[SOLVED] Power Supply Failure

Marxez

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Oct 13, 2020
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Hey!
My power supply recently failed. It made an explosion sound and it has that burnt smell. My power outlets where my pc was plugged in died as well. What are the chances for my PC that is still alive? Can i just replace the power supply with a new one or i have to buy a whole new computer?
 
Solution
Yes, that is undoubtedly a very low quality power supply indeed.

Only "468w" on a 600w unit, going directly off it's label, that's really bad. I mean really, REALLY bad.

That unit claims to have overvolt protection, overcurrent protection, over-power protection, over-temperature protection and short circuit protection, but states it does not have undervolt protection. Judging from past experience on these kinds of units, and backed by the fact that it is a super cheap 468w unit advertised as a 600w unit, I'm going to go ahead and say that it's incredibly unlikely that it actually has ANY or at least not most of those listed protections or if it does, it has them implemented carelessly or poorly, at best.

I think it's probably about...
That is too complex to really answer with any kind of assurances. If it was a decent quality power supply with appropriate modern protections, then it's likely that your hardware is ok and that you just need to fix the outlets and replace the power supply. If not, then it could be anything from just replacing the power supply (And, obviously, the outlets that are damaged) to having to replace the whole platform including motherboard, CPU, memory, storage devices, etc., BUT, that would be pretty extreme. It does happen though, especially if the fault was from a major direct short on a unit with poor or non-existent protections or a direct strike on the house or nearby node by lightning.

I'm guessing this was probably a poor quality or very old power supply?

Knowing your full hardware specifications might be helpful, but honestly, if you have to rebuilt (Or even if you don't) then either way you'd need a new power supply so just GETTING one (That is good quality. Don't get another POS type unit, if it was one.) is probably not the worst idea and then you can see if that's going to be all that's needed or not.

Equally important, when you say "My power outlets where my pc was plugged in died as well" are you talking about the actual wall outlet or are you talking about a power strip that the PSU was plugged into?
 

Marxez

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Oct 13, 2020
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I am talking about the power outlets on the wall. I had an Akyga AK-P4-600 power supply. Not a really old one. Motherboad: ASRock A320M Pro4. Graphics card: Nvidia 1050 Ti. We had rainy weather for days now but there were no lightnings only rain.
 
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Yes, that is undoubtedly a very low quality power supply indeed.

Only "468w" on a 600w unit, going directly off it's label, that's really bad. I mean really, REALLY bad.

That unit claims to have overvolt protection, overcurrent protection, over-power protection, over-temperature protection and short circuit protection, but states it does not have undervolt protection. Judging from past experience on these kinds of units, and backed by the fact that it is a super cheap 468w unit advertised as a 600w unit, I'm going to go ahead and say that it's incredibly unlikely that it actually has ANY or at least not most of those listed protections or if it does, it has them implemented carelessly or poorly, at best.

I think it's probably about 100% likely that power supply simply blew itself up due to not being capable of handling the load that was put on it. While it is rated for 468w according to the label, it's probably incredibly lucky if it could do 350w continuously, and is probably extremely old besides. Just a poor quality Polish manufactured power supply. Not only that, but they are apparently in fact a blacklisted PSU brand. This is pretty common for Akyga power supplies.

Stay away from them in the future. In fact, stay away from ALL of these brands.

Brands that in general should never be trusted at all except when a positive reliable review for a SPECIFIC MODEL from that brand exists.

One or two of these brands listed below MIGHT have a single model or two that are cut from a completely different mold than what that brand is known for (Or manufacture anything from mediocre to decent quality units under other brand names but not their own. One example would be HEC that makes some decent models under the Cougar label and a few rather borderline ones in the past for EVGA, but their own HEC/Compucase Orion units have historically been terrible.), but overall, if they are listed below they are primarily known for selling just plain junk and in many cases, very dangerous junk that lacks adequate protections or cannot even manage to sustain a fraction of whatever rated capacity their products might indicate on the specifications as far as units sold under their OWN name. I have yet to see any that were of recommendable quality or in many cases even safe for use.

A-Top, AK Power, Akyga, Alpine, Apevia, Apex (Supercase/Allied), Artic, Ace, Aerocool (There might be one model worth using, but I'd still avoid them.), Aspire (Turbocase), Atadc, Atrix, Broadway com corp, Chieftech, Circle, CIT, Coolmax, Deer, Diablotek, Dynapower, Dynex, Eagletech, Enlight, Eurotech, Evo labs, EZ cool, Feedtek, Foxconn, G7, HEC (Compucase Orion), HEDY, High power, iBall, iStar computer co., Jeantec, JPac, Just PC, Kentek, Kolink, LC Power, Linkworld electronics, Logisys, Macron, MSI, Njoy, NmediaPC, Norwood Micro (CompUSA), Okia, Powercool, Powerlogic, Powmax, Pulsepower, Q-tec, Quantex, Raidmax, Rave, Rocketfish, Segotep, SFC, Sharkoon, Shuttle, Skyhawk, Spire, Startech, Storm, Sumvision, Tesla, Trust, Ultra, Wintech, Winpower, Xilence (Until I see a reputable review of a model showing different), xTreme (Cyberpower), Youngbear and Zebronics.

I would definitely try a new power supply, and while I realize you come to us from a region where hardware isn't especially easy to obtain, some of the recommended models from one of these two links should be available to you. They might be more than you want to pay for, but you've already experienced what happens when you cheap out on a power supply, and if you DON'T have to replace anything other than the power supply you should consider yourself ESPECIALLY lucky, and not make the same mistake again.



