Signs of Over Heating PSU

[UaVaj]

what are some not so obvious signs/symptoms of a psu over heating / shutting down? also what happens to the voltage near thermal shutdown?

last voltage log prior to thermal shutdown.
gpu+12 = 11.344
12v = 11.922
5v = 4.677
3.3v = 3.024

idle voltage comparison after complete cool down restart.
gpu+12 = 11.938
12v = 12.366
5v = 4.946
3.3v = 3.280

-----

turns out it is a dying psu.
a hot cpu right below the psu intake did not help much.
nor a hot gpu right below the cpu.

 

[Deders]

What fan configuration do you have? Sounds like there isn't enough airflow.

 

[mindless1]

The signs of an overheating PSU causing shutdown are not commonly seen in a typical computer case. Is your case a unique design that starves the system for airflow or is it operating in an extreme, high temperature environment, or clogged with dust?

If not, the most common symptom of overheating shutdown is the long term effect of capacitor venting causing voltage destabilization and resultant shutdown. Temperature can effect that because the properties of the capacitors as well as the can itself they are in, change with temperature.

In those cases you can "almost" always see the tops of capacitor(s) vented if you pull the PSU cover off and look near where the wiring harness attaches to the PCB... but of course opening it may void any warrant if present.

What PSU make and model, what system load (typical uses), and how many hours a day and days of service has it seen?

An easier way to see if it is directly temperature related is to pull the PSU out next to the case, blow any dust out, and operate it out of the case for some testing. Unless there is something obviously wrong with the fan so it isn't spinning at the right speed, there shouldn't be any chance of immediate overheating in that situation.

 

[VirtualLarry]

thermaltake?

 

[nwo]

My TR2 600 starts smelling really bad (like capacitors are melting) when I try to run a 7970 and 7850 at the same time and the exhaust air is almost warmer than the air coming from the back of my reference 7970.

Other than the smell, system performance was fine and unaffected. But, I stopped and unplugged my 7850 after about 30 minutes of use.