Really scary problem

[Retrowave]

Hello everyone , so i have been fighting for what it seems to be a losing battle....in almost 2 years i have had like 6-7 PSU's (no joke), for some reason they keep blowing up, most recent power supply didnt last 3 weeks, i was playing PoE and all of a sudden PC shutsdown and after 2-3 seconds POP! there goes the power supply.

This is my rig:

- CPU: Intel Core i5 2500 - 3.30GHz 6MB LGA 1155

- GPU: Ati Radeon HD7970 3GB GDDR5 Vapor-X Ghz edition

- RAM: Kingston PC4-10600 1333MHZ 16GB HyperX Fury Blue CL9 (2x8GB) DDR3

- Motherboard: Asus Chipset Intel H61 SK1155 2xDDE3/HDMI mATX-P8H61-MLE

- PSU: Corsair CX750W 80plus bronze

Important: A couple of people told me that it could be my motherboard that is faulty and is blowing up my psu's, i tried to plug my pc to different outlets (no luck) wich is funny because my oldman works in the music industry and he has equipment with insane wattage and he plugs it at home and never blowed up...so it cant be from the outlets i presume, bought a UPS PHASAK 1000VA LCD USB+RJ (no luck either, ups dies and psu dies aswell).

Im starting to think that i need a PSU with +750W something with alot more wattage or a new motherboard...

Im so tired to find for a solution i dont know what to do anymore...if someone knows what the problem is please help me out

Sorry for the bad english.

 

[EarthDog]

Well, the CX serise are not great PSUs in the first place. They are plenty serviceable, but, not great quality.

Truth be told, your system wouldn't pull more than 350-400W at worst case, so needing a lot more wattage isn't it. Let's start with a high quality PSU.

To that end, Grab an EVGA Supernova G2 650W And see what that does for you.

If that goes out, get another motherboard.

 

[Retrowave]

Thanks for the quick reply EarthDog, my GPU box says it needs a power supply with a minimum of 750W or better would that change anything? my last PSU was a Master Cooler 700W that one didnt last 3 weeks...perhaps il try to get a new motherboard .. just need to find out wich one should i get since i dont know much about building rigs

 

[EarthDog]

Your GPU is a 250W card my friend. Your CPU is 95W. Give 75W for everything else in your system (which is over rating it by a lot), and you can do the math on that... also all of those components would need to run at 100% to reach that. Only happens when stress testing both CPU and GPU at the same time (think P95 and Heaven at the same time).

Since you have a locked CPU and cannot overclock, I wouldn't get a great motherboard. That said, what you have may not be enough and could be the issue. They are 3 phase and no heatsinks on the power parts... Not a good idea.

Id look into an inexpensive Z77 based motherboard that has at least 4 phases of power AND a heatsink on it. I don't see any at newegg.com

 

[Retrowave]

Would this one work? http://www.alientech.pt/product_info.php?products_id=25886

if that one doesnt work, could you help find one in that website that would work? since im from Portugal i buy all my computer stuff from there

http://www.alientech.pt/index.php?cPath=180_15

Really appreciate all the help so far

 

[EarthDog]

That is a square peg in a round hole.. It will not work. You have a socket 1155 chip, that is socket 1151(Z97).

There is nothing at all I would buy from that site. They are all low powered, non heatsinked power phases...

 

[Retrowave]

Oh damn....http://www.alientech.pt/index.php?cPath=180_15_226 those ones are 1155 but i guess they will not work its going to be a nightmare to find one in my country il try to look for one in another place. Now i know it must have 4 phases and a heatsink and must be 1155.

Thanks for all the info

 

[JrClocker]

It sounds like you are getting wonky spikes (or dips) on your AC power.

If you are taking out a UPS...that's pretty major.

1. Do you live in the US?
2. Do you have a lot of lightning strikes in your area?
3. Do you have frequent power loss or "brown outs" in your area?
4. Do you plug cable TV line or telephone line into your computer?
5. What are you using for audio (speakers)?
6. Do any other electronics in your house have this issue...or just your PC?
7. How is your house wired? (i.e. are you at the "end" of the wire run?)
8. Do you have any large power loads at your house? (i.e. do you live on a farm where large motors may kick on and off?)

Having a motherboard blow your power supply, but still function properly in all other ways kind of rules out the motherboard.

