not, get something better

 

[Cripple13]

Oh and another point- the psu may work but non-reliable psu's can really damage your components

 

[shep66]

Update - it turns out there was nothing wrong with the PSU. The system only fails to start when I hook up the second graphics card. It must be tied in with the code 43 error but I haven't had time to test it further.

 

[jsc]

Not necessarily. If the Corsair supports two video cards and the more powerful CoolerMaster does not, the CoolerMaster PSU is still defective.

 

[shep66]

I only hooked up one card to the Corsair, not thinking at the time that it could be a SLI problem. I've since tested with the Coolermaster and it works fine on one card.
Next move is uninstall all the nVidia drivers, power off the pc, hook up both cards and install only the graphics drivers to start with (not the PhysX stuff). This seems to have worked for others.

 

[shep66]

I was wrong - the second card was faulty and I've since returned it.
I've now bought 2 x Asus GTX 580's and am having another, differnet problem which I think is to do with the lack of 8+8 PCIe connectors from my psu. I'll start a new thread for that.