[SOLVED] System died with a bang. Now what?

[HellsPlumber]

Yesterday I upgraded my graphics card from a 1070 to an AIO 1080ti.

It ran perfectly for around 30 minutes, then suddenly mid-game I hear a bang from the PC and everything died.
Even the house's power was tripped.

I was hopeful it was simply the PSU . I was using a 550w PSU and I though maybe it simply couldn't handle the new GPU.
But today I swapped the PSU out with an 800w, but trying to turn the PC on has no response at all.

Now I'm deeply concerned my whole machine may be a write off.
How should I proceed?

 

[rgd1101]

full system spec? include make and model of the psu

 

[HellsPlumber]

Hi, sorry about that. Specs are as follows;

Mobo: B450 Aorus Elite
CPU: Ryzen 5 2600
GPU: Aorus 1080ti waterforce extreme
RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3000mhz (2 x 8GB)
PSU: Powercool 850w (pc-850auba-m)

The PSU noted above is the latest one I've tried.
It was from a previous build and worked fine before it was put into storage.
The one that I believed exploded was the same brand/model, but a 550W instead.

 

[sizzling]

A 1080Ti really should be run on a high quality 650w and Powercool are garbage quality. There is a reasonable chance the 550w did damage to other components when it died as it won’t have the protection found in high end psu’s. All you can do is get a high quality 650w and start swapping parts, the most likely components to get damaged are the gpu or motherboard or both.

 

[zakitc]

I would change the mains cable too, take out CMOS battery - wait for 5 min, put it back and then see what happens - sounds silly - but you have nothing to loose...
And really check if you have plugged in motherboard leads correctly....

 

[DSzymborski]

What was the original 550W? Given that the 850W is literal junk, I'm a little worried about what you upgraded from. A garbage power supply can easily take out expensive components, which is why we never use junk power supplies with expensive equipment!

 

[HellsPlumber]

Thanks you so much for the help so far, thankfully the PC seems to be okay!

@zakitc You're correct!
I had the sudden realisation that UK cables have a fuse fitted inside them, so on a hunch I decided to try a different cable in case the fuse blew. Everything is now booting perfectly on the 850w, but I'll certainly be looking into a new higher-quality PSU.

@DSzymborski
The 550W was the same brand/type.
This PC is a recent build, with the PSU being the only component I re-used from my old relic of a PC.
I'll definitely be looking into replacing it with a high quality one, please let me know if you guys have any recommendations!

 

[zakitc]

Congratulations

 

[DSzymborski]

Glad it didn't kill everything.

Now hopefully, you'll replace that PSU as soon as possible.

This is just about the least expensive PSU I'd trust with a high-end GPU.

PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/bDWczM

Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £89.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-30 22:42 BST+0100

 

[HellsPlumber]

I'm browsing right now, seems there's a short supply of PSU's right now.
That looks like a decent option, sadly sold out right now though.

Just for clarification, is it most likely that high power-draw while gaming pushed the PSU beyond it's limits?

And if so, is there any reason I shouldn't go overboard with PSU wattage?
I know the 1080ti doesn't require 800w+, but would there be any harm in getting something that powerful to give it some overhead?
I'm just super paranoid about another gaming-related explosion and want to do everything I can to prevent it and push the anxiety out of my mind.

 

[DSzymborski]

I'm browsing right now, seems there's a short supply of PSU's right now.
That looks like a decent option, sadly sold out right now though.

Just for clarification, is it most likely that high power-draw while gaming pushed the PSU beyond it's limits?

And if so, is there any reason I shouldn't go overboard with PSU wattage?
I know the 1080ti doesn't require 800w+, but would there be any harm in getting something that powerful to give it some overhead?
I'm just super paranoid about another gaming-related explosion and want to do everything I can to prevent it and push the anxiety out of my mind.

It's hard to say. Sufficient wattage is important, but so is quality. And that's not actually an 850W; the low +12V numbers mean it's a few hundred watts less than that at best because it's an ancient design meant for 1990s PCs that used +5V a lot more. This is almost a foolproof sign of garbage.

 

[FoxVoxDK]

I'm not trusting that Powercool to power a light bulb, just saying.
...and I'm an amateur when it comes to PSU's xD.

 

[HellsPlumber]

This PSU has lasted me a long time as you can tell!
But I agree completely, I feel this thing is a ticking time bomb.

I've narrowed it's replacement down to these, I'd appreciate your opinions;

Thermaltake 750w Gold PSU:
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/750...lus-gold-sli-crossfire-single-rail-625a-140mm

EVGA 650w Gold PSU:
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/650...-crossfire-single-rail-541a-135mm-fan-atx-psu

 

[refillable]

You should thank the lads that standardized UK plugs.

 

[refillable]

Thermaltake 750w Gold PSU:
EVGA 650w Gold PSU:

Between the two, I'd take the Thermaltake. I don't like EVGA G5s, their performance and build topology is kinda mediocre for modern PSUs.

 

[Flayed]

RGB on a powersupply who would have thought

 

[HellsPlumber]

@refillable I'm now the proud owner of the Thermaltake PSU
@Flayed Right? I have no idea how I'll see it in an NZXT H500i but I'll know it's there!

I'm new here so someone let me know if I can close a thread as Answered.
And if not, it's time to let this thread die.
Thanks to everyone for the help, I hope you all sleep soundly knowing this Powercool PSU is finally retiring!

 

[DSzymborski]

@refillable I'm now the proud owner of the Thermaltake PSU
@Flayed Right? I have no idea how I'll see it in an NZXT H500i but I'll know it's there!

I'm new here so someone let me know if I can close a thread as Answered.
And if not, it's time to let this thread die.
Thanks to everyone for the help, I hope you all sleep soundly knowing this Powercool PSU is finally retiring!

Please make sure not to give it to anyone!

 

[DSzymborski]

RGB on a powersupply who would have thought

Amusingly, RGB on a power supply is almost always a junky power supply. The margins are fairly low on these parts and new cases these days that would highlight RGB parts well tend to have RGB shrouds. So rather than spend money on capacitors or a better design, a lot of bottom feeders just throw in some basic RGB, which is quite cheap.

The Toughpower Grand is one of the few exceptions.