Jun 19, 2020
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So I just build my new PC and was running just fine until I heard a loud pop sound from my PC(most likely from PSU)but not really sure, the first time PC was turned off, then after it was working just fine(whole day) and later today again heard a loud POP and the main breaker(MCB) of the house was tripped.

No burnt smell

I am scared to switch it on. Please could someone help me out.

Case - NZXT 510 elite
MB - as rock b450 micro ATX
GPU- GTX 2080 super
PSU - Corsair TX 650M (80+ gold)
Ram Corsair vengeance LPX 8x2
CPU - RYZEN 7 3800x
Samsung SSD 860 EVO

please do let me know if I missed out anything. Thank you
 
Solution
Yes, it could. Power strips are notorious for problems. Whenever possible it is HIGHLY recommended that you either plug the PSU directly into the wall outlet OR into a high quality UPS battery backup system. It is NEVER a good idea to use a power strip unless it is a high quality model, and high quality models are not going to be found at your local retailers or in the early results of any online searches.

Quality power strips are expensive, and can be found at industrial electronics supply houses or in some cases at musical instrument and equipment suppliers. Guitar center and Musicians friend likely carry SOME, but they also are likely to carry a good amount of garbage too. Good ones are generally those made by APC (APC has both...
Take the whole thing apart and test it on the bench. Focus your attention on whether something is shorted or not. Standoff in the wrong place under the motherboard. Fastener trapped between the case and motherboard that fell under there while mounting the motherboard. Connector that is plugged in but is OFF by one pin in one direction or another. WRONG connector plugged into something.

Check ALL these items.


and if necessary, do this:



It's also worth noting that if you are using cables from a different power supply, that's a BIG problem. You can ONLY use the cables that came with your power supply OR are known to have the exact same pinout. From one brand to another and often from one model to another, they are usually not the same.
 
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Jun 19, 2020
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Take the whole thing apart and test it on the bench. Focus your attention on whether something is shorted or not. Standoff in the wrong place under the motherboard. Fastener trapped between the case and motherboard that fell under there while mounting the motherboard. Connector that is plugged in but is OFF by one pin in one direction or another. WRONG connector plugged into something.

Check ALL these items.


and if necessary, do this:



It's also worth noting that if you are using cables from a different power supply, that's a BIG problem. You can ONLY use the cables that came with your power supply OR are known to have the exact same pinout. From one brand to another and often from one model to another, they are usually not the same.

Hey Darkbreeze,
Thanks for the reply, so the thing is that even after the pop sound the system switches on and runs fine. Could you help me know if the load on PSU is within range, I have calculated it on PSU calculator which shows 550w which is well within the range. however I’m not sure how much the NZXT elite case consumes.

And to add i have run 2 cables (CPU fan) Through the back of the MB to connect it to the other side, i have read that it was fine as there is no damage to the cable. Do let me know if there might be an issue doing so.

cables used are stock corsair.

thanks again )
 
Yes, it could. Power strips are notorious for problems. Whenever possible it is HIGHLY recommended that you either plug the PSU directly into the wall outlet OR into a high quality UPS battery backup system. It is NEVER a good idea to use a power strip unless it is a high quality model, and high quality models are not going to be found at your local retailers or in the early results of any online searches.

Quality power strips are expensive, and can be found at industrial electronics supply houses or in some cases at musical instrument and equipment suppliers. Guitar center and Musicians friend likely carry SOME, but they also are likely to carry a good amount of garbage too. Good ones are generally those made by APC (APC has both cheap and quality products, so be VERY inquisitive and look at PROFESSIONAL reviews of any APC product you are looking to buy), Tripp-Lite, Leviton, Eaton, Leviton, General Electric, Polyphaser, Ditek, Siemens, ABB, Square D, Intermatic, Cutler-Hammer (Eaton), and Syscom, these are the brands you can trust to have high quality internal electronics if you MUST use a power strip. Do not however use a power strip thinking that it offers significant protection, because even the best of them does not, not really. Whole house protection is the only real protection from surges.

Monster and Belkin, and a few others that are commonly used, almost unilaterally use the same protections in their 45 dollar surge protector strips as what you would find in an 8 dollar Amazon or Walmart branded model. And if you ever take one of these, or any cheap box store, dollar store (Even worse than these others usually BUT occasionally about the same) or Harbor Freight power strip apart you are likely to find frayed wires, poorly soldered connections with blobs of solder nearly touching crucial and potential short circuit points, super low quality MOVs, and a ton of other indicators that no real integrity was involved in the design or manufacturer of these units.

