PSU blown?

[kevman32]

On Saturday I was busy gaming and suddenly my PC just switched off mid gaming.

As soon as it went i left the room thinking that i would just come back later - when i did it seems as though it had been continuously rebooting at the post screen.

Subsequently I switched it off and it booted to windows but my screen froze when i tried to click on explorer etc.

On Sunday i was preparing for a reformat but the computer reset again mid boot before the windows screen. After playing around with it a little it appears to reboot during post, bios and on windows startup basically when it fancies it. A cold boot is more successful than a restart.

I managed to get it stable in the bios by removing a couple of ram sticks and all other peripherals. However when i tried to boot to windows (safe mode or otherwise) it would get to the point of displaying the windows screen and reboot.

Specs are 2500k
ASUS p8p67 pro
8 gigs corsair ram
Evga 670 GTX
coolermaster 550W

My psu had been making buzzing noises when under load - looking on the web some people said this was fine others said it could be dying.

It could also be the mobo - all parts are still under warranty

Cheers for any help

Kevman

 

[noise]

Some PSUs buzz when under heavy load. I'd run memtest to check your memory before looking at mobo or other items.

 

[kristjan_i]

The buzzing is made by capacitors giving away their charge and recharging themselves, its called coil whine. It's normal.

Not 100% sure but seems like, your graphics or CPU overheated during gaming. Its normal to shut down whilst having too high temps, computer is protecting it's components.

As you can't get to windows, it's maybe because of a corrupted install, you might want to enable bootlogging, no GUI boot and show boot information during normal boot (done trough: start and typing msconfig.exe, under boot section) and see what driver hogs, if it's classpnp.sys then everything's fine with your with your installment and the problem lies elsewhere.... Like damaged memory modules or motherboard components, static electricity is a real killer.

It also be due to mismatched drivers (chipset etc).

I hope you get your rig up and running again

 

[kevman32]

The computer has been running fine for months and i have not updated any drivers in the last week or so.

temps have been well under previously - i have an aftermarket cooler and limited the gfx card using v-sync etc it never goes above 65- 70.

I have tried to boot in safe mode and the system gets past classpnp.sys

I see the welcome screen and then it crashes out.


I have mem test on a stick and it did boot up but no test started - there was what looked like a memory code on the screen.

Does mem test start straight away - i cant remember

is my mem knackered?

cheers

kevman

 

[kristjan_i]

memtest needs 2 passes to verify the good state of your ram, it can take form 30min to 3 hrs, maybe even more on slow computers.
its dependant on your processor, ram speeds aswell as how much ram you have.

if it starts showing errors written in red, one or more of your ramsticks is affected.

 

[bigcyco1]

memtest needs 2 passes to verify the good state of your ram, it can take form 30min to 3 hrs, maybe even more on slow computers.
its dependant on your processor, ram speeds aswell as how much ram you have.

if it starts showing errors written in red, one or more of your ramsticks is affected.

+1 but two hours won't cut it lol i actually recommend you run it for 24 hours

 

[vegettonox]

LOL 2 passes I'm sorry, but that's incorrect, I have had memory errors show up after 10 passes, the general rule of thumb is 12 passes with memtest to verify completely good ram. I would make a bootable disk of memtest in case your system is having problems with your usb stick, the test should run automatically until canceled once you boot from it.

If your ram passes one way to tell if its windows is to boot a linux live disk and see if it runs fine, i have seen a windows reboot issue quite a lot and it always tends to be some form of corruption.

If memtest is running correctly you should see the following screen http://www.memtest.org/pics/nf2-big.gif

Monitor it and if you see the test percentage slowly increasing its running just fine, after it finishes an entire sweep it will say 1,2,3, etc on the pass, if you get a single red error one of your ram sticks is faulty.

 

[kristjan_i]

LOL 2 passes I'm sorry, but that's incorrect, I have had memory errors show up after 10 passes, the general rule of thumb is 12 passes with memtest to verify completely good ram. I would make a bootable disk of memtest in case your system is having problems with your usb stick, the test should run automatically until canceled once you boot from it.

