Solved PSU dying? (Video)

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blz

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Hello,

I believe my PSU is dying, it's almost 5 years old, I've been using it since December 2008, average 8h per day, no CPU OC. Please watch video, loud buzzing noises initially sounded like coming from MoBo, but I've removed PSU from case so I could listen in detail and it's definitely coming PSU. So far symptom sequence is:

1 - From 1 year ago approx. I've start to hear some buzzing noises, apparently from the CPU/upper Mobo capacitors, I've searched on internet, and general opinion was that it was a normal noise, the noise was intermittent.

2 - From 1 month ago, it started to shutdown suddenly, no warnings, no BSODs. It was mostly when I've resumed from hibernation, so at the time I assumed it was a Windows power management issue. After 3 weeks of normal activity, playing games etc. I had no problems whatsoever until last Friday, I was simply on internet and it suddenly shuts down. Restarts and shuts down again 5 seconds later. Now it keeps stable just with internet activity, if I test it with JAM's "heavyload" or if I play any games, it will shutdown 5 seconds later.

3 - In the last few days, I've been noticing HDD spin off and water pump restarting.

What I've done so far:

1 - Removed PSU from case and connected it externally to MoBo.
2 - Swapped power cables and SATA/PCI cables.
3 - Have tried different mains sockets, all have the same result.
4 - The PSU was heavily populated with dust, I've cleaned it all.

System specs are:
i7 920 @ 2.66
1 x SSD
1 x HDD 1TB 7200RPM
1 x HDD Green 2TB 5400RPM
1 x alphacool water pump 11W
1 x MSI GTX750Ti (although I've used ATi 4600HD 512mb overclocked to 1000Mhz for 4.5 years).
6 x Corsair XMS3 sticks (8 GB Ram)
5 x 120mm fans
1 x USB sound card
PSU = NOX Pulsar 650W (I'm aware it's not a very popular PSU brand)
Windows 8.1 X64

I don't know if it makes any difference, but the PSU is top mounted, and the fan spins intake-wards.

Video: 0:00-0:02 and 0:56-0:58
[video=youtube_share;ZSIiyirwOOA]http://youtu.be/ZSIiyirwOOA[/video]
 
Hello there blz.
Five years of average use with a non top notch PSU,should be considered more than enough,it paid out well.Your symptoms,do indicate that maybe its time to move along.Be "generous" to you and your machine and buy a good,reliable and a bit bigger power supply for future upgrades.
You could measure its voltages,if feeling handy enough and performing the infamous paperclip trick with a multimeter,see if its rails do provide stated and stable outputs,but i wouldnt trust it,since it would be without any load and therefore not really stressed out like IN the machine.
Do not attempt to open and fiddle with it by any means,them devices are pretty dangerous,even when unplugged or considered dead,they are still loaded with lethal power!
 
complete deletion

I have just average skills with a computer, so please help me. When I delete a program, how can I make sure all data for that program is gone. I got Revo but at times a download might go to Windows 8 ( programs and features ). When I remove a program on Revo I can delete all the files. Not the case sometimes with Windows ( programs and features ) sometimes thay don't delete very easy. Thanks, Chuck
 
Chuck racer said:
I have just average skills with a computer, so please help me. When I delete a program, how can I make sure all data for that program is gone. I got Revo but at times a download might go to Windows 8 ( programs and features ). When I remove a program on Revo I can delete all the files. Not the case sometimes with Windows ( programs and features ) sometimes thay don't delete very easy. Thanks, Chuck
Click to expand...

You have posted this in a thread that has nothing to do with your problem. Create a new thread for assistance.
 
broe23 said:
Did not need the video. Five years old. Most likely some bulging capacitors. Time to change it out. You could take it to a local mom & pop shop and they can use a Power Supply Voltage tester to check it out. Also the longer you operate a dying Power Supply. The more chance of killing hardware and the motherboard.

You can get a tester for Power Supplies for under $5. Amazon.com: eForCity® 20 / 24-pin Power Supply Tester for ATX / SATA / HDD, Black: Computers & Accessories
Click to expand...

Cheers, I think I'll skip the power tester anyway, I'm practically sure that something is wrong with the PSU, and it makes sense considering it has 5 years old, anyway it lasted very long as NOX is made by super flower and not so well rated as Corsair or Seasonic. Well, I've open the PSU case just for the clean, I haven't touched anything, as far as I know the capacitors all looked good, no leaks. Anyways, it's time to move on and change to a more efficient PSU, I am considering either Corsair CX600M or Zalman Goldrock ZM550-XG 550W, hopefully I won't have to worry too much for 3 years or so.
 
As soon I get a new PSU and double check that is the real problem I'll mark this one as solved. Thanks guys.
 
