[SOLVED] Did I kill my MoBo or is my PSU bad?

Jun 1, 2020
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So I just built a new system for my girlfriend and had it working just swimmingly. I'm new to the whole Addressable RGB on case fans (or anything in a PC) so the only thing I didn't connect was that. I reopened the case and then decided to connect the RGB cable to the MoBo. PC worked fine, but the RGB wasn't exactly as advertised, so I decided to add the RGB controller that came with the case (Cooler Master H500).

Adding the RGB controller meant that I had to add one of the SATA power cables to the semi-modular PSU. During this dive into the case I decided to re-route the 8-pin connector to the MoBo through the back of the case. There wasn't as much slack as I would have liked, but I was able to get it in there just fine (or at least I think so).

After this last step the PC stopped working. No case fans turn on, the PSU fan doesn't turn on (nor it's RGB lighting), no beep.

What does turn on is the RGB RAM lights, the RGB mouse lights, and I get a single flash of light from the CPU light at the bottom right of the MoBo (CPU, DRAM, VGA, BOOT).

I have tried reseating everything (components and cables) and have also removed the GPU and the WiFi card. Tried one stick of each RAM at a time and the problem remains. I even removed the SATA power cable and PCI-e cables on the PSU just in case. I rerouted the 8-pin connector through the front where cable slack wasn't an issue (how I originally had it).

Assuming that I'm careful in regards to Electrostatic Discharge, could this be a PSU issue? Was I not careful and accidentally trashed the MoBo or the CPU with ESD?

Here are the specs:

CPU: Intel Core i3-9100F (stock CPU fan)
MoBo: Gigabyte Z390 UD
RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3200 (2x 8GB)
PSU: PowerSpec 650w 80+ Bronze
Storage: Intel SSD 660P 1TB (M.2 NVMe)
Case: Cooler Master H500
GPU: Asus GTX 770 Ti (not connected for troubleshooting)
 
Solution
ESD is a bit overrated really. Unless you don't experience electrocution when building, there is no worries. What could happen is that because you forced the EPS cable through the back of the case, there might be something that's moving, on the cables, as I can't tell for sure how much force you applied there. That means, the PSU is likely fried. It's about time you toss the Powerspec PSU anyway, it's not up there for modern standards. Powerspec makes some decent to good ones, but apparently yours isn't Motherboard, on the other hand are pretty strong and flexible, so I doubt the problem is on the motherboard.
ESD is a bit overrated really. Unless you don't experience electrocution when building, there is no worries. What could happen is that because you forced the EPS cable through the back of the case, there might be something that's moving, on the cables, as I can't tell for sure how much force you applied there. That means, the PSU is likely fried. It's about time you toss the Powerspec PSU anyway, it's not up there for modern standards. Powerspec makes some decent to good ones, but apparently yours isn't Motherboard, on the other hand are pretty strong and flexible, so I doubt the problem is on the motherboard.
 
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Solution
Jun 1, 2020
14
0
10
Well, I tried to be careful when routing the EPS cable through the back of the case even if I had to tug just a little. Though I wasn't forceful, it's possible I may have caused some issue with the wires.

I bought the PowerSpec PSU new not even a week ago (PC was only up and running for a couple of days before this issue). I can assure you it wasn't my first choice, but I was tired of sitting on an almost complete build and every decent PSU is sold out even as I type this.

I'll return the PSU, but in the meantime I'll see if I know someone with a spare I could use to confirm this issue..