Faulty PSU?

[Marowag]

3 months ago, my old PSU (shitty brand, 600W) started making rattling noises so I decided to buy a new one, a Seasonic G-550. Several days ago, my PC suddenly didn't want to start anymore when I pressed the power button. Furthermore, my PC started crashing while playing games. 

 

About the issues:

• When pressing the power button, sometimes nothing would happen at all, and sometimes it would start, however, this would happen instantly or anywhere from 5 seconds up to 5-10 minutes after I pressed the power button.
• My PC first crashed while playing WoW. Now, this usually happened while there were a lot of other players around and there was a ton of stuff happening on screen. I tried playing The Witcher 3 and the crashes also happened, anywhere from within seconds of loading a game up to 2 hours of playing.

What I tried:

• I checked game specific solutions, lowering the graphics quality, removing addons from WoW.
• Cleaned the case from dust, which I do regularly anyway.
• Checked if all cables were properly plugged in and switched the PSU cable to go directly into the wall.
• Clean install of new drivers. 
• Checked the temperatures of the GPU and CPU while playing. CPU was okay, GPU was sligtly high on WoW with 75-80 degrees and it was over 90 degrees Celsius almost all the time while playing TW3. Mind you, my GPU is an MSI R9 290 which runs somewhat hotter normaly.
• Checked if the power button is broken by trying to turn on the PC by short cutting the power pins on the mobo. Nothing happened.
• Put in my old PSU with which there were no problems when trying to power on the PC,m however I don't trust it enough to put it under more stress.

 

My build

 

 

What is the cause of my problems and what would be a solution in your opinion? I am looking forward to your answers

P.S.: I might post this on other forums to get as much info as possible and solve this asap.

 

Edit: grammar and a few words

 

[alexhelvetica]

What is your old PSU?
Is the power switch on your PSU turned on? Is the cable plugged in? Is the switch at the wall on?

[DarkSmith2]

16 minutes ago, Marowag said:

What is the cause of my problems and what would be a solution in your opinion? I am looking foward to your answers

have you installed the standoffs between motherboard and motherboardtray correctly?

[Marowag]

2 minutes ago, DarkSmith2 said:

have you installed the standoffs between motherboard and motherboardtray correctly?

I bought the PC prebuilt 2 years ago and haven't moved the motherboard since. However, might I have moved something by accident? How do I check this?
 

 

1 minute ago, Comic_Sans_MS said:

What is your old PSU?
Is the power switch on your PSU turned on? Is the cable plugged in? Is the switch at the wall on?

Old PSU is Real Power Eco Silent 600

Yes, yes and yes. 

[alexhelvetica]

11 minutes ago, Marowag said:

I bought the PC prebuilt 2 years ago and haven't moved the motherboard since. However, might I have moved something by accident? How do I check this?
 

 

Old PSU is Real Power Eco Silent 600

Yes, yes and yes. 

Have you plugged the 24pin ATX, 8PIN EPS, and GPU power in fully? Are the modular cables plugged in?

[Marowag]

23 minutes ago, Comic_Sans_MS said:

Have you plugged the 24pin ATX, 8PIN EPS, and GPU power in fully? Are the modular cables plugged in?

One of the modular cables which goes in the GPU might not have been 100% in. I am not sure tho, because the movement was barely noticable. Will update if the problems continue.

[Marowag]

1 hour ago, Comic_Sans_MS said:

Have you plugged the 24pin ATX, 8PIN EPS, and GPU power in fully? Are the modular cables plugged in?

PC crashed again after 45min of TW3. Restarted itself after a few seconds.

[STRMfrmXMN]

23 minutes ago, Marowag said:

PC crashed again after 45min of TW3. Restarted itself after a few seconds.

It sounds like your PSU's OCP is kicking in or it's getting too hot. Weird that it's doing this. I've built numerous systems with that PSU and haven't had problems but you may have gotten a dud.

 

Go ahead and do a stress test with the old PSU and see if you notice any issues. Also try taking the GPU out and see if the Seasonic will work without the GPU in.

[Marowag]

2 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

It sounds like your PSU's OCP is kicking in or it's getting too hot. Weird that it's doing this. I've built numerous systems with that PSU and haven't had problems but you may have gotten a dud.

 

Go ahead and do a stress test with the old PSU and see if you notice any issues. Also try taking the GPU out and see if the Seasonic will work without the GPU in.

Thanks for your answer! Any ideas about the power up problems or is it all related?
Oh man, I really hope nothing goes wrong while using the old one... 

[STRMfrmXMN]

3 minutes ago, Marowag said:

Thanks for your answer! Any ideas about the power up problems or is it all related?
Oh man, I really hope nothing goes wrong while using the old one... 

It sounds like it's all related, although its exhibiting symptoms of an old PSU starting to bite the dust which seems weird to me. If it has no problems with a GPU plugged in (and try that before swapping PSUs) then I can fairly safely say that your PSU needs to be returned and a replacement should be issued.

[Marowag]

3 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

It sounds like it's all related, although its exhibiting symptoms of an old PSU starting to bite the dust which seems weird to me. If it has no problems with a GPU plugged in (and try that before swapping PSUs) then I can fairly safely say that your PSU needs to be returned and a replacement should be issued.

What do you mean by "If it has no problems with a GPU plugged in"? Problems with no GPU plugged in? Because it is plugged in and there are problems

[DawN the 13 year old]

5 minutes ago, Marowag said:

What do you mean by "If it has no problems with a GPU plugged in"? Problems with no GPU plugged in? Because it is plugged in and there are problems

After reading you saying your gpu hits almost 100 degrees, that may be the problem. Try running it with open side plates/case doors

[STRMfrmXMN]

7 minutes ago, Marowag said:

What do you mean by "If it has no problems with a GPU plugged in"? Problems with no GPU plugged in? Because it is plugged in and there are problems

Meant if the GPU was taken out, sorry.