Another factor to keep in mind is that even with some of these high quality units, any protection that MIGHT be afforded, is usually the end of that product after one shot. This, directly from the Tripp-Lite manual for the #1 selling surge protection power strip in the world.


All models feature an internal protection that will disconnect the surge-protective component at the end of its useful life but will maintain power to the load now unprotected.
I believe many models from APC and a couple of the others I listed have now incorporated designs that permanently disengage any ability of the device to deliver power once a surge or short of significant enough caliber to incur the protection has occured. That basically means once there has been a surge or short, throw the device away. Even for high end models. Only whole house protection and properly earthed circuits offer any true protection from a serious surge or direct strike from lightning somewhere close enough to affect your segment of the grid.

And whatever you do, don't EVER buy any kind of extension cord, power strip or other electronic device with slip rings.

https://hackaday.com/2017/10/27/this-power-strip-is-a-fire-starter/

In the meantime, plugging directly into the wall socket will eliminate THAT as a potential source of the problem. And do not EVER, EVER EVER EVER EVER, plug one power strip into another power strip and then plug your PSU into THAT. Using a power strip for other things such as USB hubs, your monitor, etc., is "ok" but is really still not the best idea if it's not a quality product, but the PSU itself should only be plugged into the wall, a quality strip or a UPS system.
 
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Solution
Jun 19, 2020
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My pleasure. Let me know if the problem resolves itself or if we need to look into it further.

I have connected everything and the PC works just fine(removed all the power strip). I have even removed the plug and fit a new 15amp in place.


so I have a doubt ..... Should I invest in a UPS or inverter. If UPS, could you recommend me some brands that I can look into.
I’ll switch my PC back ON only after I get the above.

PS - still scared

🙏 thanks
 
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Primarily, the use of a UPS is ONLY to ensure you don't lose any data if there is a power outage. It's primary purpose is generally NOT as a surge protection device, although some of them do have some protections that might be minimally helpful in that event.

Some of them actually have very good surge protection, but those are fairly expensive units.

 
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Primarily, the use of a UPS is ONLY to ensure you don't lose any data if there is a power outage. It's primary purpose is generally NOT as a surge protection device, although some of them do have some protections that might be minimally helpful in that event.

Some of them actually have very good surge protection, but those are fairly expensive units.


Hey Darkbreeze,

so I have replaced my PSU TX 650M, got a new one removed all the connections and redone it. Even got an APC surge protector I have done everything in my power and I am exhausted 😩.
AGAIN it POPPED same thing .... first time I just got a loud sound after working for 3-4hrs and after that I turned it on and after 3-4hrs it POPPED turning off the breaker(main board)
I put the product for return .... I have absolutely no clue on what to do. HELP pls
 
By "popped" do you mean "clicked", because if so, that click that happens shortly after it first powers on and then may happen at some point later is possibly normal. If it's an actual "POP" then it's not. I'd still take it all apart and work on it on the bench or table using the guide I linked to up above.

If the motherboard is popping, then it has to be a faulty capacitor, there is nothing else on the motherboard that could do that. Very unusual though. I don't think I've ever, or anytime recently, heard anybody complain of "popping".
 
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By "popped" do you mean "clicked", because if so, that click that happens shortly after it first powers on and then may happen at some point later is possibly normal. If it's an actual "POP" then it's not. I'd still take it all apart and work on it on the bench or table using the guide I linked to up above.

If the motherboard is popping, then it has to be a faulty capacitor, there is nothing else on the motherboard that could do that. Very unusual though. I don't think I've ever, or anytime recently, heard anybody complain of "popping".

So when I checked about it I found multiple complaints on the same issue.
https://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?p=482275
 
That is completely unrelated, posted in 2010 about models not even being built by Corsair anymore. Well, the models are being built, but they are nothing like the VERSIONS being built back then. Completely redesigned.

Still, could be possible. Contact Corsair if you suspect perhaps it IS the PSU or maybe you got an old model somehow because of all the lack of retail inventory. Maybe it got pulled out of a back room somewhere. Take a picture of the label on the side of the unit and post it here.