Question Help Dearly Needed - New Mid Range Build - Three Separate PSU Failures

[Viscerion]

Happy Friday!

I've recently pieced together a new build that I want so badly to be proud of but cannot get past pressing the power button and experiencing the power supply popping, sparking, and crapping out. Upon turning the power supply on the motherboard will light up, nothing else in the system (fans, memory, etc.) light up or begin turning, then once I hit the case power switch there is an audible pop followed by sparks and smoke from the PSU. I have ordered three of the same exact model PSUs, two from Amazon and one from Best Buy, all experienced the same phenomena.

I'm certainly not an EE and would appreciate any input, thoughts, or ideas as to what might be the cause of this. Please bare in mind that this is my first build, so nothing is off the table for what I could have possibly done wrong.

Build Specs:
Corsair RM850x (power supply in question)
Ryzen 7 5800
Asus X570-E
Corsair Dominator Ram (4X8 3600 CL18)
Samsung 980 1tb NVMe and Crucial 1tb ssd
Corsair H150i AIO
Lian Li AL fans (X7)
MSI RTX 3080
Corsair 5000D Case

I really appreciate your time and insight!

 

[DSzymborski]

Honestly, it sounds like you're not connecting the power cables correctly. You're using the cables that come with the power supply, right? And connecting them to the correct places in the modular power supply using the correct ends?

The odds of this being a problem with the PSUs are astronomically long.

 

[Viscerion]

Honestly, it sounds like you're not connecting the power cables correctly. You're using the cables that come with the power supply, right? And connecting them to the correct places in the modular power supply using the correct ends?

The odds of this being a problem with the PSUs are astronomically long.

Hi DS

I am using the cables that came with the power supply, along with Antec sleeved cable extensions. I've already placed an order to get cable mod cables meant specifically for the RMx series PSU thinking that there could be some bad wiring in the extension kit I received.

Are there considerations I need to keep in mind when hooking up the cables? They are all very straight forward to me. i.e. there is an 8-pin marked CPU that I plugged directly into the MOBO, along with the 24 pin which can only be inserted in a single orientation. Then the remaining two 8-pins were plugged into the power supply and graphics card. None of the 8-pins are plugged in on the PSU to non PCIE/CPU slots.

Thank you for your quick response to my post.

 

[DSzymborski]

First, you should completely take extensions out of the mix for this kind of troubleshooting. You want to eliminate as many variables as possible.

Are you plugging the end of the PCIE cables that are in a 6+2 pin configuration into the modular power supply or the GPU (or the cable that connects to the GPU?)

 

[Viscerion]

Completely agree with you on the removal of the extension cables. They have been boxed up and will be returned.

I'm not using any of the 6+2 configured cables currently.

 

[DSzymborski]

Completely agree with you on the removal of the extension cables. They have been boxed up and will be returned.

I'm not using any of the 6+2 configured cables currently.

Well, that is extremely concerning, because all the PCIE cables in the Corsair RM850x (and, in fact, pretty much any PCIE cable that isn't an aftermarket are 6+2 pins in the end that connects to the GPU.

I'm hoping that this is not in fact the case. If it is, I'd bring your PC into a local shop, because if this is what's going on, then there's no telling what else in your PC has been fried, including (and especially!) that GPU. If the wrong cables have been used, then you need someone who can look at the PC, figure out what's connected correctly and what is not, and has other equipment they can use to test your components.

 

[Viscerion]

Well, that is extremely concerning, because all the PCIE cables in the Corsair RM850x (and, in fact, pretty much any PCIE cable that isn't an aftermarket are 6+2 pins in the end that connects to the GPU.

I'm hoping that this is not in fact the case. If it is, I'd bring your PC into a local shop, because if this is what's going on, then there's no telling what else in your PC has been fried, including (and especially!) that GPU. If the wrong cables have been used, then you need someone who can look at the PC, figure out what's connected correctly and what is not, and has other equipment they can use to test your components.

Let me ask you this - If I used the wrong 8-pin cables, how would that cause the power supply to react in the manner described? The failed power supplies have been tested now with a multimeter and are confirmed to at a minimum have blown a fuse.

Fingers crossed I haven't royally F'd anything up. I do have a call out to someone locally to take a look over my work and hopefully tell me what a dumba$$ I am...

Thank you for your responses!

 

[DSzymborski]

Let me ask you this - If I used the wrong 8-pin cables, how would that cause the power supply to react in the manner described? The failed power supplies have been tested now with a multimeter and are confirmed to at a minimum have blown a fuse.

Fingers crossed I haven't royally F'd anything up. I do have a call out to someone locally to take a look over my work and hopefully tell me what a dumba$$ I am...

Thank you for your responses!

Honestly, it depends on the pinout and exactly what you did (here and with other cables). I can not determine that from here, unfortunately. There's a variety of things that can happen when you have the wrong voltages going down the wrong wire.