[SOLVED] Power issue (maybe?)

[filthyPierre]

Hi there,

I have an issue with a system I built last year, so it is about 14 months old. This problem has occurred randomly since it was built.

The problem is this: when the power button is pressed, the system refuses to boot. The only way to recover from this is to disconnect the power and all USB cables and then wait for a while. The "while" can be as little as 5 minutes or as long as over night.

When the problem occurs, after the power button is pressed, the fans spin and light up (although on a couple not all LEDs activate), CPU cooler block lights up and the memory LEDs light up (both cycle through their default colours). But the system is otherwise dead. Nothing on the screen, no BIOS message. A couple of times I've tried leaving it for a while, but it never boots from this point.

Components:

MSI X470 motherboard (GAMING PRO CARBON AM4)
Ryzen 7 2700X with Corsair Hydro H115i liquid cooling system
G.Skill Trident Z RGB 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200MHz for AMD

Case: Thermaltake View 71

Update: Power supplies:
First one I tried was a Thermaltake Toughpower Gold 650W (TPD-0650M)
The one in it now, which is also a bit older than the 650, is an OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W (OCZ700MXSP).

Disks: Boot - Samsung 960 512G NvMe, others: 2 x WD 4TB, 1 x Seagate 3TB

Video is just an old nVidia of some sort, this is next to get upgraded. This was working fine in my previous system so was not replaced, to keep the initial costs down.

I also have 4 Corsair LED fans in the case, with separate USB controller.

Another issue the system has, and I'm sure this is related, is that whenever I use the USB ports on the back of the mobo, for example an external hard drive or SD card reader, the device will drop off, and reconnect, and drop off, and reconnect ad infinitum. Time between drop-offs is random. Reconnect is usually immediately after the drop off.

I initially built the system with a 650W semi-modular power supply, but changed that to a 700W modular after the initial few occurrences of the problem. Problem still occurred/occurs. Sometimes often, sometimes it would go for a few weeks without occurring.

I then found out that the G.Skill RAM I had in the box (F4-3200C16D-16GTZR) was not "AMD optimised". As I'd planned to add additional memory, I bit the bullet and replaced the two 8G DIMMS with two 16G DIMMS that are AMD optimised. Basically the same type only higher capacity and optimised. The problem disappeared after this. Or so I thought. I had probably 6 months of use without the problem occurring, and then suddenly it's back. Now pretty much every time I power it on unless I do the whole disconnect thing beforehand. I've gotten to the point of disconnecting everything when I power it down just so I'll have a better chance of it powering up the first time when I next use it. Usually when I'm home I will leave it running, and only power it off during the week when I'm working and don't have time to use it.

The other thing that is gnawing at me is that the case, a Thermaltake View 71, is all painted inside, and the screws provided with it are all black lacquered. I'm just wondering if it's a grounding issue.... or perhaps temperature-related? Now that it's coming into summer here in Australia, and it's been stinking hot lately, the problem seems to be more prevalent. During our winter there were no occurrences (past 6 months). The room where the system is is no hotter than the rest of the house, but it is certainly warm now.

Anyway, I guess the next thing would be to replace the power supply but I'd seriously doubt that the one that's in it is being taxed at all. Apart from the USB dropouts, once it's running it doesn't seem to have any other problems, certainly not starving for power. If I did replace it, what do you think would be a good capacity? 850W, 1000W?

Any suggestions/theories much appreciated.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[Archaic59]

It may help to list the brand and model of the PSU. Wattage means little if the quality of the unit is poor. I'm not saying yours is, but it needs to be evaluated in order to confirm or eliminate it as a potential suspect. A Ryzen 7 with a single video card can easily run on a good quality 650 watt PSU.

 

[filthyPierre]

Thanks. Sure, I hear what you say. I just don't remember the brands off the top of my head. I will check tonight when I get home and update then.

But yes a bit of poking around on here seems to indicate that not all PSUs are created equal.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[filthyPierre]

Have updated the original post above, but here's the details:

First one I built the system with, and this one is a couple of years newer than the other, is a Thermaltake Toughpower Gold 650W (TPD-0650M).

The one in it now is an OCZ ModXStream Pro 700 (OCZ700MSXP).

So I will see if I can find that post about which ones are better and which ones to avoid.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[Archaic59]

The Toughpower is probably the better of the two. Firepower Technology acquired OCZ power supplies back in 2014. They currently sell PSU's under the name PC Power and Cooling. Your OCZ unit must be older than that. Even if the PSU is not the problem you may be approaching lifesend for that OCZ model.

 

[filthyPierre]

Thanks Archaic59, that would be about right, I think I bought the OCZ in about 2013, so it's definitely getting on. The TP is probably about 3 years old.

I'm happy to buy a new PSU, probably a Seasonic 850 (they seem to have a good rep on here)... trouble is, now I don't think the PSU is the problem given this thread. I guess that will eliminate power once and for all but it's a $200 AUD fix :-(

I have some time over the Xmas break so will probably take the mobo out and make sure it's grounded ok, but again, I don't think that is the issue.

At one stage I found the cable from the power switch had frayed and a tiny strand of wire was sticking out (it was liek that from new), trapped under one of the screws. I thought that was the problem solved, i.e. the wire was causing intermittent shorts and that was causing the problem. Nope. Maybe it's the power switch itself, I might try and replace it.

Trouble is, after everything I've done to get to the bottom of it, it looks like I've fixed it, but just when I'm thinking it's gone, it comes back.