2 dead PSUs in a month

[LoneNinja]

System Specs
Athlon II X4 630 stock clocks
3Gb DDR2 800mhz
250Gb Sata Hard drive
Radeon 4670
1 DVD drive
1 120mm Case fan

This is a friends build, a few weeks ago he shut is computer off, and it wouldn't power on again. I had confirmed that his PSU died by replacing it with another spare that I had laying around. The PSU that was in his system was a Cooler Master 400W(I have no further details) and it powered his system for over a year, and before that was in one of my computers for a couple years. I replaced it with a generic 430W unit that I had laying in my closet(had come preinstalled with a case a few years ago). Now less than 2 weeks after replacement, his computer will not turn on again, looks like another dead PSU. I can throw another PSU in to test it, but I'm worried it'll die.

Just wondering if anyone thinks it's coincidence that these both died, or is it possible something in the system is killing them? I can give him a 400W Antec Basic PSU that is in one of my machines I only use for watching videos, but I'm worried it will die a premature death too.

 

[xbanzai89]

When the original Cooler Master PSU went it is possible it damaged one of the components in the computer. I am thinking the motherboard may of gotten zapped with its failure. It is possible that is the cause of the other PSU dying off. Did you see any melted/damaged parts on the motherboard?

I don't blame you for not wanting to drop another in. I just recommend when you figure it out the issue get a reputable PSU maker like Corsair, Seasonic, XFX, and so on. These actually have countermeasures to prevent the system from getting damaged like what may of happened here. Never cheap out on a PSU as that can bring the whole computer down with it!

 

[Gigantopithecus]

xbanzai's covered one reasonable option. Another is that the wall socket your friend is plugging his computer into is supplying it with dirty, out of spec power. This is especially common in older homes and homes that have been converted into multiple unit dwellings. Have you checked the power coming out of the outlet?

 

[VirtualLarry]

It doesn't surprise me all that much that a PSU included with a case would burn out under that load. They do that sometimes.

The first PSU, I don't know, perhaps it was its time to go.

Put in a good PSU, and see if it still dies. If it does, then:
a) you have warranty service, and
b) you know something in your components is killing PSUs

 

[LoneNinja]

I personally have an Antec Earthwatts 380W PSU in almost all of my computers, since I bought those cheap ones a few years ago I have wised up a bit.

He does live in an older house, I haven't even thought about checking the outlet, I'll have to do that.

The cooler master PSU worked fine with his system for over a year, but died a few weeks after I replaced a 9500GT and Athlon II X2 250 with the 4670 and Athlon 630 I mentioned above. He's got one of those cheap free boards from Microcenter, I didn't see any damage on it, but I can't help but wonder if it had been over volting the Athlon 630. Maybe these cheap PSUs can't handle the power draw, I know cheap inefficient PSU's provide much less power than they advertise.

When I put this last generic no name PSU in I told him I didn't know how long it would last, and recommended he buy a good PSU.

I'm not even entirely sure if he's got the thing plugged into a surge protector either, we've had a number of power outages here the last month caused by storms. One of my surge protectors got fried last week, luckily my computer plugged into it still works.

I'll check the outlet, make sure it's plugged into a surge protector, and throw one of my Antec Earthwatts into it, I know they can handle the load.

Thanks for the feedback

 

[xbanzai89]

It died after you put that new hardware in eh? Hmm. Maybe the power requirements where too much for that crappy coolermaster. Even with that 630 a good brand 400W should be fine. You probably did increase the total load under gaming around 50W or more due to that new CPU/VGA. Perhaps the generic couldn't handle it either. Between that, the motherboard, or the storms you mentioned there is a lot to go through. Best of luck.

 

[Binky]

Coincidence mixed in with low budget power supplies. If he isn't plugged into a halfway decent surge protector or UPS, he should really invest in that too.

 

[Wangstang]

How do the capacitors on the motherboard look?

Wes

 

[westom]

Just wondering if anyone thinks it's coincidence that these both died, or is it possible something in the system is killing them?

A power system is composed of other components; is not just a power supply. Swapping parts has a bad habit of temporarily curing symptoms. That is why better trained techs make no changes. First collect facts. That means one minute of labor with a multimeter.

Without three digit numbers from the meter, then all replies can only be wild speculation.

Nothing on a load (motherboard) can damage any properly constructed supply. As was true long before the IBM PC even existed.

Normal is for a defective supply to still boot a computer for months. Normal is for a perfectly good supply to fail in an otherwise perfectly good computer. More reasons why meter numbers are so important.

Destructive surges occur maybe once every seven years. This need to protect from surge every five minutes or hourly comes only from urban myths. After all, how many times a day are your replacing GFCIs, dimmer switches and your dishwasher?

Noise (that so many hype as surges) on AC mains is made completely irrelevant by protection inside every appliance. Computer power supplies are required to be even more robust. Get numbers using a meter to first learn what part(s) are defective. Without those numbers, then others cannot provide useful assistance; can only speculate.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Destructive surges occur maybe once every seven years. This need to protect from surge every five minutes or hourly comes only from urban myths. After all, how many times a day are your replacing GFCIs, dimmer switches and your dishwasher?

You must not work on too many PCs that are kept in student ghetto housing.

 

[avatar82]

i built a computer for a friend, and his psu kept dying, after the second one, i told him to check his outlet, i think home depot sells outlet testers for like 5 bucks, they light up green if its good, red if its bad, anyhow i told him to get a battery UPS, and he's been running great for years since. the battery doesn't care about dirty power, and the cpu gets clean steady power from the battery.

sorry i don't know the technical stuff, but that was my experience, battery ups, hell get one regardless.

 

[westom]

after the second one, i told him to check his outlet, i think home depot sells outlet testers for like 5 bucks, they light up green if its good, red if its bad,

Any defect detected by an outlet tester is not harmful to electronics. It can report reverse polarity or a missing safety ground. Both might endanger human life. Neither affects electronics.

Power from a UPS in battery backup mode is often so 'dirty' as to be harmful to small electric motors and power strip protectors. Computer power supplies are required to be so robust that even the 'dirtiest' UPS output is perfectly ideal. UPS power from the battery is only 'clean' when urban myths replace manufacturer specifications. Or when the UPS costs something approaching $1000.

None of those suggestions answer the OP's question, do not even claim to eliminate noise or surges, and cannot say why the OP had two failures.

 

[bryanl]

I'm siding with the inadequacy of the Coolermaster (not the best brand) and generic power supplies to handle the new video card and CPU, not on a surge problem or dirty power from an UPS. The typical UPS puts out a stepped square wave to approximate a sine wave, and that waveform seems more likely to damage power supplies containing APFC (automatic power factor correction - no selector switch for 110V/220V), rather than power supplies without it (voltage selector switch on back means it lacks APFC).

Capacitors look like this:

The yellow arrows point to leaking ones, but 3 other dark capacitors near them are bulging, meaning they're also defective, unlike the dark ones in the foreground aren't bulging (but capacitors can look normal outside but be bad inside). Some brands of these capacitors last much longer than others. The silver cylinders with blue markings on them are a different type of capacitors (polymer) and don't fail often, regardless of brand. Damaged capacitors can cause incorrect voltages or even ruin transistors (3-pin black square device in front of the center silver capacitor). Power supplies also use capacitors and have similar problems with them.

 

[LoneNinja]

Just thought I'd follow up and thank everyone. Problem was the cheap PSU's, an Antec Eartwatt 380W is running his computer just fine now.