Question My PSU blew up while gaming

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
A

avizacty

Honorable
Oct 8, 2017
33
3
10,545
I was playing some ghost recon whilst lightning started outside. I hadnt had time to turn everything off before the power went in my house. My router was destroyed in the process, and worst of all my PSU blew up right infront of me.

More specifically, I heard a very loud bang from the inside of my computer, and through the glass, I saw a small yellow burst.

I was immediately shocked since this had never happened before. I took my computer downstairs to the kitchen in order to test my power supply, and as soon as I plugged it in, it exploded again, right infront of me and my mother.

I was using a Corsair RM750x (v1), so the quality of the supply shouldnt have been a problem.

All I’m wondering, is if I am able to buy a new power supply and that will be it? Or do I need to buy all new components? I’m scared the whole system will be ruined.. (my first ever build so it is very special to me)

I’m still shook from the event so excuse my bad writing, and thank you in advance <3
 
  • Like
Reactions: Remeca
Sort by date Sort by votes
Lightning damage like that is quite common...if the lightning hits nearby. That's why you always use a surge suppressor or an UPS with protection.

I've known this to happen before and PSU and motherboard fried, but other components were ok. If you take the computer (minus power supply) to somewhere that they hope to sell you new parts they might plug in their own PSU to test.

Btw, if you do get a new PSU, get one with short circuit protection...if you have this, and other components are now shorted, then you can test without blowing out the new supply.
 
Upvote -1 Downvote
USAFRet said:
No way to tell about the other components until you get a new PSU and hit the power button.

The quality of the PSU wasn't the problem...the lightning strike was.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the fast reply, appreciate it.

Is it common in 2019 that the power supply breaks all other components? I’ve read many threads from 2011 where people reply saying the computer is completely fried.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
LinuxDevice said:
Lightning damage like that is quite common...if the lightning hits nearby. That's why you always use a surge suppressor or an UPS with protection.

I've known this to happen before and PSU and motherboard fried, but other components were ok. If you take the computer (minus power supply) to somewhere that they hope to sell you new parts they might plug in their own PSU to test.

Btw, if you do get a new PSU, get one with short circuit protection...if you have this, and other components are now shorted, then you can test without blowing out the new supply.
Click to expand...
I aint going close to my current power supply again since it’s blown up 2 times in my face. I will get a replacement and hope for the best.. Is the CPU often in danger in this situation?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
avizacty said:
Thank you for the fast reply, appreciate it.

Is it common in 2019 that the power supply breaks all other components? I’ve read many threads from 2011 where people reply saying the computer is completely fried.
Click to expand...
A lot of PSUs now (like your RMX) have fuses and protections to prevent from against surges, but there is no telling what damage occurred.

I would try getting a new PSU and trying again. Any decent PSU should have protections that should prevent the PSU from running if there is a damaged component causing a short or something.

Then get an inexpensive surge protector power strip to plug your PC into.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jonnyguru
Upvote 0 Downvote
avizacty said:
I was playing some ghost recon whilst lightning started outside. I hadnt had time to turn everything off before the power went in my house. My router was destroyed in the process, and worst of all my PSU blew up right infront of me.

More specifically, I heard a very loud bang from the inside of my computer, and through the glass, I saw a small yellow burst.

I was immediately shocked since this had never happened before. I took my computer downstairs to the kitchen in order to test my power supply, and as soon as I plugged it in, it exploded again, right infront of me and my mother.

I was using a Corsair RM750x (v1), so the quality of the supply shouldnt have been a problem.

All I’m wondering, is if I am able to buy a new power supply and that will be it? Or do I need to buy all new components? I’m scared the whole system will be ruined.. (my first ever build so it is very special to me)

I’m still shook from the event so excuse my bad writing, and thank you in advance <3
Click to expand...

Yup, that can happen, lightning strikes are normally very bad.

Had it happen to me years ago, took everything out in the whole house, and I mean everything, was a direct hit.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
avizacty said:
Thank you for the fast reply, appreciate it.

Is it common in 2019 that the power supply breaks all other components? I’ve read many threads from 2011 where people reply saying the computer is completely fried.
Click to expand...
This is completely common and expected if you don't have surge protection. The rate of such failures from more common smaller spikes has gone down, but without special protection, do expect a 100% destruction of any component a lightning strike reaches. Keep in mind that one doesn't have to have the computer literally catch on fire to die, but you should never use a computer without a surge protector or an UPS with surge protection.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Btw, whoever is voting this down, if you think a lightning strike shouldn't cause harm without surge protection, you are utterly out of your mind. I am 100% correct and on the nose when I say lightning strikes kill electronics in unpredictable ways. You're hurting anyone you talk into not needing surge protection. It is a cheap shot to not reply with what you base your down vote on.

Consider a lightning bolt able to go through miles of atmosphere. If even a fraction of that reaches your computer, what chance do you have?

A common component in surge protection is a varistor. You can't really test these since the test itself leads to a degradation. You'll typically find surge protection devices are given a time limit since cumulative damage occurs and surge protection devices do go bad just from a lot of smaller hits over time. Many surge protectors are rated at around 25000 to 50000 joules. Check this out then tell me why you are downvoting when a single lightning strike can approach a billion joules:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

The first thing to do when an idiot tells you lightning shouldn't destroy unprotected components is to stop listening.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
LinuxDevice said:
Btw, whoever is voting this down, if you think a lightning strike shouldn't cause harm without surge protection, you are utterly out of your mind. I am 100% correct and on the nose when I say lightning strikes kill electronics in unpredictable ways. You're hurting anyone you talk into not needing surge protection. It is a cheap shot to not reply with what you base your down vote on.

Consider a lightning bolt able to go through miles of atmosphere. If even a fraction of that reaches your computer, what chance do you have?

A common component in surge protection is a varistor. You can't really test these since the test itself leads to a degradation. You'll typically find surge protection devices are given a time limit since cumulative damage occurs and surge protection devices do go bad just from a lot of smaller hits over time. Many surge protectors are rated at around 25000 to 50000 joules. Check this out then tell me why you are downvoting when a single lightning strike can approach a billion joules:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

The first thing to do when an idiot tells you lightning shouldn't destroy unprotected components is to stop listening.
Click to expand...

Do you really care that much if somebody votes your post down? Grab a cup of coffee and relax. A little down time is good for the soul!
 
  • Like
Reactions: NightHawkRMX
Upvote 1 Downvote
FALC0N said:
Do you really care that much if somebody votes your post down? Grab a cup of coffee and relax. A little down time is good for the soul!
Click to expand...
The problem is that someone out there thinks there is no need for surge protection, and is passing that on to other people. It's a case of a category of "wrong" which will hurt someone. [EDIT: And just wait till someone is using headphones in a lightning storm and thinks the power supply is going to protect them.]
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
His RMX will have protections against surges, but they aren't going to ensure that no damage occurred.

Does this mean these protections will always work? NO
Is this an excuse not to use a UPS or surge protector? NO
Does this mean the cheapest PSU you can find on Aliexpress will have protections against surge protection? NO

I have done some research.
It seems most modern power supplies have some sort of surge protection built-in. Often this is very minimal, but it should help.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?12010-How-much-surge-protection-is-built-into-a-PSU
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/surge-protection-do-we-really-need-it.136863/

Although someone like JonnyGuru would know what they are talking about, unlike me.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom