[SOLVED] New CyberPower PC crashing even after 2 RMAs ?

[noob_pcbuilder11]

Hi everyone. New PC buyer here. I purchased my first PC from CyberPower PC and the following are the specs:

• Intel core processor i7-12700K 8P/16 + 4E 3.6 GHz 25 MB cache 125 W LGA1700
• EVGA CLC 240mm AIO RGB Cpu liquid cooler w/ copper cold plate
• 32 GB RAM - 2x ADATA XPG LANCER 16 GB DDR5 5200 MHz memory
• ASUS Prime Z690-P Motherboard (ATX, DDR5, Wifi 6, 2.5GBE LAN,4 PCIE X16, 1 PCIE X1, 3X M.2 SATA/PCIE LGA1700 CEC)
• APEVIA 1000W 80 Plus Gold PSU
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080TI 12 GB GDDR6X
• Windows 11 Pro
• Lian Li OC Dynamic 11 ATX mid-tower case with tempered glass

After the PC arrived, I played for 3 days before the PC crashed. Initially, the crashes were intermittent and would occasionally occur during gameplay, but then they started happening more frequently to the point that I could no longer play for more than 5 minutes. To give more details on the crash, during gameplay (and sometimes even when quitting a game to desktop), the monitor would lose signal but the CPU fans, the lights and even the graphics card lights would still be on and running. I would have to kill power to the system and then restart it. I reached out to CyberPowerPC and they agreed to an RMA. They replaced the graphics card and sent it back but after 2-3 more days of gameplay, the same issue occurred again. I sent it back for another RMA and this time they replaced the graphics card, the PSU, and the RAM. This time after they sent back my PC, I did a bit of research and learned about PC cooling and the direction of airflow for the chassis fan and I realized that there was no fan for intake! I bought 3 new fans and used them as intake while the 2 fans (for the AIO cooler) and the existing chassis fan remained as exhaust fans. As expected the GPU temperatures went down by 6-7 degree celsius (from 78 to 71-72). But after 7 days of gameplay, the PC has started crashing again. CPU temperatures have mostly been between 50 and 68 deg celsius under heavy gameplay (ray tracing + DLSS + 1440p 144hz).

During the crashes (since purchase till now), the Windows system logs show a WHEA-logger error with event ID 1. There is a string of bytes provided as details but I was unable to find any resources that could help me decode that. At this point, even if I send back my PC for another RMA, I believe CyberPower PC is just not doing their due diligence, so I am seeking help to understand what could be the issue here.

1. I read online that the PSU I have is actually not a good PSU at all, especially for a 3080ti and I am wondering if it's worthwhile to buy a new good PSU. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
2. What puzzles me though is if it's a PSU issue why would the CPU/GPU/fans/RGB lights keep running after the crash?
3. Another issue could be that the GPU is busted again but I am not sure of the chances of ending up with 3 GPUs and all 3 being bad (1st GPU after the purchase was MSI Ventus 3x oc, 2nd GPU was MSI gaming x trio and the 3rd one is Zotac[I don't know any more details about this card]). I am not sure how I can prevent the video card from getting busted though? Any suggestions?
4. Are there any other tips that you can provide me to help debug hardware issues like this? How do I isolate which part or parts are causing the crash? Any suggestions/recommendations are welcome!

Thanks in advance!

 

[USAFRet]

User has apparently never been able to use this thing more than a week at a time, since it was brand new.
Has been sent back to the manufacturer twice, and now apparently for a 3rd time, because it still does not work correctly.

Building a PC isn't rocket science.
Seems to me, that is an incompetent manufacturer.
Oh wait...CyberPowerPC...I repeat myself.

If this were a new car, the Lemon Law would have kicked in.
Full refund.


Friends don't let friends buy CyberPower.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Friends don't let friends buy CyberPower.

Or iBuypower. Or "Walmart" branded systems.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Yeah, op to be honest if you get the pc back this time and are not comfortable working on it, your best bet is find a local pc repair shop with a good reputation and take it to them to fix and never buy from cyberpower anymore.

 

[Karadjgne]

I doubt it's a CyberPower issue. They don't actually manufacture anything, they use parts same as if you bought them from newegg or Amazon. Evga aio, Intel cpu, nvidia 3080ti etc.. All CP does is slap the stuff together.

Except for 1 thing. Did you pay any extra for the in-house OC? That Is provided by CP and more often than not, the cause of issues.

Whea errors are almost Always lack of power to the cpu, when and how the cpu demands it. It's very common in overclocking when vcore is dropped 1 step too low. With as bad as Apevia psus are in general (yes they are that bad) it'd not surprise me to see high ripple, leaving the cpu short on power when it's demanded.

 

[USAFRet]

All CP does is slap the stuff together.

