Random shutdowns after 2 weeks on new build

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Wu Tang Wyatt

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Jul 24, 2015
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Just made my first build a couple weeks ago and everything has been running fine until just about an hour ago.
Tonight I had some friends over to check out the rig, I got a gtx 970 going to 32" and 40" vizios. I was playing dead space, running dolphin emulater at 5k render and even played the supposedly broken arkham knight on max settings with no frame cap to positive results. The whole time I was running a game on one screen and either spotify or chrome on the other TV.

After my friends leave I turn off the computer and go take a shower, do laundry, in other words left the room with the PC off for a couple hours. When I came back and booted up I had only just launched a SNES emulator when my PC shutdown. When it shut down the the led on the case power button would blink til I switched off the PSU. I booted back up and the PC stayed on the desktop with no programs running for about a minute before shutting down in the same fashion. I've tried different outlets, disabling one of the monitor and more but the problem persists. The computer boots fine before quickly shutting off so I don't suspect faults with anything internal other than the PSU.

One very weird thing to note: when I was running tests disconnecting things, after a shutdown I leaned back to switch off the PSU and lightly bumped the case which made the PC begin to start up again almost as if something loose had been knocked back into place.


That being said though, how could a corsair power supply suddenly die only a couple hours after exemplary performance? Could it be stressed to death that quickly? because I admit I skimped a little on the PSU even though that's not recommended but I can explain why if anyone cares.

My build
Gtx 970
Amd fx8310+cooler master 212 evo
MSI 970g43a
2x4gb g skill ripjaws ram
250gb Samsung evo ssd
175gb Seagate barracuda (had laying around)
215gb 2.5" Samsung HDD (from broken laptop)
DIYPC Zondda case
Corsair cx430w

Now I know 500w is the rec for 970s but manu recs are overshot and my load on part picker was only around 350w. I also read people on partpicker with very similar builds running their 970s fine on 430s. I was in that category myself for the past couple weeks. The 500w was also twice the price of the 430w as the 430 was on sale for $15 after MIR. I didn't want to pay double for 70w more and at $15 would be replaceable if need be.

So my question is what could be causing a reputable PSU to go from 100% to sputtering in just a couple hours of non use? Or is it possible I'm experiencing a power issue external to the PC? What do we make of the bump to start?

PC is currently unplugged from everything and has been over 30 min I'll probably give it another try in case the issue was external and temporary.

Sorry for all the text, just trying to be thorough and paint the complete picture.
 
Solution
tiny voices
I'm surprised it lasted 2 weeks. It is a known low quality unit and too low wattage for your needs.

Just replace it with a proper unit. This is the clear answer here. There is no reason to risk wrecking your entire PC with that PSU.
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Get a proper PSU. It is the most important part of your system, and should not be skimped on. CX series are tier 4 junk. Stick to tier 1 and tier 2 units. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

This seasonic built PSU would be far better.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $58.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-24 10:04 EDT-0400

 
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OK I probably will but that doesn't answer any of my questions. If it is a piece of junk why was it performing great up until all of a sudden? I mean its a corsair and despite what you said, this psu has good in depth reviews and the CX series is pretty well recommended for budget build. Is it possible to just stress it out after a couple weeks? If its shot I can send it in since I basically just bought it but since I don't have another rig to test and PSU does in fact start idk if I can 100% confirm its the PSU, an outlet in my house could have randomly died. Also
 
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CX series use poor quality capacitors, that tend to fail sooner than other quality units. Number of user reviews mean little. The most reviewed PSU, on newegg is for the terrible Thermaltake TR2 430w followed up by a Raidmax 530w. :lol: Read up on the PSU listing, I linked.
 
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Please no more suggestions on PSUs, I'm probably buying a new one anyway and don't need help shopping for one in this thread. I really want to know if I should be RMAing this PSU or reselling it for the measly $15 I paid? And if maybe that's not even the culprit if I'm fine using this one for a couple more weeks til I decide I'm ready to pay for a new one
 
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OK is it not unusual though for it to handle the heavy load fine (i.e. dead space 1080p with background programs) yet then snap on the next boot where its handling nothing? At what point did it die then if it was fine when it was last on and what literally caused it? What was the final straw for it? Its not like it crapped out on a heavy load.

I'm no computer expert but almost any failures I've had from electronics happen while in use. I've never had something shut down totally fine then not be able to start up again properly such a short time later with nothing being changed
 
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I need to be able to confirm for myself that the PSU is 100% in fact the issue because I can't RMA a working unit and I can't sell a broken one so I need to know which side of the fence I'm on. I would also feel ridiculous to buy a new psu to somehow still encounter this problem (albeit as unlikely as that may be)
 
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Tbh the symptoms almost seem more consistent with a loose connection but a power cable failing this quickly seems less likely than a PSU. but I don't want to totally blame the PSU til I can get real understanding of what's happening here. let's not completely rule out other issues just quite yet
 
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Definitely seems like PSU to me. That unit was never meant to do what you are putting it through. It simply isn;t up to the task. buy a proper unit.

An RMA would be pointless as then you just have another low quality PSU that will fail and possibly damage your system. You need a proper PSU for your build.
 
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Yeah I didn't anticipate running dual monitors, the second one is a newer addition than the PC and was essentially dumped on me (not that it wasn't welcome) so I'll definitely look to get a new PSU to run that efficiently. but I still got a couple loose ends I want to tie. Is that PSU damaged? I have friends looking to build more modest rigs than mine in the near future, would it be of use to them?