 

1 minute ago, DawN the 13 year old said:

After reading you saying your gpu hits almost 100 degrees, that may be the problem. Try running it with open side plates/case doors

Holy shit there's the problem

[Marowag]

1 minute ago, DawN the 13 year old said:

After reading you saying your gpu hits almost 100 degrees, that may be the problem. Try running it with open side plates/case doors

Tried with one side open and closed, while I do have to say that one of the fans is on the side and blowing air pretty much directly into the GPU. Crashes happened in both cases

[DawN the 13 year old]

Just now, Marowag said:

Tried with one side open and closed, while I do have to say that one of the fans is on the side and blowing air pretty much directly into the GPU. Crashes happened in both cases

ok. I'm going to think about this just don't send it to a pc repair specialist, then the problem would be your "Firmware"

[Marowag]

5 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

Meant if the GPU was taken out, sorry.

 

Holy shit there's the problem

Got it

Well, imo it was either the PSU or the GPU, that's why I said also the part about temperatures. Might have missed the forum page tho
I already wrote an email to MSI on Friday and I'm hoping they answer early next week.

However, why doesn't the PC want to start then when pressing the power button?

[Marowag]

2 minutes ago, DawN the 13 year old said:

ok. I'm going to think about this just don't send it to a pc repair specialist, then the problem would be your "Firmware"

Thanks! Wasn't really planing on that except if I had no other possibility at all... 

[STRMfrmXMN]

2 minutes ago, Marowag said:

Got it

Well, imo it was either the PSU or the GPU, that's why I said also the part about temperatures. Might have missed the forum page tho
I already wrote an email to MSI on Friday and I'm hoping they answer early next week.

However, why doesn't the PC want to start then when pressing the power button?

The PC may not start due to being too hot. Have you tried replacing thermal paste on it?

[Marowag]

3 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

The PC may not start due to being too hot. Have you tried replacing thermal paste on it?

I accept that may be the problem directly after a crash, however, it also sometimes doesn't want to start after several hours of being off... Which is the first thing/problem that happened.

I haven't replaced the thermal paste yet, but was thinking of doing that. I can try that on Monday and see what happens.

[STRMfrmXMN]

7 minutes ago, Marowag said:

I accept that may be the problem directly after a crash, however, it also sometimes doesn't want to start after several hours of being off... Which is the first thing/problem that happened.

I haven't replaced the thermal paste yet, but was thinking of doing that. I can try that on Monday and see what happens.

Even your 290 shouldn't be going too far past 80C. I'd definitely change thermal paste and maybe improve airflow in your system to keep that thing cool. 

 

It it may be the PSU but you're dealing with two problems and the 290 is dangerously hot. You could literally boil water on the core and that's just too much.

[Marowag]

Just now, STRMfrmXMN said:

Even your 290 shouldn't be going too far past 80C. I'd definitely change thermal paste and maybe improve airflow in your system to keep that thing cool. 

 

It it may be the PSU but you're dealing with two problems and the 290 is dangerously hot. You could literally boil water on the core and that's just too much.

Okay, i'll change the paste on Monday then. Arctic MX-2 is good enough, right? 

I'd love to improve the airflow, but I don't really see a way how to do it. I only have 1 more slot for a fan, on the bottom for intake, however I can't fit one in because of the length of the PSU. Take off the filter on the front of the case? Change the stock cooler on the CPU for an aftermarket one?

As with the PSU, have we reached a dead end? Or do I still have to try to power the PC up with no GPU?

[STRMfrmXMN]

I'd probably use something non-conductive like Arctic Ceramique to be extra safe and make sure you liberally apply paste on the GPU as it's different than on a CPU. If that doesn't bring temps down then I'm not sure what might be wrong. Nonetheless do try booting the system without a GPU. If problems still persist then it's the PSU. If not then it CAN still be the PSU deteriorating but you need to work it to work better. Also, have you taken away any overclocks you've applied anywhere?

[Marowag]

3 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

I'd probably use something non-conductive like Arctic Ceramique to be extra safe and make sure you liberally apply paste on the GPU as it's different than on a CPU. If that doesn't bring temps down then I'm not sure what might be wrong. Nonetheless do try booting the system without a GPU. If problems still persist then it's the PSU. If not then it CAN still be the PSU deteriorating but you need to work it to work better. Also, have you taken away any overclocks you've applied anywhere?

Okay, I'll see if I can find that anywhere near me. 

So, put more paste than with the "pea size blob" rule?

Okay, I'll try that within an hour or two. 

I haven't applied any OCs.

 

And thanks for being so patient and helpful

[STRMfrmXMN]

53 minutes ago, Marowag said:

Okay, I'll see if I can find that anywhere near me. 

So, put more paste than with the "pea size blob" rule?

Okay, I'll try that within an hour or two. 

I haven't applied any OCs.

 

And thanks for being so patient and helpful

I bought mine on Amazon.

 

Yes, you need to over the die and enough to spill over the edges of the die.

 

Let me know how it goes.

[Marowag]

3 hours ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

I bought mine on Amazon.

 

Yes, you need to over the die and enough to spill over the edges of the die.

 

Let me know how it goes.

I have just tried it without the GPU. 

Turned PC off, took out GPU, push power button, PC starts after 10 seconds. Turned PC off.

Let it rest for a few min. Push power button, nothing happens for a minute. Push power button again and the PC then started after 3min.

After I put the GPU back in the PC it didn't want to start for around half an hour, during which I pressed the power button several times. But it turned itself on while I was making dinner...

Edited August 13, 2016 by Marowag
Added last 2 sentences