"slap", being the operative word.
We've seen CB systems here where the internal DVD isn't even connected. Not "came loose in shipping"....was not connected at all.

Add in crappy parts (see Apevia PSU), and you have recipe for fail.

 

[Vic 40]

Did they? Do you know that for a fact? Does the OP know that for a fact?

Like i said don't know them and made a remark that same way like you do,

I don't know power pc and don't advocate for them, but they did replace parts twice,


Assuming they really did the work.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Right, I agree. We just don't know with these companies sometimes.

 

[noob_pcbuilder11]

Well, I asked them if they would upgrade the PSU and they disagreed to that as well (even after I offered to pay). I guess I'll have to buy the PSU and do it myself. This will be my first PSU removal + install, so any tips would be welcome.

 

[Darkbreeze]

This is a good start.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS41TtvC0Dk


And be sure to use this along the way to make sure you don't overlook anything.

"No POST", "system won't boot", and "no video output" troubleshooting checklist

"No POST", "system won't boot", and "no video output" troubleshooting checklist This checklist is a compilation of troubleshooting ideas from many forum members. It's very important to actually perform every step in the checklist if you want to effectively troubleshoot your problem. 1.Did you...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[ohio_buckeye]

The good thing is it's like legos in a way. But unfortunately with cable management, it's possible they've routed stuff behind the motherboard etc. The BIG thing is when you get the new power supply, you don't want to use any of the old PSU cables, even if they fit. If you mix brands you can potentially fry components. So before you even unbox the new power supply, as you are unplugging things, take note of where things are going. You should have a 24 pin plug to the right side of the motherboard, an 8 pin connector on the top left usually of the motherboard, as well as 1 or 2 6 or 8 pin plugs going to your graphics card. Possibly some smaller connectors going to fans or any sata devices. Not really hard stuff.

This video is a couple of years old, but should give you an idea what you are looking for. One thing I've found by experience, the large 24 pin connector, sometimes there isn't a support directly under the motherboard, so you may find it necessary to use your finger on the other hand to push upward on the motherboard so it doesn't flex too much. Everything should mostly go together relatively easily. If you feel too much pushback, just slow down and make sure it's the correct connector. Also, touch a metal unpainted case panel to ground yourself when working in there.

(14) HOW TO install a Power Supply / Step-By-Step - YouTube

What's sad is that cyber sells their systems as premium systems to customers who don't always know a lot about systems, then when the customer has an issue if they don't feel like fixing it the customer is holding the bag because maybe they didn't realize that power supply x was better than y.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd just about guarantee that Apevia is not modular. It's possible, but they are so cheap it is very unlikely that the company put a modular board in any of their units, especially a budget unit like Cyberpower and others tend to slap into these things.

But if it is, you are right, and you definitely want to take the cables out and not use them with whatever you get new. And IMO you should probably just throw the whole RD unit, cables and all, right into the trash, but then again you might be able to recoup some of your investment by selling it or giving it away to somebody with a system that only has integrated graphics since that would be a lot less likely to ever tax the unit anywhere near it's capabilities so it might be ok for that type of system. I'd probably throw it away just to be safe. LOL.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Agreed. Take scissors to the cables of the old psu AFTER you have unplugged everything so you aren't tempted to re-use. What you have for a PC sounds like a nice system, but as you have discovered things like power supplies where manufacturers sometimes cheap out can cause major issues.

 

[Darkbreeze]

And let's not forget, this might not be the fix for the problem you are experiencing. It likely is, but even if it isn't, trying to find a problem when you don't have a solid foundation, which requires at least a decent quality PSU that is known-working, is like trying to find needle in a pile of needles. So by all means eliminate this potential or existing problem but don't get discouraged if there is more to do afterwards. Probably there won't be, but don't absolutely assume this is going to be all there is.

 

[noob_pcbuilder11]

To provide an update, I received my PC yesterday, and apparently, they replaced everything (motherboard, CPU, PSU, RAM, GPU). I am not sure if that statement is true but I've still replaced the PSU with a Corsair 1000W PSU (https://www.newegg.com/corsair-rmx-...-1000w/p/N82E16817139273?Item=N82E16817139273). The PC is running now and has not crashed yet but it's been only 1 day, so I have weeks' worth of testing to do before I can conclude anything.

Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions by the way, I really appreciate it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Cool man. Let us know how it goes.

 

[noob_pcbuilder11]

Tested for a week now and so far the PC has not crashed even once. This is the longest I have been able to play without crashing.
Will continue testing this week as well as and when I get time.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Nice man.

 

[noob_pcbuilder11]

Been 3 weeks now and the pc has not crashed even once.
I guess it was the power supply after all! Thank you everyone for all your help and suggestions!

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Good deal. Clean power helps. Sometimes builders try to cut corners on the power supply by putting cheaper ones in that hopefully last until after warranty.