If your ram passes one way to tell if its windows is to boot a linux live disk and see if it runs fine, i have seen a windows reboot issue quite a lot and it always tends to be some form of corruption.

If memtest is running correctly you should see the following screen http://www.memtest.org/pics/nf2-big.gif

Monitor it and if you see the test percentage slowly increasing its running just fine, after it finishes an entire sweep it will say 1,2,3, etc on the pass, if you get a single red error one of your ram sticks is faulty.

Not sure about 12 passes, repaired about 200 computers for charity, off a network boot, all ran for 2 passes (at least).
Seems like the opinions vary, yes, it couldn't hurt to run more, but 2 passes is just from my experience.

 

[kevman32]

Tried memtest - im still getting reboots during the test.

I tried a number of ramsticks in different positions still the same thing occurred.

Im thinking it must be the mobo or PSU now!!!


Any other theories - much appreciated

kevman

 

[AlderonnX]

I would bet the farm on that CM 550 PSU being the culprit. Coil whine and buzzing shouldn't be loud enough to hear

 

[InvalidError]

The buzzing is made by capacitors giving away their charge and recharging themselves, its called coil whine. It's normal.

"Coil whine" is caused by insufficiently constrained inductor/transformer windings vibrating as the magnetizing current passing through them varies over time at a frequency that is within hearing range either due to low switching frequency (not likely with today where 100kHz and up is very common), due to encountering a discontinuous mode operation (not likely) or due to some form of electrical problem.

Electrolytic and polymer caps are tightly wound twin parallel sheet metal coils with a thin paper/polymer/fiberglass/whatever ribbon in-between holding or acting as the electrolyte. Since they have no ferrite core to focus magnetic fields and the parallel plates cancel each others' magnetic fields from layer to layer, properly crafted electrolytic capacitors are effectively incapable of producing audible amounts of 'coil whine' under normal operating conditions. There are ways to make capacitors (mainly high/very high voltage ones) 'sing' but in a conventional PSU, the only capacitor "singing" you are likely to ever hear is "BANG!" or "Fizzzzzzzzzz".

 

[kevman32]

Well I booted her up this evening and the memtest ran for over two hours with all three ram sticks. Plus I plugged the hd back in and windows booted up fine although it will need repair

I think this could be more annoying that it not working

I still think I could have a dodgy psu . It is buzzing under gfx stress test.

I am rma - ing both bits

See what happens

Cheers

Kevman

 

[bigcyco1]

Wait a minute it's a cooler master psu if so that's your problem NEVER buy crapmaster psu only the silent pro series are decent the rest are junk

 

[kevman32]

SOLVED!!!!

It was the CM PSU in the end

Replaced under a RMA - hopefully this one will last a bit longer.

At least i can tell when it is on the way out

 

[electricfirebolt]

Atleast it didnt go bang then

 

[Rugger]

The ever craptastic CM EP+ PSUs. Review of your unit: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-eXtreme-Power-Plus-550-W-Power-Supply-Review/969
I wouldn't put it in the same room as my GTX 670. Do yourself a favor and get an XFX Core 550W: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-xfx-pro-series-core-edition-p1-550s-ukb9-85-eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-fan-atx-v2

 

[delluser1]

in a conventional PSU, the only capacitor "singing" you are likely to ever hear is "BANG!" or "Fizzzzzzzzzz".

Antec Truepower ( the originals) and Smartpower series could "sing" for days , sometimes even a couple of weeks before finally crapping the bed

 

[kevman32]

The ever craptastic CM EP+ PSUs. Review of your unit: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/art [...] Review/969
I wouldn't put it in the same room as my GTX 670. Do yourself a favor and get an XFX Core 550W: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550 [...] fan-atx-v2

Ive got the willies about this now!!!

How about silverstone - are they any good

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/600w-silverstone-strider-sst-st60f-es-80-eff-80-plus-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-v23-psu

 

[bigcyco1]

The ever craptastic CM EP+ PSUs. Review of your unit: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/art [...] Review/969
I wouldn't put it in the same room as my GTX 670. Do yourself a favor and get an XFX Core 550W: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550 [...] fan-atx-v2

Ive got the willies about this now!!!

