My computer blew up. Is it the PSU?

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by Kerosene, Sep 14, 2007.

  1. #1
    One of my PCs blew up while booting this morning. It made a loud POP that I heard from another room, and made that 'electricity gone bad' smell. Now when I hit the power button, absolutely nothing happens.

    It's gotta be the PSU right?
     
    Kerosene, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  2. Disguised

    Disguised Notable Member

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    #2
    Yes it must be power Supply unit because if there was anything else you would've heard some beeps after pressing power button (in all cases there are beeps like motherboard problem, RAM problem etc)
     
    Disguised, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  3. Kerosene

    Kerosene Alpha & Omega™ Staff

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    #3
    What can cause a PSU to blow?
    Mine was about 5 years old (Antec SL350S) - and has been running with the same hardware for years. I want to make sure that there's nothing wrong that could damage a new PSU (when I get one)...

    I've heard than running fans at 7V (using the old 12V > 7V Molex rewiring trick) can stress a PSU. Anyone know if this is true? I've been running undervolted fans since I built the PC that blew up, and it ran fine for years.. so I can't imagine that this is the problem.
     
    Kerosene, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  4. Disguised

    Disguised Notable Member

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    #4
    Maybe a sudden jolt caused this, I'm not sure but this could be the possible reason because when mine went out (suddenly) I had the same hardware and my current one is working just fine.

    I'm not sure about this but Maybe it's time to google some thing :)
     
    Disguised, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  5. forumrating

    forumrating Notable Member

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    #5
    just check up with alternate power supply, sometimes you do not know if there is more damage, could be possibly due to your power cut issue, its best if u have a ups , would have saved the burst.
     
    forumrating, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  6. WatchOut

    WatchOut Guest

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    #6
    I do believe its the power supply that caused your computer to blow, get a new one and try it.
     
    WatchOut, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  7. Kerosene

    Kerosene Alpha & Omega™ Staff

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    #7
    We had crazy winds here last night, which could have resulted in some work being done on local power sub stations (or whatever they're called). Electricity is bad news :)
    I've ordered a Seasonic S12, so will just have to wait and see...

    UPS are for wimps. Real men live on the edge! :D :p
     
    Kerosene, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  8. onedollar

    onedollar SEO Consultant for Hire

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    #8
    if there was a lot of dust inside the CPU blocking the fans ventillation, it can also be a cause for the PSU going burst.
     
    onedollar, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  9. Kerosene

    Kerosene Alpha & Omega™ Staff

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    #9
    My house is pretty dusty (old floorboards!)... but I know for a fact that I've had way more dust in my PC before than I had when it blew up this morning.
    Anyway, it's forced me to pull my PC to bits and clean everything. Going to work on a whole new dust free positive pressure cooling system now.

    It's a quiet night here tonight :) All my music (150gb of it!) is on my dead desktop PC. I'm about to dig out my old 40gb iPod and see what gems from 2004 are on it. :p
     
    Kerosene, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  10. hemux

    hemux Banned

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    #10
    its happened with me twice, 2 of my pcs power supplies blew up. it was because of the fluctuation in the voltage which is very usual in this part of the world, maybe that was the same case with your pc
     
    hemux, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  11. Kerosene

    Kerosene Alpha & Omega™ Staff

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    #11
    Could be. I'm living in a house that was built in the 1800s by Cornish miners. Who knows what's connecting me to the grid. :p
     
    Kerosene, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  12. bacanze

    bacanze Peon

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    #12
    Mostly likely a power surge
     
    bacanze, Sep 14, 2007 IP
  13. Kerosene

    Kerosene Alpha & Omega™ Staff

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    #13
    I'm running everything off those surge protected power strips, plus my house has a very 'trip happy' safety switch... who knows. I guess I got a good 5 years out of it, running pretty much 24/7.

    What a sad sight.
    [​IMG]
     
    Kerosene, Sep 14, 2007 IP