Havin trouble with new PSU

E

Exce

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 24, 2007
Messages
284
I recently bought a power supply that I had to RMA due to my wife screwin it up. So i get it back today, hooked it all up, and when i turn it on it only turns on for less than a second then shuts off. I put my old PSU back in and it works fine.

To me it sounds like the new PSU is shutting off to prevent damage, as if i hooked it up incorrectly. but im pretty sure i didnt. Has anyone had their PSU shut off right after it turned on? what did you do to fix it?
 
You have to give us more details on your system spec before we can even begin to give any suggestions.

motherboard maker, 20 pins, 24 pins? What peripherals do you have? Water cooler? Etc.

Power supply brand, models, wattage?

How exactly did your wife "screw it up"?
 
its a 750watt powertek PSU, seen here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817713002.

it worked fine before my wife switched the voltage from 110 to 220 and i had to RMA it back. it uses the 20 pin connector and the lil 4 pin connecter by the CPU.

nothing is water cooled. just a basic computer set up. ive tried turning it on with only the power pin connected and with everything connected and i get the same results.
 
no offense, but powertek is pretty cheapo PSU, questionable quality control as well.

When you turn on the computer, did the power supply fan spin?

PSU that shuts off seconds after turning it on is usually a sign of low amps on the rails. (Too many peripherals connected, topping it's amperage limits, it shuts down to prevent damage)

cheapo PSU usually have low amps.

Do you have a lot of HDD, Fans, peripherals connected in your system?

Here's something that you can try, to confirm if the powersupply is at fault.

1. Disconnect extra components, use a minimum configuration (e.g. 1 HDD, no casing fan, onboard graphic, etc).

see if it power up properly. If it does, it's low amps problem, get a branded PSU with higher amps on the rails.

2. "Do this at your own risk! Possible electrical jolt! nubs bewarned "

Disconnect your PSU from your PC components, all of them.

Get a short wire, strip off both ends to reveal the copper/silver/whatever, put one end into the "black" pins of your motherboard's 20+4 pins connector and the other end into the "green" pins. You can use any black pins, it's all the same, but there's only ONE green pins, you cant miss it. MAKE SURE it's secure, you dont want it to fall off when you power it on, tape it if you have to.

switch on the power, see if the PSU turns on (fan spinning). If it does, the PSU is fine, so it could be low amps problem. If it doesnt, well, the PSU is dead, return it.

caution: As long as you dont touch the exposed wire during power on, you are pretty safe, I cant say for sure if electricity runs from the black pin to the green pin during power on, chances are, there's no safety hazard for touching it. But ... better safe than sorry.
 
I tried starting it with no componants other than the CPU and ram plugged in. Still got nothin, it all starts up for a millisecond then shuts off.

I did a lot of research before buying this PSU, i decided on it because it says it has something like 42A, how is that bad? what makes that a cheapo PSU? just because the name isnt popular? I understand i bought a junker because its obviously not working, but that aside. Just because it wasnt a popular brand name, what in those specs makes that a bad PSU? it had good wattage and amperage.

I just decided to send it back to newegg and get a refund.


So what would you suggest for a new PSU? Heres what i have
AMD X2 4200+
MSI 8800GTS
1 Maxtor hard drive (nothin fancy cant remember the specs on it)
AllComponents 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300)
MSI K9N SLI Platinum Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner
AeroCool XtremeTurbine-Silver 120mm Case Fan
PCI SLOT FAN|AOC SLEEVE FC-2000

I plan on getting another 8800gts in the future so i want a PSU that can acomodate for it.
 
Exce said:
I did a lot of research before buying this PSU, i decided on it because it says it has something like 42A, how is that bad?
Click to expand...

You're assuming that rating is factual. Cheap PSU manufacturers grossly inflate the specs on their units.

I would recommend picking up a Corsair HX620 at zipzoomfly. You won't have any problems with one of those.
 
Exce said:
I tried starting it with no componants other than the CPU and ram plugged in. Still got nothin, it all starts up for a millisecond then shuts off.

