Question Corsair RM650x randomly makes a click and then shuts the computer down

[GazZa182]

Specs
-Ryzen 5 3600
-MSI B450 Tomahawk Max
-XFX RX 580
-Corsair RM650x
-WD 500gb SSD M.2

I recently got a new PSU (RM650x) to replace my dead (CX550M). However, i installed it 3-4 days ago, checked that it worked then left it. Yesterday was the first time using it playing games, played for about 3-4 hours on and off but then in the middle of a game (Valhiem) it made a single click and turned off. Confused i tried to turn the computer back on, all the lights would come on for about a second then the PSU would click and would turn off. This would happen about 4-5 times. Being late at night i decided to leave it for the morning, i got back on and had played for one hour until the same thing happened.
I have reseated all cables and all Temps are running fine.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Are you 100% positive the CX550m WAS dead? Did you test it with a multimeter and a load? Try it in a different system?

Because, while I'm always in favor of the probability of a power supply being to blame since they so often ARE, two in a row in a relatively short period of time sounds a lot more like a motherboard issue or something shorting causing the protection in the PSU to trigger.

Did you switch the PSU off on the back, unplug it from the wall, then after a few minutes plug it back in and switch it back on?

Also, WHERE did you buy the RM650x from?

 

[GazZa182]

I am pretty sure that the 550 was dead, i do not have access to a multimeter but i did the paperclip test to no avail.
I did switch the whole thing off and left it overnight.
I purchased the 650 from Umart.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, so you're in Australia then, yes?

Was the RMx actually "new" or just "new to you". As in, was it refurbished, or used, or was it an unopened, shrink wrapped new product? I think the bottom line here is that if you just recently bought it then it should still be under warranty and I know Australia has some pretty stringent consumer protection laws, so it shouldn't be a problem returning it for replacement. Take it back, get it replaced. Then, if you still have the same problem with another unit, I'd take a good hard look at your motherboard. Even bench test it to make sure it isn't some other component causing protections to trigger.

How To - Motherboard bench testing

Finding the problem through bench testing If you are here then it’s likely you have encountered a serious hardware issue and have been unable to resolve it using the standard no-POST troubleshooting procedures. If you have not yet attempted to resolve your issues using the no-POST...

forums.tomshardware.com

Another thing you want to do is make sure you're not running the PSU through a power strip of any kind. Your PSU should be plugged DIRECTLY into the wall socket. Power strips and "surge protectors" are notoriously cheaply made in most cases. Unless it is an industrial type design by a reputable, rock solid company like Tripp Lite, Eaton, GE Industrial, etc., you want to avoid using it for the PSU to plug into.

If you ARE plugged directly into the wall socket, and nothing else seems amiss, you might want to try a DIFFERENT wall socket, just in case there is an issue with that specific circuit.

 

[jonnyguru]

Specs
-Ryzen 5 3600
-MSI B450 Tomahawk Max
-XFX RX 580
-Corsair RM650x
-WD 500gb SSD M.2

I recently got a new PSU (RM650x) to replace my dead (CX550M). However, i installed it 3-4 days ago, checked that it worked then left it. Yesterday was the first time using it playing games, played for about 3-4 hours on and off but then in the middle of a game (Valhiem) it made a single click and turned off. Confused i tried to turn the computer back on, all the lights would come on for about a second then the PSU would click and would turn off. This would happen about 4-5 times. Being late at night i decided to leave it for the morning, i got back on and had played for one hour until the same thing happened.
I have reseated all cables and all Temps are running fine.

Sounds like a protection is tripping.

Are you sure the fan in the PSU is working properly?

 

[Juular]

Sounds like a protection is tripping.

It looks like OP doesn't need to reset the PSU after it shuts down to start the PC again. So perhaps it's GPU/motherboard's VRM protection then ?

