Question Strange PSU Problem

Palador

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Apr 7, 2014
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Hi, everyone.

To start off with, this is my PC build currently:
MSI B450M PRO VDH
Ryzen 3 1200
XFX Radeon RX 550 (4GB)
2 x 4 GB Patriot Signature DDR4 RAM 2400 MHz
XFX TS 550 (Bronze)
Crucial MX500 2.5" SSD

Almost a year ago, I posted this thread about an issue I've been having with my computer where in certain games the keyboard began glitching and stuttering.
Since I didn't find a solution here at the time, I've been testing things out with the PC as I have time.
Certain keyboards (especially ones that had additional keys like play, pause, volume, etc.) seemed to have problems all the time, whereas other ones I didn't notice the problem quite as much except when playing games or stress testing the GPU or CPU. All these keyboards worked perfectly fine in any other computer I tried them in.
In the end I wondered if maybe my XFX TS 550 (Bronze) PSU was the problem and I discovered that I had an EZ Cool (JSP-700P12A) 700w PSU that was still working, so I tried it out in my computer and found that the computer ran perfectly with it installed.
I was still confused as to what the problem was, so I tried the XFX PSU along with the graphics card in an old system I had lying around:
HP Pro 3500
Intel Pentium G2030
2 x 4 GB Adata XPG DDR3 RAM 1600 MHz
500 GB HDD
So far I haven't been able to replicate the problem, even when I play the games that gave me the problem on the other computer. Both computers are running Windows 10.

I guess I'm wondering what the problem is and what the way forward for me is. I know that EZ Cool is not a recommended brand by any means, so I'd probably look to get another PSU, but why would the XFX be having problems that the EZ Cool isn't having? I have a hard time believing that 550 watts is insufficient to power a build with a GPU that gets its power solely from the motherboard.

Why would the XFX PSU have problems with the newer Ryzen-based PC and not the old Intel-based one?

I guess what I really want to make sure of is that if I buy a new PSU, it actually works.

Any (good :grinning:) advice or ideas are appreciated.
 
Good PSUs can die. Or start failing. My PC has a Seasonic Focus 550W and also powered a lower GPU, a 570 which I never OC'd. By no means was this PSU stressed. But after ~3yrs it failed. Warranty replacement happened with no problems and I'm back up and running. I wouldn't think a bad PSU would cause a keybaord error. But if you've already tested with another and it works then it must be the PSU? Can you use the warranty on the XFX? If not find another good PSU in your budget and try again.
 
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The TDP for both processors aren't the same, although 10W's higher for the Ryzen, it could be that minor amount that's causing the issue. Though I don't think you're comparing two similar platforms since the Ryzen platform prefers faster ram when compared to the prebuilt platform listed later down your thread.

To also add, maybe see if your BIOS needs updating, that your drivers are updated.
 
Good PSUs can die. Or start failing. My PC has a Seasonic Focus 550W and also powered a lower GPU, a 570 which I never OC'd. By no means was this PSU stressed. But after ~3yrs it failed. Warranty replacement happened with no problems and I'm back up and running. I wouldn't think a bad PSU would cause a keybaord error. But if you've already tested with another and it works then it must be the PSU? Can you use the warranty on the XFX? If not find another good PSU in your budget and try again.
Yeah. I can't think of anything else that could be the problem. Unfortunately, it's no longer under warranty. So I'm probably looking at buying a new one.
The TDP for both processors aren't the same, although 10W's higher for the Ryzen, it could be that minor amount that's causing the issue. Though I don't think you're comparing two similar platforms since the Ryzen platform prefers faster ram when compared to the prebuilt platform listed later down your thread.

To also add, maybe see if your BIOS needs updating, that your drivers are updated.
BIOS and drivers up to date.
From what I understand, 550 watts should be more than enough to power the Ryzen system, so it must be that the PSU actually has a problem of some sort.
If I'm buying a new one, do you think I need to look for a higher watt one?

I can get a PSU through a friend in Germany, but I'm just wondering what you would recommend? I don't know much about PSUs and what makes them good or not. I know when I was looking at the XFX TS 550 Bronze, I asked here and everyone raved about it. When I was looking at the tier list now, however, I discovered that it was in Tier D under "Low Priority Unit".
I was looking at the ThermalTake Smart BM2 650 Watts, which was going at 62+ euro, but I'm a bit confused about something.
On the tier list, it's ranked as Tier C, which would make it a fair bit better than the XFX. However, in the PSU recommendation thread, he suggests that Thermaltake should be completely avoided.

Do you have any good recommendations from PC Part Picker? Here's the link to the German one already sorted by lowest to highest price.

Thanks again. Your help is much appreciated.
 
Around €60 the Seasonic B12 BC 550w is the best you can get. https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product...-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-b12-bc-550
A bit more expensive but a lot better is https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product...ed-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-pa-6g1bb-us . €80 is a steal for this unit.
Thanks, SID. I'm taking a look at them. It seems they both rose a little in price, but it still seems fair enough. I checked out the review here for the NZXT and it does look pretty good, but I must say that I'm no master in PSUs.
Thanks for the advice.

PS: By the way, I was able to slightly replicate the keyboard issue with the graphics card in the HP computer, though it's not as pronounced as on the other one. I'm just wondering if you think it's safe to keep using the XFX PSU so long as I don't put it under load, or should I consider it unsafe entirely?