How about silverstone - are they any good

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/600w-silverstone-strider-sst-st60f-es-80-eff-80-plus-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-v23-psu

Silverstone is good but there more to it than brand name i think this should help you use it as a basic guide to know a lemon from a good http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx oneTier Breakdown:

Tier 1 provides the best quality power, great for overclocking, super high-end systems, and bragging rights. The best of the best. Very good longevity.
Tier 2 offers very good quality power output, and great reliability. Highly recommended for use in new systems.
Tier 2b contains units that almost made Tier 2, but may not have quite as good quality output(still very good), or may not last as long. Recommended for systems not expected to run 24/7 for several years.
Tier 3 power supplies fully meet all ATX requirements for power output quality, but don't have as good of power output quality as above tiers. No reason to replace one if you have one, and they're still good choices for most systems.
Tier 4 units may have some problems, such as being unable to deliver rated power at higher temperatures, or being slightly out of ATX spec on power output quality. Not recommended to buy except in situations where you will not be stressing it, or expecting it to last for more than a few years. If you have one, you can probably keep using it unless you're experiencing problems.
Tier 5 power supplies are NOT RECOMMENDED. If you have one, you should strongly consider replacing it ASAP. These can damage your computer, and often cannot put out the power that they're rated for. If a brand name is listed here, then all models from that brand name are considered to be Tier 5, except for those specific models listed above.If you don't understand just let me know and i will explain it to you. http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

 

[Rugger]

The ever craptastic CM EP+ PSUs. Review of your unit: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/art [...] Review/969
I wouldn't put it in the same room as my GTX 670. Do yourself a favor and get an XFX Core 550W: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550 [...] fan-atx-v2

Ive got the willies about this now!!!

How about silverstone - are they any good

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/600w-silverstone-strider-sst-st60f-es-80-eff-80-plus-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-v23-psu

Like most other PSU mfrs, Silverstone makes several tiers of PSUs and the Strider Essential is their value-oriented or budget line. In other words, it is of decent quality. Silverstone tends to e overpriced in my opinion and the XFX Core 550W with its 5 year warranty is better and less expensive.

Edit: The XFX Core actually has more power available on the 12V rail too; it has 44A available while the Silverstone only has 42A.

 

[bigcyco1]

Like most other PSU mfrs, Silverstone makes several tiers of PSUs and the Strider Essential is their value-oriented or budget line. In other words, it is of decent quality. Silverstone tends to e overpriced in my opinion and the XFX Core 550W with its 5 year warranty is better and less expensive.

Edit: The XFX Core actually has more power available on the 12V rail too; it has 44A available while the Silverstone only has 42A.

+1 I hate trying to teach this to people no offense OP it just to complex to learn overnight

 

[kevman32]

Silverstone is good but there more to it than brand name i think this should help you use it as a basic guide to know a lemon from a good http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx oneTier Breakdown

Thanks for the link much appreciated. If only i had had this when i first bought the PSU i never would have bought the CM.

Feel pretty cheated that the CM PSU costs as much as other competitors and drops right in at Tier 4

I guess the PSU is one of the more functional parts that consumers do not get excited about and end up buying a dud


Went for the XFX core 550W in the end. Should be here early next week.


Cheers guys

kevman

 

[Guest]

Antec Truepower ( the originals) and Smartpower series could "sing" for days , sometimes even a couple of weeks before finally crapping the bed

Yeah... i have a really old test bench which stresses the hell out of psus (well it's a really old render farm with 4 machines on one psu) and i managed to draw 560w from a 500w psu and it made a ridiculously high pitched squeal for about 3 minutes then it smoked :O

 

[kevman32]

Well i think that the replacement XFX core 550w blew last night. Booted the computer it got half way through and then powered down. Pushed the power swtich again nothing. No beeps , no psu fan going round abosolutely nothing. The motherboard power light is green and i can here the PSU when i push the power switch but that is all. I tried the paper clip test and nothing happens.

Is this a coincidence or something i am doing.
I did a power calculation it came in at 400W is my psu big enough? Also the PSU is plugged in through a parallel mains adapter - could this be the problem.

Gonna order a 650w xfx today and rma the other for spare