Power supply "popped" now it won't turn on

[dud]

I built an HTPC back in July using a 430W EVGA PS. I've used the system a total of perhaps 20 hours over that time. Tonight, I turned the system on and within a second heard a loud "pop" from the PC. I've tried disconnecting/reconnecting the power cord and disassembling the PC to get it to power on to no effect.

Is this common in newer PSs? This unit is only 5 months old.

This unit has a 3 year warranty. The RMA process (including mailing it back at my own expense) seems to be a PITA. Can anyone please share their own experiences ... perhaps warning me of the pitfalls of the process?

I'm looking for a replacement/spare PS just in case this happens again in the future. The power requirements of the HTPC are pretty meager. The 430W PS that went belly up powered it well ... when it was working. Any recommendations for a replacement?

Thanks ...

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

You could pickup a Corsair CX430. Pretty cheap when on sale (around ~$20 shipped after a $10-$20 mail-in rebate usually), have yet to have one (or any in the CX line) fail on me.

They're way better than the typical blue-light specials (eg. RAIDMAX, PowMax, Diablotek, etc.)

 

[UsandThem]

The EVGA you have is their budget unit. It is similar to really any budget unit from Corsair, Thermaltake, Antec, etc. Jonnyguru.com has reviews on PSUs and opens them up so you can see how a $30 PSU is built compared to a $100 one. They are just built using cheaper components/caps.

You will occasionally have a dud with any product. There's even some duds with $150 Seasonic Prime and EVGA SuperNova PSUs. I just saw another long-time member here have to RMA a new Seasonic unit which are widely regarded as the "gold standard" in PSUs.
One thing about EVGA though is they have good customer service, so nothing to really worry about there. I own a Corsair CX unit, EVGA 500w B1 (back-up/testing unit), SuperNova G2, and SuperNova P2 PSUs. All are fine, however the first G2 I received had some issues and I had to exchange it for another one.

 

[Torn Mind]

Maybe the silicon component was bad/damaged or the soldering had a fault that led to an arc. The board itself might have been defective. Then the popping sound you heard occurred. But only the EVGA employee(s) who open(s) it up will get to see what died and how it died.

 

[dud]

I troubleshot the PS by replacing it with a good known unit from my main PC. The HTPC booted up fine with the replacement, confirming a bad 430W PS. I contacted EVGA and they were very helpful. In fact, they are sending me a prepaid shipping label to ship it to them!

Thanks for all of your help. Now to find a replacement ... the replacement from EVGA will be relegated to be a spare.

Thanks again ...

 

[Torn Mind]

I troubleshot the PS by replacing it with a good known unit from my main PC. The HTPC booted up fine with the replacement, confirming a bad 430W PS. I contacted EVGA and they were very helpful. In fact, they are sending me a prepaid shipping label to ship it to them!

Thanks for all of your help. Now to find a replacement ... the replacement from EVGA will be relegated to be a spare.

Thanks again ...

I meant the board in the power supply. Not the motherboard.

 

[dud]

I meant the board in the power supply. Not the motherboard.

Understood. That is what I thought that you meant. I bought this PS for $30 from NE ... then received a $15 rebate 2 months later. Now EVGA is paying to ship it back THEN ship me another (albeit refurbed) PS after they receive the bad one. EVGA customer service seems to be very good and they have to be losing money on this effort.

 

[UsandThem]

Understood. That is what I thought that you meant. I bought this PS for $30 from NE ... then received a $15 rebate 2 months later. Now EVGA is paying to ship it back THEN ship me another (albeit refurbed) PS after they receive the bad one. EVGA customer service seems to be very good and they have to be losing money on this effort.

Good to hear. In my opinion, and from my personal experience, EVGA and Noctua have some of the best customer service in the PC component world. Now if the motherboard manufacturers could just improve theirs a little bit with RMA (dis)service.

 

[bigboxes]

I built a dedicated HTPC this past January. I moved parts from my previous main rig and reused my 850W Seasonic. It was 7 years old, but was idle for close to a year. I stopped buying cheap power supplies around 2008. Read JonnyGuru reviews just to see if there are any issues with a model I may be considering. I have never had a Seasonic power supply not make it to the end of its warranty.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Thanks for all of your help. Now to find a replacement ... the replacement from EVGA will be relegated to be a spare.

Thanks again ...

I would consider it an anomaly and go ahead and install the replacement unless you are going to upgrade and go with a seasonic

 

[dud]

I would consider it an anomaly and go ahead and install the replacement unless you are going to upgrade and go with a seasonic

Decided to buy another 430W PS via Amazon ... it should be here tomorrow so I can get that PC back up and running. The replacement will now be a spare.

I had planned to buy a spare PS this fall but the sales at NE and Amazon have been mediocre at best. The sales during the summer were VERY aggressive ... which compelled me to buy the components necessary to get two (2) PCs up and running. This is the first year in memory that I can remember the "sales" being this bad ...

 

[dud]

Just wanted to post that I finally received a warranty replacement for my PS. From failure to receipt of replacement took a total of 20 days. I have not yet tested the replacement but I hope it works. EVGA was easy to work with and they did pay for shipping the bad PS back and the replacement to me ... but 20 days seems like a long time to me.

I plan to keep a spare on-hand from now on.

 

[sdifox]

Just wanted to post that I finally received a warranty replacement for my PS. From failure to receipt of replacement took a total of 20 days. I have not yet tested the replacement but I hope it works. EVGA was easy to work with and they did pay for shipping the bad PS back and the replacement to me ... but 20 days seems like a long time to me.

I plan to keep a spare on-hand from now on.

How is twenty days long when you consider roundtrip?

 

[dud]

How is twenty days long when you consider roundtrip?

If you have no spare ... 20 days is an eternity. Now that I (hopefully) have a working spare, 20 days is not such a long time.

It's all perception ...

 

[DrMrLordX]

In fact, they are sending me a prepaid shipping label to ship it to them!

That's a nice touch. When my Seasonic X-1250 went dead almost immediately after going into service, I had to pay full freight to ship it back to them. Bleh.

Now if the motherboard manufacturers could just improve theirs a little bit with RMA (dis)service.

*cough*Asus*cough*