Random Booting Under Low Load? [PSU Works in Another System]

[Sefinx]

Hi everyone. About 2 weeks ago, I bought a (barely) used PC set from FB Marketplace from a reputable builder who's a PC hobbyist. A week later of consistent use (video editing, gaming, and browsing) for more than 6-8 hours a day, I've been experiencing spontaneous reboots with no BSODs at all. It's honestly a mystery and by this point I'm just kind of looking for answers.

During low loads (not even in gaming and editing sessions), the computer would turn off, then boot into Windows, I'd be able to log in, and it would die for a couple of minutes or around 1-3 hours. This has happened in various uptimes of the system. Once it happens, the uptimes get shorter and shorter due to the reboots. It even happened in Safe Mode and when I was trying to verify if my RAM is the issue via Windows Memory Diagnostic.

This might be a long post but to give some initial context, here's my specs when I was experiencing the issues:
CPU: Intel Core i5 12600K
CPU Cooler: Themalright Peerless Assassin White aRGB
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 AERO G DDR4
Ram: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16 Dual Channel)
SSD: Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB & CT1000MX500SSD1 1TB SSD
GPU: ZOTAC GeForce 1070
PSU: Inwin P85 850w Gold Fully Modular
Chassis: Lian Li Lancool 216 with stock 160mm aRGB Fans and 2 more LianLi SL120 fans with a single Thermalright 120mm white aRGB
OS: Windows 11 Pro 64-bit

 

You can check my BIOS settings before and after replacing my PSU here

 

Event Viewer gave out two issues before and after the crashes: Event ID 56 and a  Kernel-Power (Event ID 41)

• The parts (except the PSU) were bought and used in November 2023.
• According to the seller, the PSU was bought firsthand by him on June 2023 and he used it in his personal rig before switching to another PSU after buying a new one.
• The BIOS version is F27. I haven't updated the BIOS since at the time, it rebooted once even in BIOS
• I also don't use an UPS. It did crash when using my AVR and I've plugged the PC in a different wall outlet but the reboot still happened. Also used another power cord, issues were still present.
• I also don't overclock (don't know how as well). I've had XMP enabled and disabled but the problems still exist.
• Reboots still happened after removing GPU, reseating PSU cables, and RAM.
• Another thing to consider is grounding. My technician friend was  weirded out by our house's electricity. He got grounded a bit when it was plugged in and was reseating cables and parts.

The most notable thing is that the reboots stopped occurring 3 days from now after testing out two PSUs (one from a computer technician friend) and one from my old system (FSP Hexa HE-700). I'm currently using the FSP He-700 and there has been no random resets ever since. However, the InWin P85 is still working on my old system unit (running an Intel Core i7 7700 and a MSI B250M BAZOOKA) and has not randomly shut off or reset itself despite stress testing it for over 4 hours. Replicating the issue is a bit harder than I thought.

 

I wanted to ask if the issue is most likely the PSU still or is it possibly a faulty motherboard? Any information would be helpful. Thanks for reading!

 

 

Edited September 11 by Sefinx

[Mumintroll]

You didn't buy the pc from a serious reseller, but from a private person? Did he offer you any warranty?

If he did offer warranty then use that option first before trying to do something that could void the warranty.

[Sefinx]

1 hour ago, Mumintroll said:

You didn't buy the pc from a serious reseller, but from a private person? Did he offer you any warranty?

If he did offer warranty then use that option first before trying to do something that could void the warranty.

Yep. The guy that I bought the PC set from is understanding enough to be open in returning the PSU. I don't really plan on buying or doing anything else that could void his warranty after this. I'm just more so confused by the PSU behavior of the InWin P85 itself. I just want to verify if it's actually the PSU acting up and understand more as to why and how it could be possible to be honest.

[Sawa Takahashi]

Well, bad electrical grounding can trip protection on a variety of electronics for sure. Maybe the Inwin PSU is more sensitive to such issue.

If the computer is running perfectly with another PSU, I'd take that seller's offer to replace with another PSU. The PSU is probably the least expensive part of the computer so he'll probably prefer changing the PSU to changing the whole computer.

As for a more permanent solution. A UPS may help a bit but don't expect miracles because they use ground for protection too. The best would be to correct the ground of the house.

Good luck !

[Sefinx]

2 hours ago, Sawa Takahashi said:

Well, bad electrical grounding can trip protection on a variety of electronics for sure. Maybe the Inwin PSU is more sensitive to such issue.

If the computer is running perfectly with another PSU, I'd take that seller's offer to replace with another PSU. The PSU is probably the least expensive part of the computer so he'll probably prefer changing the PSU to changing the whole computer.

As for a more permanent solution. A UPS may help a bit but don't expect miracles because they use ground for protection too. The best would be to correct the ground of the house.

Good luck !

Thanks for providing an answer! A person I asked about the issue also said it could be due to bad grounding or excessive ripple. I wouldn't be surprised if our house is at fault more than the PSU. But if the issue is excessive ripple, is it more so cause of the PSU or is it still mostly our house's wiring?

[Sawa Takahashi]

6 hours ago, Sefinx said:

But if the issue is excessive ripple, is it more so cause of the PSU or is it still mostly our house's wiring?

Like I said before, some PSUs are more sensitive to electrical faults (or irregularities like excessive ripples). So yes, it is the PSU that is tripping but the cause is the electricity being slightly out of norm.

If you get a UPS, my guess is that it will switch often to battery power because of electrical spikes, ripples and grounding faults (assuming that it will operate correctly despite the bad grounding).

Changing the PSU for one that has higher tolerance or that has more capable filters can be a solution for your computer. Still, the solution for the whole house is fixing the electrical system.

Hope that answers your question.

[Sefinx]

24 minutes ago, Sawa Takahashi said:

Like I said before, some PSUs are more sensitive to electrical faults (or irregularities like excessive ripples). So yes, it is the PSU that is tripping but the cause is the electricity being slightly out of norm.

If you get a UPS, my guess is that it will switch often to battery power because of electrical spikes, ripples and grounding faults (assuming that it will operate correctly despite the bad grounding).

Changing the PSU for one that has higher tolerance or that has more capable filters can be a solution for your computer. Still, the solution for the whole house is fixing the electrical system.

Hope that answers your question.

Definitely does. I appreciate your time in answering my questions. Have a good day.

[Sefinx]

23 hours ago, Sawa Takahashi said:

Still, the solution for the whole house is fixing the electrical system.

Just an update:
 I figured to ask my father regarding our house's electricity. To provide some additional context, I reside in the Philippines where the power is connected line-to-line by an electric company through an electric post. It's not underneath in the earth much like the ones in the US or other regions.

A local electrician said that the voltage supply our electric company fluctuates. They noticed it would go both under and above 220V. I guess we have to verify it with our electric company to assess if the earthing of their lines to ours is going bad.

My dad said he's sure that the house's wiring itself isn't compromised. Although he suggested getting a better AVR and connecting it to the house's breaker. I'm considering getting a UPS and a PSU that has higher tolerance or has more capable filters. I already have a surge protector but I'm not entirely sure if this is a "fix". Though I acknowledge that the long-term fix is verifying the line to line connection isn't compromised and the wall outlet is earthed. I definitely won't be using the InWin P85 in the meantime.

If you have concerns to bring up, it'll be a big help.

[Sawa Takahashi]

2 hours ago, Sefinx said:

I already have a surge protector but I'm not entirely sure if this is a "fix".

You are right. A surge protector only protects against short spikes of voltage (also called transients). If the voltage varies, a surge protector is ineffective.