 
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Solution

Marxez

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Oct 13, 2020
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Is the price the main problem of the power supply? Or is it more the brand? I probably wont be able to afford a super expensive high quality device now. I agree that Akyga is a no name brand i've been told when i got it.
 
Your power requirements for a pc with a GTX1050ti are minimal.
Here is a chart for other graphics cards in case you may want to upgrade.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
In case you need to shop for older power supplies, here is another tier list:
Look for tier 1/2, no less than 3.

Consider a quality power supply to be a long term investment. They do not get obsolete quickly.
Buy stronger than you need today. A psu will only use the power demanded of it, regardless of the max capability.

Get your outlet fixed first. Insure that it is properly grounded or no psu will work properly to protect you.

Buy a quality replacement. As a rule, Seasonic is a safe bet.

If replacing the psu does not let the pc run, you will need to plan on a whole new build. (excepting perhaps the case) Try a new motherboard and cpu first preferably using integrated graphics. Test the ram using memtest86. If that fails, replace the ram. test the GTX1050ti last. It may very well be ok.
 
Oct 14, 2020
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My old PSU died a few weeks ago, no warning it was working perfectly the day before. Turned it on the next day and switched off instantly. Never powered up again

Took a gamble it was the PSU and paid a not very cheap £85 for a good branded 750w. Never, ever pay £20 for a 600w PSU. More than enough for my needs these days with only one internal hard drive instead of 8 internal hard drives plus DVD drives. I use USB hard drives now but also bought two good quality high power USB powered hubs to run 6 external USB3 portable hard drives. I need storage. I'm now running an Nvidia 1650 motherboard powered GFX card as I also use the desktop for testing my arcade bartop updates before transferring it to the bartop USN hard drives. Had an Nvidia GTX460 that started playing up a few months ago with GFX glitches, but I'd had it for over 10 years and that was a serious power hog with two power connectors

Anyway, PSU looked ok but nothing worked. Tried powering it up outside the computer by bridging the power pins so it thinks its connected. Nothing, dead

New PSU, tried the same trick. Powered up instantly so used it as an excuse to strip the desktop tower and clean everything and clean the CPU cooler and fans and also reapply heatsink paste as its been on their well over 12 months. Desktop much quieter than before and clicks off with a satisfying relay to the PSU power

If it smells burnt, its probably dead from an internal component failure or over voltage from your local main supply that took out the weak point in your PSU

Try this though, nothing lost, just 5 minutes of time

https://help.corsair.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025085372-How-to-Test-a-power-supply-unit
 
Is the price the main problem of the power supply? Or is it more the brand? I probably wont be able to afford a super expensive high quality device now. I agree that Akyga is a no name brand i've been told when i got it.
Neither price nor brand technically has any bearing on whether a power supply is good or not, although, any "good" power supply is not going to be cheap. It costs money for quality parts and materials, so if a power supply is "cheap" you can be pretty sure it does not contain any quality parts or materials.

This, outlines what you are wanting to know, in more than sufficient detail.

https://www.corsair.com/eu/es/blog/why-does-a-better-power-supply-mean-a-better-computer-experience


And this. I would highly recommend that you read them BOTH. Actually. Read. Them.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/low-cost-psu-pc-power-supply,2862.html
 

Marxez

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Oct 13, 2020
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I am wondering.. I was looking for new power supplies and found this. https://www.arukereso.hu/tapegyseg-c3158/cooler-master/elite-v3-600w-mpw-6001-acabn1-p401627733/
Wondering how am i going to be able to set it to my pc case's power button. I removed the old power supply except that part. Is every power supply should connect to that 6 pin connector tangling around? Also i had a 24 pin and a 2x8 pin connected to my motherboard before. Are all these new powersupplies contain the same pins? I was trying to search for this in google but i did not find my answer. Would much appreciate a reply.
 
Power supplies don't connect to cases. They connect to motherboards, graphics cards, storage devices (Drives) and in some cases, fans, fan controllers, LED lighting controllers and fan hubs. Cases connect to motherboards. Your power button connects to the motherboard, not the power supply. If you have a proprietary motherboard and power supply, then you'd either need an appropriate adapter or different hardware. Or an OEM replacement power supply that is going to suck just as bad as the original.

But neither your motherboard or power supply seem to be proprietary, so I think you are simply not understanding how the hardware all connects together. Anyhow, I am unable to help you further at this time as I am having surgery tomorrow and may not be participating on this forum for some time. Maybe not at all, haven't decided yet. Good luck Marxez.
 
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Power supplies don't connect to cases. They connect to motherboards, graphics cards, storage devices (Drives) and in some cases, fans, fan controllers, LED lighting controllers and fan hubs. Cases connect to motherboards. Your power button connects to the motherboard, not the power supply. If you have a proprietary motherboard and power supply, then you'd either need an appropriate adapter or different hardware. Or an OEM replacement power supply that is going to suck just as bad as the original.

But neither your motherboard or power supply seem to be proprietary, so I think you are simply not understanding how the hardware all connects together. Anyhow, I am unable to help you further at this time as I am having surgery tomorrow and may not be participating on this forum for some time. Maybe not at all, haven't decided yet. Good luck Marxez.
I wish you well.
Do come back, this forum needs all the common sense there is.