 

[GazZa182]

Yes I am in Australia. I purchased the PSU from Umart brand new, I have only had it for a couple of days and Umart has a 30 day return policy. Unless I am able to find out what is wrong and fix it I will return it.

I plugged my Computer into a different power outlet that I know runs on a different circuit. The computer was fine for about 10 minutes then shut down.

If JonnyGuru is correct and the protection is tripping, what could be tripping it?

Are you sure the fan in the PSU is working properly?

I had a look under the PSU when the computer was idling, the fan was not running but i believe this is a feature on the RM series is it not?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Pretty sure the RMx has a semi passive mode, but I but, and I might be mistaken and Jon would certainly be the one to know about that, I believe it is a SELECTABLE mode and isn't on by default. Might be though.

 

[jonnyguru]

Yes I am in Australia. I purchased the PSU from Umart brand new, I have only had it for a couple of days and Umart has a 30 day return policy. Unless I am able to find out what is wrong and fix it I will return it.

I plugged my Computer into a different power outlet that I know runs on a different circuit. The computer was fine for about 10 minutes then shut down.

If JonnyGuru is correct and the protection is tripping, what could be tripping it?

Well, it seems that @Juular noticed that you can "attempt" to turn the PC back on by just hitting the button on the front of the case. That would mean that the power off is not a protection as a protection would require you to cycle the power on the back of the PC.

I had a look under the PSU when the computer was idling, the fan was not running but i believe this is a feature on the RM series is it not?

Pretty sure the RMx has a semi passive mode

Well, yes. But the fan has to start spinning sooner or later. You're playing a game for 3 to 4 hours and it NEVER spins?

Another thing: Other than the parts listed, what else is being used? Extension cables? RGB lighting strips? USB hub? USB microphone? etc.?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Well, yes. But the fan has to start spinning sooner or later. You're playing a game for 3 to 4 hours and it NEVER spins?

C'mon Jon, I didn't say that, or anything like that. I just said yes, I believe it DOES have a semi-passive/ Zero RPM fan mode in agreement with what the OP had said. And, the OP said he took a look under the PSU while it was "idling" and the fan wasn't operating. And, in the OP he said that after the initial occurrence he could only play for about an hour before the system shut off.

SO I AGREE with you though, obviously, that at some point or at MULTIPLE points during that hour he needs to take a look to see or hear if the fan EVER starts running. Further, it might help if you can turn it off to see if that changes anything but the user manual doesn't make it clear if this is a switchable mode or the only mode, but obviously YOU would know that and could tell us.

 

[jonnyguru]

the user manual doesn't make it clear if this is a switchable mode or the only mode, but obviously YOU would know that and could tell us.

It does not have a switch to change the fan's zero RPM mode.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Cool. Thanks.

So, @GazZa182 , you are going to need to try to get it warmed up before it decides to shut down and during that time do your best to try and see if it's fan comes on or not.

But, this could just as easily be a cap or something else on the motherboard heating up and causing the motherboard's protection to kick in, or the graphics card, or anything really. Bench testing like I linked to earlier, with minimal hardware, might help to narrow things down a bit.

 

[GazZa182]

Ok, I have just loaded it up and will run some programs to see if the fans turn on.

I will also have a look over the motherboard to see any visual damage to it.
It does kinda seem like a heat related issue because once it turns off, any attempts to turn it back on will turn off almost instantly. However sometimes it turns off when it is just idling so i don't really know.

Going back to what Juular said:

It looks like OP doesn't need to reset the PSU after it shuts down to start the PC again. So perhaps it's GPU/motherboard's VRM protection then ?

If it was the the motherboard or GPU had an error would i be able to see that in the Windows event viewer??

If you would like i can also take some photos and a video of it turning off?

Another thing: Other than the parts listed, what else is being used? Extension cables? RGB lighting strips? USB hub? USB microphone? etc.?

Initially when it first happened I had a wired keyboard, wireless mouse, HMDI cable for the monitor and a PCI_E connected Wifi adapter. However once it started happening, the first thing I did when trouble shooting was removing these items.

