[SOLVED] Killed my PSU, trying not to do it again.

[Ahxakri]

So, last night I was playing Horizon Zero Dawn
and my PC froze then first time, the game crashed the second and third time and the fourth time my entire PC died. Upon turning it back on, then PSU died completely. I went to Micro Center and got a brand new one installed. The computer is up and running once more just as it was before. No other game has ever done this to my PC and I'm scared this might happen again. So, before booting the game up once again, I thought of asking around here for preventative measures. I want to play the game, but I do not want my PSU to go out again.

Edit: The PSU that died was also a 1200W Asus Thor

PC specifications:

CPU: Intel i9-9900K
MB: Asus Maximus Wi-Fi
GPU: Asus ROG 2080Ti
RAM: Trident-Z RGB 3200 32GB
PSU: 1200W Asus Thor
AOI: Ryujin 360

I don't think anything else would really matter spec wise, but I'm just looking for ways to tackle this without diving straight back in and blowing another PSU.

 

[rgd1101]

What was the old psu brand and model?

 

[jay32267]

The best you can do is to use a quality PSU with enough wattage.

 

[MeanMachine41]

The PSU you currently have is basically a Seasonic platinum rated unit of extreme quality and efficiency with ten years warranty and more than what your system requires Wattage wise.
No game or app should cause any damage whatsoever so rest assured.

You should stress test the system to test your thermals and rail voltages and to check system stability. Use AIDA64 for 20mins testing the CPU, FPU and Cache.
Take screen shots at the 20min mark and report the results.

 

[Ahxakri]

The old PSU is the exact same one I bought. Just a replacement.

 

[MeanMachine41]

The old PSU is the exact same one I bought. Just a replacement.

Did you not have Warranty on the old PSU, If it's the same then you should have a number of years left. I think there is something else causing instability. Lets see the results of your stress test.

 

[Ahxakri]

Well, I am not sure. I've had it for over a year and Asus warranty is 12 months, I believe. I can try to RMA the old one, but I never did register the product. I really don't deal with customer service and I feel like they'll just tell me no, lmfao. If anyone has any advice on this given the information I've stated above, it would be much appreciated.

As for the stress test, I'll be doing it tonight. I'll have to download AIDA64 and hope the game runs for 20 minutes. Hopefully, if there's any issues, it's as simple as the CPU needs more thermal paste. I doubt that's the issue, though. The system was built sometime in late 2019 if I remember correctly.

 

[geofelt]

How did you determine that it was the psu that died?
Likely, you were correct since the pc worked after psu replacement.

The asus product site shows a 10 year warranty.
The serial number of the failed unit should be sufficient to establish age.
Contact ASUS for a RMA.

 

[Ahxakri]

I always assume the PSU is the issue as a first step measure in most cases (wouldn't have bought a new off this assumption, but, it would have been the first part tested). It is just the most common part to fail in my experience building/fixing for myself and others. Aside from that, I paid close attention to all the lights in my system. Literally everything is RGB for the purpose of "Oooh, shiny" and process of elimination. RGBs lit up on literally everything but the power supply. It attempted to turn on for like .2 seconds. However, the PSU would shut off completely; lights and all. Meanwhile, every other part remained lit up. I assumed the PSU generated enough power just for the lights but not enough to actually power anything.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Make sure your new PSU is plugged into a very high quality surge protector.

 

[Ahxakri]

Update: Everything checks out. I ran the game for 20-40 minutes two nights ago and kept track of my thermals. No crashes, no overheating. I played for hours last night with zero issues from either my PC or the game. I'll be getting a surge protector soon, hopefully.

Horizon Dawn has a lot of crashing issues all on its own, so that was a process in and of itself to fix. Tackled all of that after my PC showed no bad signs.