Hello again. I've got bad news. OK my PSU was emitting weird noises, but the problem remains. After installing new PSU, the GPU was not working, then I re seated the GPU board and it worked fine, however just before logging on to windows it had another sudden shutdown. I hear buzzing noises coming from CPU area, I can´t say if is MoBo or CPU. One thing I´ve noticed and is concerning me. My water pump is the Alphacool AGB-Eheim 600 Station II 12V, it uses a PCB to power the pump. On that PCB on of the capacitors was detached and I've glued it again, it seems that there is no contact problems as the pump is working fine, but I wonder if that may eventually cause any problems, I cannot test stability with the pump off, as I got no CPU fan to replace. Another aspect is that I often hear electric buzzes (not like coil whine, something stronger) coming from the MoBo, definitely there is some sort of electric problem and I feel real frustrated because I cannot locate it. Is there any possibility of bad CPU? I mean, I wonder if my old PSU eventually ruined any of the components...
 
Hey there,personally i have never heard a CPU failing with a bang!You sure the pump is fully operational?Can it be that by malfuctioning pump,you are getting temps that high,that it eventually auto shuts down your machine?Or was it a one time only?
You have got to find out where noises come from.Take a straw and block your PSU fan if you have to,wont mind for a view seconds,unplug noisy HDDs,block your GPU fans aswell,check for "swollen" ,bulgy capacitors on your board.
 
UPDATE:
Right, I think I've just found the problem, you're not going to believe in this...:shock: I'm not sure yet, have to do more testing, but I've just disconnected by NZXT Sentry LX fan controller, and everything just ran smoothly, performed a couple heavyload tests, no more than 50º temp, quite good considering the radiator fans were disabled. One of the (NZXT) temp sensors was not working, and it was probably doing some short circuit. Anyways, the lithium battery (dead for like 3 years) could have caused any problems as well so I´ve removed it and I'll fit a new one soon. As the sentry controller comes with 2 spare sensors I replaced the death one, and so far the PC is running stable. I'll perform some more heavy tests and post the results tomorrow, but I reckon the faulty sensor was the problem combined with a faulty PSU (I had to replace the PSU anyway) which have caused both PSUs and MoBo to activate the SC protection and shutdown the machine. BTW, the coil whine keeps coming, however if I disable the idle processor on power settings, the whine is gone.
 
That sounds like good news to me and even if it wasnt the old psu's fault,you are on the safe side now.
Keep benching,nice of you reporting your "solution",stick around for updates and mark as solved if all goes well.
Cheers!
 
Well, everything seems to be going alright now, have played Arma 3 for a few hours with GPU in OC mode, no performance issues, no weird noises, temperatures are OK. I'm going to consider it as solved. Thanks for your help.
 
Unfortunately is not solved. After a few days stable, yesterday evening I was playing Arma 3 with shadowplay recording, first time A3 crashed, then the PC suddenly shuts down. Restarted, after logging on to windows shuts down again. Same old story back. I've disconnected everything, just left 1 RAM stick, CPU, SSD, removed the gtx750 and installed my old gpu on another PCIe slot. So I believe it's not a GPU fault. The electric buzzes are back again, immediately before any shutdown I hear these loud electric buzzes coming from the CPU/North Bridge. I believe that my MoBo is failing. My last try will be powering the water pump using my old PSU (but keep the rest of the machine powered by the new PSU), if my old PSU shuts down, then the water pump PCB is the problem (one of the capacitors is not well welded, but the pump works fine). If the problem still remains and the problem is not on the water pump then something is wrong in the MoBo. BTW, I forgot to mention that sometimes, the GPU has power but there is no display to the monitor, this happens with both GPUs, looks like the PCIe slots are not delivering enough power, If I reseat the GPU it will work.

I will keep this thread updated later.
 
UPDATE: Just have re-seated CPU, applied new thermal paste, tested CPU using Intel Diagnostic tool, it passed, however if I try it with prime95 it shuts down 2 minutes after +-. I hear strong electric buzzes more and more, the voltage regulators/chokes around the CPU area seem to cause that noise.
 
proudtobegreek said:
Cant seem to find which motherboard you are using,is it a Gigabyte x58?
Have you tried another wall outlet?
Click to expand...

GA-EX58-Extreme

I've tried another outlet, I'm even powering water pump and fans using my old PSU, and the problem is not from there, I often hear a sound like electric shock/sparks on the motherboard coming from the CPU/voltage regulators/capacitors, something is definately shorting the MoBo but not continuously, but what really concerns me is that there is instability, sometimes I can logon onto windows and it just stays there for 1 hour without any problems, if I stress the CPU/RAM using intel diagnostic tool it finishes the test without erros, if I do with prime95 then is shuts 2/3 after start, but it doesn't have a pattern, sometimes I just press the power button on the case and it shuts down 5 seconds later, sometimes it logs onto windows and shuts immediately. It sounds like the voltage regulators are overworking, they are eventually shorting. My next steps to try:

- Remove DVI cable and try with a VGA spare one, the cable may be shorting.
- Remove motherboard and search for any conductive material there and check capacitors.
- Change SATA cables
 
Was more than a wild guess,that you own a Gigabyte x58!Did a bit of search under the terms "electric buzzes motherboard" and most of them were referring to that specific mobo.
 
Update: Steps I've done so far:

- Swapped DVI cable by VGA cable (no changes, it shuts down anyway)
- Changed SATA cables (no changes, it shuts down anyway)

Last step:
- Remove MoBo and search thoroughly for any blown capacitor, short circuit on the back and clean it very well.
 
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