PC power cycling with load

SouthwestBLT · October 8, 2019

Hey guys, first time poster here, long time PC builder.

I have recently ran into trouble with my rig, which has been endlessly reliable since built in Nov-17. In the last two weeks my PC has started to power cycle when load is applied (no BSODs), mostly on GPU but also when stress testing the CPU. It started by rebooting itself when loading into a match in Overwatch, then it spread to almost any game (it can run CS 1.6 and OpenTTD) It will power cycle with a stress test on the GPU immediatly (OCCT test and also Unigen Superposition) and on a CPU stress test like OCCT or CPUID's after about 30 seconds. So to me that seems like the PSU is on the way out, but even stranger, if i plug in my heater (2400W oil heater) it will also power cycle, even if it's plugged into a different socket in a different part of the room. So thats another oddity.

Specs:

Corsair VS550 PSU (tight on watts i know, but i trusted corsair and it should have been ok)

AMD Ryzen 5 1600

Asrock AB350 mobo

AMD RX580 8GB Sapphire OC

16GB of 2400mhz RAM

M.2 Sata SSD

2TB HDD

Blu Ray drive (i had it laying around don't judge)

5x 120mm noctua fan

1x 120mm PWM fan for the cooler

Temps always stable under high load under 60-70c

Windows 10 64

Steps taken to address:

Removed all OC's (CPU was at 3.95ghz all cores, 3 years stable, GPU was at 1450mhz core 2250mhz ram, again stable for 3 years)

Clear and update GPU drivers

Check BIOS for update - all up to date (did it fairly recently)

Uninstall and Reinstall Overwatch

Tested RAM - Initally system was 32GB, swapped around to test both pairs of sticks, no different

Complete reformat of entire system and new install of windows 10

I think that it's a PSU issue as i said, but i guess i am posting here because i am worried that for some reason, the power coming into my apartment is actually the cause, can someone confirm that if a PSU is on the way out, it will respond poorly to any power fluctuations, whether thats a fluctuation in demand from inside the system, or a minor fluctuation in the input power due to a high draw appliance being turned on, like my heater. I don't want to drop the money on a 850W 80+ gold power supply and have it still be an issue.

In terms of my power - i've lived in this apartment for six years, never had an issue, we have reliable solid power and live in a big city, never had a blackout that wasnt caused by a big storm taking down the power lines and no new appliances recently, i've had the heater for years as well.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Radium_Angel · October 8, 2019

1 hour ago, SouthwestBLT said:

Any help appreciated.

The oil heater is a giveaway clue, it seems your power draw in the apt is more than the breaker box can handle.

Pick up a cheap UPS (you can get them for ~30$ US) and plug your system into that. If the power drops, the UPS should kick in to provide stable power for your system, and it'll (typically) beep at you, to let you know you are on battery power.

SouthwestBLT · October 12, 2019

On 10/8/2019 at 8:54 PM, Radium_Angel said:

The oil heater is a giveaway clue, it seems your power draw in the apt is more than the breaker box can handle.

Pick up a cheap UPS (you can get them for ~30$ US) and plug your system into that. If the power drops, the UPS should kick in to provide stable power for your system, and it'll (typically) beep at you, to let you know you are on battery power.

Hey mate, thanks for replying appreciate it. I went out and got a new PSU, (silverstone 750w 80+ gold) and i have put it all back together today and its working great, so far passing the OCCT test after 5 mins with my heater on maximum. VS550 - not a good investment it turns out.

Appreciate how you thought it was my power, but i knew it couldn't be that. Ive hosted lan parties for like 10 people in here and it was always fine.