I did a lot of research before buying this PSU, i decided on it because it says it has something like 42A, how is that bad? what makes that a cheapo PSU? just because the name isnt popular? I understand i bought a junker because its obviously not working, but that aside. Just because it wasnt a popular brand name, what in those specs makes that a bad PSU? it had good wattage and amperage.

I just decided to send it back to newegg and get a refund.


I plan on getting another 8800gts in the future so i want a PSU that can acomodate for it.
Click to expand...

The Corsair 620watts would be a good choice. If you dont go SLI .

as for powertek, lets just say I know a guy who owns a PC shop and he decided to stop stocking powertek PSU after the first batch of his stock received a "considerable" amount of complaints from the customers. And before that, he stocked i-cute PSU, super cheap yet pack with features .... explosive features, if you know what I mean.

I-cute, powertek, etc. Unpopular brands does not equal to lauzy product, but the risk of it being a "real" lauzy product is considerably higher.

They lie (not sure about this) about the rating, or lable it in a misleading way. THis is what al-cheapo manufacturer do, it's a known fact.

btw, powmax is the maker of powertek series PSU. Google them, you'll be "surprised".
 
Look at how they rate it

12v: 0.6a 72w: Common math error? It should be 7.2w
Then the 3w 72w 10w from the -5v-12v+5v = 202w from them. It's nowhere close.
Then, 885w peak + 202w = 700w coritinious Wattage @ 43w

So, added up properly, the -5 12 and +5vsb would equal 20.2w. How they got 700w continuous out of that figure, wow.

Plus, no certifications at all. No UL even.

I delcare it to be a pretty big expensive turd. Especially since in the same range, many better power supplies that can do what they label, accurately, and for less money, too
 
Rabid Badger said:
The Corsair will run 8800GTX's in SLI without any trouble, 2 GTS's will not pose a problem.
Click to expand...

oh, I did not know that. Since I only lookup the slizone website. It said corsair 620 can only run 7900gtx SLi. So does that mean Nvidia Slizone didnt test them thoroughly?

Does this mean my Enermax infiniti 650watts can handle two 8800gtx too? Since slizone said it can run two 8800GTS. GTS and GTX isnt too far apart with power consumption right?

sorry exce, hijacked your thread a lil bit. :D
 
lamely_named said:
oh, I did not know that. Since I only lookup the slizone website. It said corsair 620 can only run 7900gtx SLi. So does that mean Nvidia Slizone didnt test them thoroughly?

Does this mean my Enermax infiniti 650watts can handle two 8800gtx too? Since slizone said it can run two 8800GTS. GTS and GTX isnt too far apart with power consumption right?

sorry exce, hijacked your thread a lil bit. :D
Click to expand...

You shouldn't have a problem as long as you're careful how you set up your 12V rails, i.e. don't put both the cards on one rail.
 
How do you not set them up on the same rail? I thought a rail was sort of logical and not physical.

I was looking at the corsair620 before i read these posts. Looks like a good solid product. Thanks for the help.
 
Then i completly dont understand PSU's. because the output says:

+3.3@24A,+5V@30A,+12V1@18A,+12V2@18A,+12V3@18A,- 12V@0.8A,+5VSB@3A

i thought each 12v (12v1, 12v2, 12v3) was considered a "rail", which in this case would be 3 rails.
 
Exce said:
How do you not set them up on the same rail? I thought a rail was sort of logical and not physical.

I was looking at the corsair620 before i read these posts. Looks like a good solid product. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Some (actually lots of them) PSU have "virtual multi-rails" or whatever you call it. Meaning they have more than one 12v rails. (usually labeled as 12v1, 12v2, 12v3 and so on)

These PSU have multiple 12v rails that connect back to a single transformer, so they are not really "independent" multirails PSU (one circuit + transformer for each rail).

and to answer your question, these so called "multirails PSU" have OCP (over current protection), so if you draw more amps than the OCP permits (say 20amps for example), the OCP feature of the PSU will shut the system down to prevent damage.