If nothing works, I will use your link @Darkbreeze and run your bench-testing.

 

[Juular]

If it was the the motherboard or GPU had an error would i be able to see that in the Windows event viewer??

If it was a tripped protection of their VRM - no.

I think i've seen something similar on Reddit, and IIRC with Seasonic Focus PSU. Since RX480 isn't nearly power hungry enough to even trip earlier Focus revisions which had problems with Vegas, i'd at this point assume that it's maybe something related to GPU or it's drivers.

 

[GazZa182]

Yeah, too be honest when I tried to open the AMD Radeon monitoring software on my computer the other day, I got an error message saying the drivers were out of date, I have installed some new ones however I do believe it did shutdown once after I installed them

I have had my computer on for about an hour and a half and it has not yet shut down. I also ran some stress testing twice, for 3 minutes each time and i got all my components up to their max temperatures (CPU: 90, GPU: 70, MOBO: 40 ish).

I did have a look under the computer while I was running the stress-testing and the PSU fan was not moving but i do not know if the PSU was hot enough for the fan to start, any help on this Jonny?

Apart from that I will keep running my computer and keep you updated, any more advice from you guys would be helpful.

 

[GazZa182]

Computer has been idling for 4 hours now, still on

 

[jonnyguru]

Initially when it first happened I had a wired keyboard, wireless mouse, HMDI cable for the monitor and a PCI_E connected Wifi adapter. However once it started happening, the first thing I did when trouble shooting was removing these items.

Ok. So inside the PC, there's no RGB lighting strips, extension cables, etc.?

 

[Darkbreeze]

RX480 isn't nearly power hungry enough to even trip earlier Focus revisions which had problems with Vegas, i'd at this point assume that it's maybe something related to GPU or it's drivers.

This is an RX580, but still, while the RX580 generally pulls a bit more depending on model, it's not a giant difference. Probably about 50w for most models, so yeah, with an RM650x it's very possible you won't even see it pull enough to make the fans kick in I suppose.

I think if you ran the Furmark torture test it probably would though.

 

[GazZa182]

Still happening

 

[GazZa182]

@Darkbreeze, Hey Mate.
I started doing some trouble shooting because the computer was back in that (turn on for a second then turn off again stage) and i went through and pulled out the PSU power connectors to each part one at a time and attempting to turn it on. When I pulled out the CPU connector the computer stayed on. Do you know what in the CPU could be causing this??

 

[Darkbreeze]

If it's something IN the CPU, it doesn't even matter what it is because it can't be fixed anyhow, only replaced. But it seems less likely, although still possible, than other possibilities like it being something with the motherboard itself. Have you taken the board out of the case and benched it as per the tutorial I linked to previously? If not, that would still be a good place to begin and you might find the issue more readily by doing so.

 

[jonnyguru]

@Darkbreeze, Hey Mate.
I started doing some trouble shooting because the computer was back in that (turn on for a second then turn off again stage) and i went through and pulled out the PSU power connectors to each part one at a time and attempting to turn it on. When I pulled out the CPU connector the computer stayed on. Do you know what in the CPU could be causing this??

So inside the PC, there's no RGB lighting strips, extension cables, etc.?

When you unplug the CPU power, the PC stays "on", but is it actually running (the PC is actually in Windows, etc.)? Or you just stating that it powers on an stay on and doesn't post? If the latter, that's actually quite normal.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So inside the PC, there's no RGB lighting strips, extension cables, etc.?

When you unplug the CPU power, the PC stays "on", but is it actually running (the PC is actually in Windows, etc.)? Or you just stating that it powers on an stay on and doesn't post? If the latter, that's actually quite normal.

Right. That's exactly my thought process as well. Just because it stays on doesn't demonstrate anything out of the ordinary, except that it doesn't, apparently, with the EPS 12v plugged in, which ought to tell us something at the least.