 

[||Console||]

Do you have a multi meter that you can check the voltage at the wall ? If it is diping alot a UPS might help even out the ripple and suply a constant 120v.

 

[EarthDog]

ought a UPS PHASAK 1000VA LCD USB+RJ (no luck either, ups dies and psu dies aswell).

Looks like he did?

 

[Retrowave]

Hey there JrClocker, i actually thought about getting a voltage stabilizer or something, i had a ups and that also burned out... [1]i live in Portugal, [2]i dont have alot of lightning strikes in my area its not really that common,[3] no power loss,[4] no, [5] im using speakers, [6] this only happens to my pc and only happens to the PSU all other components are fine, [7] i have no idea lol, [8] no power loads i live in the city.

I have no idea what to do, i was thinking on buying a new motherboard but what if that is not the problem?... seems like an impossible problem to solve. Ive done everything, tried a UPS = no luck, tried new outlets = no luck, tried different PSU brands = no luck, the only PSU that got me through a year was the Corsair CX750W after 1 year and 4 months it finally died.

 

[JrClocker]

Let's start with the speakers.

If you are not grounded properly, speakers can build up a large DC bias. Do you ever hear "popping" in your speakers? (or a pop when you unplug or plug them in?).

Do you have a different set of speakers you can try?

I connect my PC audio to my audio system (surround sound gaming baby!) with an optical cable...for this very reason.

 

[peanutbudder]

I would almost say with certainty that you are experiencing power spikes that are killing your psu's. I lived in a older apartment building built in the late seventies and went through two power supplies and countless DVR boxes from AT&T. I called PG&E when my new tv power brick died and they informed that the wiring for my complex wasn't up to code and needed to be replaced. I moved three months later and one year after that complex had an electrical fire that burned three units to the ground.

 

[Retrowave]

@JrClocker Yes, i do hear a popping sound when i plug or unplug the speakers oO they are cheap Mitsai speakers, been using them for ages. But how could that blow up a PSU?

@peanutbudder that was the first thing i thought about, i even was thinking on buying a voltage stabilizer or something... but why does it only happen to my pc? i have a laptop plugged in the same outlet right now and how come its fine 24/7? not just the laptop but all the devices in my house are fine...it only happens to my pc i tried all outlets no damn luck...it's the weirdest thing ive seen...

 

[JrClocker]

@JrClocker Yes, i do hear a popping sound when i plug or unplug the speakers oO they are cheap Mitsai speakers, been using them for ages. But how could that blow up a PSU?

@peanutbudder that was the first thing i thought about, i even was thinking on buying a voltage stabilizer or something... but why does it only happen to my pc? i have a laptop plugged in the same outlet right now and how come its fine 24/7? not just the laptop but all the devices in my house are fine...it only happens to my pc i tried all outlets no damn luck...it's the weirdest thing ive seen...

Cheap speakers...using them for ages...laptop works fine...

Again, when speakers go bad, they build up a DC bias. The "pop" you hear is the DC bias being shorted out to ground or the power rail (both are "ground" for AC and transients).

 

[Retrowave]

So i buy new speakers and my PSU's stop blowing up? is that it?

Im sorry but im new to all of this

 

[wingman99]

Looks like it's power form the wall socket, you need a better UPS.

 

[JrClocker]

So i buy new speakers and my PSU's stop blowing up? is that it?

Im sorry but im new to all of this

As I said above...it's a place to start.

It's very difficult to troubleshoot when you can't see it! That being said, it will be a process of elimination.

I would also get a high quality UPS...make sure you get a properly sized one for power draw...and get the highest VA (volt amp) rating you can for the power.

Don't try to save $$ when buying items like speakers and UPS...

 

[||Console||]

It looks like bad power regulation from supply authority . your laptop is fine because it is working like it would with a UPS . charges battery and that supplying clean even power.

 

[knoober]

Again, when speakers go bad, they build up a DC bias. The "pop" you hear is the DC bias being shorted out to ground or the power rail (both are "ground" for AC and transients).

My only question here -- and lets be sure to mention that I dont have any knowledge in this area, but am simply asking for clarity-- is could such a think fry his UPS as well. I can wrap my mind around a built up charge moving backward through the line and toasting on component, but I would think that a UPS would be shielded against such things and would survive.