What Rabid Badger said is this, each 12v rails is hardwired to a specific set of cables going out of the PSU (for example, 12v1 is responsible for two 4 pins molex cables, 12v2 is responsible for the CPU cable, 12v3 is for the PCI-E cable, etc).

now since 12v1 have an OCP of 20 amps, if you connect two 8800GTX to the same set of cables that 12v1 is powering, it will exceed 20amps ....... and poof!!! Instant shutdown.

The same goes to 12v2, 12v3 and so on.

To avoid this, connect one 8800gtx to 12v1's cable and the other to 12v2's cable, it doesnt have to be 12v1 and 12v2, it can be any set of cable as long as they are not from the same 12v rails. Some PSU dont lable their rails correctly, so you have no idea which cable is powered by which rails, this is where trials and errors comes in.

get it?
 
in the case of the Corsair, it's labeled as a multi railed power supply, but they bridged over the OCP, so if you have an 18+ amp load, It will still work. You won't have any problem.s
 
lamely_named said:
Some (actually lots of them) PSU have "virtual multi-rails" or whatever you call it. Meaning they have more than one 12v rails. (usually labeled as 12v1, 12v2, 12v3 and so on)

These PSU have multiple 12v rails that connect back to a single transformer, so they are not really "independent" multirails PSU (one circuit + transformer for each rail).

and to answer your question, these so called "multirails PSU" have OCP (over current protection), so if you draw more amps than the OCP permits (say 20amps for example), the OCP feature of the PSU will shut the system down to prevent damage.

What Rabid Badger said is this, each 12v rails is hardwired to a specific set of cables going out of the PSU (for example, 12v1 is responsible for two 4 pins molex cables, 12v2 is responsible for the CPU cable, 12v3 is for the PCI-E cable, etc).

now since 12v1 have an OCP of 20 amps, if you connect two 8800GTX to the same set of cables that 12v1 is powering, it will exceed 20amps ....... and poof!!! Instant shutdown.

The same goes to 12v2, 12v3 and so on.

To avoid this, connect one 8800gtx to 12v1's cable and the other to 12v2's cable, it doesnt have to be 12v1 and 12v2, it can be any set of cable as long as they are not from the same 12v rails. Some PSU dont lable their rails correctly, so you have no idea which cable is powered by which rails, this is where trials and errors comes in.

get it?
Click to expand...


Thank you! that makes alot of sense. the only thing left is, how do you know weather the product you are buying is true multi rail to each transformer, or if its a virtual multi rail where they all go to 1 transformer?
 
Bbq said:
in the case of the Corsair, it's labeled as a multi railed power supply, but they bridged over the OCP, so if you have an 18+ amp load, It will still work. You won't have any problem.s
Click to expand...

which is why noobies and ppl who dont read manuals/research on PSU should choose Corsair 620watts. Nub proof PSU. :p

I do believe corsair is the only brand of PSU that does this. Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Exce said:
Thank you! that makes alot of sense. the only thing left is, how do you know weather the product you are buying is true multi rail to each transformer, or if its a virtual multi rail where they all go to 1 transformer?
Click to expand...

You dont! lol,

PSU with multiple transformers for each rails isnt available for home consumer market, as far as I know.

Some high end server system have this kind of PSU, but it's not designed for a PC.

Most (if not all) psu on the market uses virtual multirails. You will not be able to find a true independent multirails PSU from the shop. ;)
 
lamely_named said:
which is why noobies and ppl who dont read manuals/research on PSU should choose Corsair 620watts. Nub proof PSU. :p

I do believe corsair is the only brand of PSU that does this. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

All the new seasonics (S12-EP, M12) are like this.
 
lamely_named said:
PSU with multiple transformers for each rails isnt available for home consumer market, as far as I know.
Click to expand...

The Enermax Galaxy 1KW has two independent transformers, IIRC. Not exactly a household item, but it's out there.
 
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