[SOLVED] Can bad house-wiring damage a PSU?

Nov 23, 2021
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A while ago I had to be in a situation in which I was in a residence with some shoddy wiring (power flickers, and loose outlets), and ever since my PC reboots when ever playing certain games, before that I never experienced such an issue. Is it possible my PSU was damaged and is having issues supplying power during gaming?

I have already ruled out the CPU, because of both multiple stress tests, and switching out between my new I5-9600k and my old I3-8100, the issue persists with both.

Bellow is my Speccy upload.

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/zp55gPfEwqKwp2Xt2hdWBco
 
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since that is an awesome PSU

Maybe awesome for you, but in reality, it's mediocre quality PSU, best only used with office PC without dedicated GPU. For gaming rigs with dedicated GPU, better quality PSU is preferred, to avoid issues like OP is having.

my PC reboots when ever playing certain games

Random reboots or shutdowns are mostly caused by 2 issues:
  1. CPU/GPU overheats and to prevent any damage, system shuts down.
  2. PSU fails to deliver enough power to the GPU or fails to keep smooth enough voltage for PC's operation.
First check your CPU/GPU temps, both at idle and under load. If temps are within reason then it's safe to assume that it's the PSU who is acting up.

While your PSU has enough wattage for...
A while ago I had to be in a situation in which I was in a residence with some shoddy wiring (power flickers, and loose outlets), and ever since my PC reboots when ever playing certain games, before that I never experienced such an issue. Is it possible my PSU was damaged and is having issues supplying power during gaming?

I have already ruled out the CPU, because of both multiple stress tests, and switching out between my new I5-9600k and my old I3-8100, the issue persists with both.

Bellow is my Speccy upload.

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/zp55gPfEwqKwp2Xt2hdWBco
Since you moved the machine from location to location reseat all plugs.
Reseat the ram and gpu.

Btw.....your samsung hdd is showing a warning.
 
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TommyTwoTone66

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Sounds like you know what the problem is my friend. Yes, your stay in the haunted house of flickering lights has absolutely damaged your PSU. It may also have damaged your motherboard and RAM but hopefully not.

Get a new PSU. The same model is recommended since that is an awesome PSU. I would also consider a small UPS to smooth out the power delivery and prevent further damage.
 

Aeacus

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since that is an awesome PSU

Maybe awesome for you, but in reality, it's mediocre quality PSU, best only used with office PC without dedicated GPU. For gaming rigs with dedicated GPU, better quality PSU is preferred, to avoid issues like OP is having.

my PC reboots when ever playing certain games

Random reboots or shutdowns are mostly caused by 2 issues:
  1. CPU/GPU overheats and to prevent any damage, system shuts down.
  2. PSU fails to deliver enough power to the GPU or fails to keep smooth enough voltage for PC's operation.
First check your CPU/GPU temps, both at idle and under load. If temps are within reason then it's safe to assume that it's the PSU who is acting up.

While your PSU has enough wattage for your system, it's possible that the "unclean" electricity it has gotten and mediocre build quality it has, has damaged it, where the voltage regulation has sifted outside of the ATX PSU standard specs of 5% on all rails (10% on -12V and -5V rails) and your PSU can't sustain stable enough voltage for your 150W GPU to run under higher load. That's why your PC shuts down once you start gaming heavier load games.

Only fix is to buy a new, up to the date PSU. I suggest getting Seasonic Focus or PRIME unit, in 600W range.
(All 3 of my PCs are also powered by Seasonic, full specs with pics in my sig.)

And yes, UPS with AVR will help to prevent any further damage to your PSU/PC. Though, AVR alone does the job as well, but doesn't provide protection against blackouts.
 
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TommyTwoTone66

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Sea sonic is a good brand but so is Corsair. I don’t think the M is mediocre at all it’s decent. It won’t have enjoyed the spikes and surges it sounds like it endured, but I doubt a sea sonic unit would have fared any better.
 