On RMA I would try to talk corsair or newegg into crediting the purchase price instead of just restocking. Buying a new more expensive psu at a discount might be more lucrative to them then just swapping one for free. That's actually almost exactly how I ended up with my second display, I was tryna return my old one buy they said they could only offer a discount on a new purchase.

But does it not not seem weird to anyone for hardware to die in its sleep? How can something break when its not in use? As I said it handled arkham knight, dual monitors all that fine it was after the fact that it was long after the fact that it struggled.

If I boot it up now and it works am I safe to use for a week or so til I can get a new oneone or will it f my whole set up? Speaking realistically, ik similar things have happened to people especially in the past but is it a real legitimate concern? I've had power go out in my house a million times over the years and never take anything with it
 
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The biggest problem is that you are running high power components, your CPU alone is a high power part stock, on an entry level PSU and pushing that entry level PSU to its max.

The CX series is not as bad as some people make it out to be if you are using them for what they are meant for, an entry level system. Even the CX600 is not quite meant to be a gaming/workstation PSU. At minimum with Corsair I would go with the RM series or higher if you plan to game.

PSUs are most efficient at 50% load. The higher the load you put on it, the less efficient it becomes and the harder the components work. With a 430W PSU you are probably putting, while gaming, 350-400W load on it which is well above 50%. The PSU has to work extra hard then the components get warmer and will die off sooner.

It is always best to put money into a good quality PSU that has room to breath. I had a Corsair TX850W that lasted 5 years under heavy gaming load.

In the long run you are trying to defend a PSU that has been put into a situation it wasn't deemed for. The PSU is not bad but it was never meant for a high end gaming rig.
 
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Onus, of course I get this information after buying a mobo lol. I seriously spend a few whole days researching mobos and basically no one had anything to say and just said get something with good reviews that is compatible with your set up. I've never even heard of phase counts, they've never been mentioned.
 
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It's not completely the power supplies fault, some fault lies with the builder. 430w is too small for those specs, and with it being a lower quality unit it was going to fail. You want atleast a good 520w-550w PSU for those specs. Its possible its something else but without a known good PSU to test with. Without that the PSU is the most likely culprit. The next most likely culprit is the motherboard, its is notorious for overheating vrms and using a cooler that doesn't blow air on them can exacerbate the issue.
 
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Jimmysmitty, I'm not defending it just trying to clearly isolate the problem as I don't have additional parts to do testing and I want to determine if the PSU is damaged or just not up to the task. Isn't eficiency just in reference to how much power it consunes compared to how much lower it puts out?

2 weeks still seems like an extremely short life span for a product with a 3 year warranty and odd to die so suddenly under the circumstances it did. Not to belabor the point but can anyone just explain to me how something dies in its sleep? I understand I'm wearing it down but usually things you ware down show just that, ware. This showed no ware and just went from 100% to 10% performance. No ones made mention of the odd "bump to turn on" phenomena which still puzzles me.

Would everyone be shocked if I booted up again rn and the problem was gone?
 
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Everyone's saying what a bad reputation this thing has when it was 4+ stars ratings on new egg, partpicker, tiger, amazon and a positive review from johnny guru. Same with this mobo that apparently has a bad name yet gets routinely recommended. It isn't like i did zero research and bought these cuz they were the first things i saw. As i said, the 430 was just a $15 educated experiment that seems to be getting rocky, I guess that 70w made all the world of difference.

Just so yall know though; which i see alot on forums, just suggesting parts that are 2x-3x a builders price range doesn't really help said builder with his problem, not everyone can have a gaming mobo, a $70 PSU, 16gb ram, an i7 and 980s in sli. But that's now why I'm realizing the build section might not have been the best place for this as that's kinda what this sections dedicated to 😛

Thanks for info y'all I appreciate anyone who takes time out to help others
 
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Newegg reviews mean nothing in terms of product quality.

That motherboard is not recommended by any of reputable knowledge. It is simply a poorly designed board.

The PSU is the SINGLE most important part of a PC. Cheap out ANYWHERE else but on the PSU. That is a well known fact.

Also we should point out that even a quality 430w PSU is lacking for this PC. I assume you are using a molex to 6-pin adapter for the second 6-pin PCI cable on the GPU as the cx430 has only 1. OR do you have a 970 with a single 8-pin connector?
 
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It isn't a low quality unit but it is not high. It is mid at best. That said the issue is still that you are running too low power for that rig. It is not just because it is a lower quality unit, it is because it is just not powerful enough and as I said you are pushing it beyond what it should be on a consistent basis.

The CX series was designed for entry level systems. If you plan to game you have to put a bit more into it. You should have gone with a bit lower/cheaper GPU and put a bit more into a better PSU.

And you think $70 bucks is a lot for a PSU? Mine was 2.5x more than that and that is still not the super expensive. $70 is on the more low end of PSU pricing.

We are not recommending you get an insane priced PSU but rather that you get one with a higher power rating and bit better quality. You can get plenty for the $50-60 range that are good brands.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze

That is a Seasonic, one of the best PSU OEMs out there and it would be better than the CX430 for what you are trying to do.
 
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People on this forum and others and the guy at Fry's said molex was fine but splitters were not recommended. I'm not having any problems with the GPU though its just the whole system shutting off at once, lights, fans and all
 
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