TommyTwoTone66

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Nah, there’s way more subtlety than that.

Poor -> lackluster -> below average -> mediocre -> acceptable -> average -> okay -> above average -> good -> decent -> great -> excellent -> outstanding -> incredible -> Asus

The review you linked to concludes:

“Pros, Cons, And Final Verdict

The CX750M offers decent performance and thanks to its affordable price it is able to achieve a solid value score.”

Way better than mediocre
 

JinxTheWorld

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Honestly if you have sketchy power running through your house i would highly recommend a decent UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply).

This is what i have, and has been working incredibly. It has pure sinewave and not simulated and can power your PC+monitor for at least 30 minutes. The main thing to look at is that it has AVR (automatic voltage regulation), which is pretty important. I live in florida, so believe me, it is super useful lol.

On amazon: https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500PFCLCD-Sinewave-Outlets-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N19W
 

Aeacus

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This is what i have, and has been working incredibly. It has pure sinewave and not simulated and can power your PC+monitor for at least 30 minutes. The main thing to look at is that it has AVR (automatic voltage regulation), which is pretty important. I live in florida, so believe me, it is super useful lol.

On amazon: https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500PFCLCD-Sinewave-Outlets-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N19W

UPS, yes, is really nice and good piece of hardware. I too have UPSes in use, one for Skylake build, another for Haswell build (full specs with pics in my sig).
I have two of these in use: CyberPower CP1300EPFCLCD (line-interactive, true/pure sine wave),
specs: https://www.cyberpower.com/hk/en/product/sku/CP1300EPFCLCD
amazon france: https://www.amazon.fr/Cyberpower-CP1300EPFCLCD-Onduleur-Sinewave-technologie/dp/B0058RVIEC

In my opinion, every PC should be backed up by UPS.
 

Aeacus

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In general I think anyone with 110V power

What's wrong with those who use 230V power? Aka the most of the world, myself included. :unsure:

APC branded units

APC is more common in The States, less so everywhere else. Also, many APC units are simulated sine wave, but they do offer true/pure sine wave units as well.
3rd good UPS brand that i can also suggest is TrippLite.
 

Aeacus

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Countries with 110V grids tend to have more problems with big spikes and Surges.

No. 230V countries doesn't only include Europe with well built electricity grid, but also whole of Asia, Australia and Africa. Latter is mostly still consisting of developing countries which doesn't have that good of an electricity grid. There are even countries out there, that will shut off all electricity to parts of the city for periods of time, to give it somewhere else, since not enough electricity is produced for everyone.
Even in well developed country, if you live in the industrial part of the city, you can expect big spikes and surges of the industrial machines near you, when they are turned on/off. Heck, even if you live in private house, you can create spikes/surges by yourself, when you use 2-3kW machinery.
 

TommyTwoTone66

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No. 230V countries doesn't only include Europe with well built electricity grid, but also whole of Asia, Australia and Africa. Latter is mostly still consisting of developing countries which doesn't have that good of an electricity grid. There are even countries out there, that will shut off all electricity to parts of the city for periods of time, to give it somewhere else, since not enough electricity is produced for everyone.
Even in well developed country, if you live in the industrial part of the city, you can expect big spikes and surges of the industrial machines near you, when they are turned on/off. Heck, even if you live in private house, you can create spikes/surges by yourself, when you use 2-3kW machinery.

Please note that I didn’t say if you have 230V then don’t bother with a UPS. Obviously in Africa or any developing nation with poor power delivery quality or availability you should use one.

But everyone in any nation with 110V should have one by default. Especially the US.
 

TommyTwoTone66

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I disagree. In Western and Eastern Europe, most of Asia and most of Australia and New Zealand the power grid is now sufficiently stable that using a UPS is entirely unnecessary.

in the US, South America, developing parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the situation is different. It’s not a case of favouring one area over another.

I also disagree that the US is the greatest country in the world, and nor do I live there :)