Infuriating motherboard/PSU problem

M

meatfestival

[H]ard|Gawd
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Apr 5, 2005
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Had a PSU failure recently (exploded). I RMA'ed it (enermax noisetaker 600w) and got a new Noisetaker II. I hooked it up and it wouldn't fully power up my motherboard (DFI Lanparty NF4 SLI-DR). Got standby LEDs, but hitting the power switch would only make it power up for a split second. The new PSU tested OK on an older machine, so I decided to RMA the board too.

It finally got repaired and returned after over 2 weeks, but when I hooked it up it was the same problem - still only powered up a split second. I decided to try taking the 350w CWT PSU from the older machine - lo and behold, it powers up the Lanparty (despite only having a 20-pin ATX connector). The new enermax PSU still powers up the old machine (ECS K7S5A) but doesn't like the DFI board at all.

What the hell's going on here?

Is it possible that the DFI board got some kind of fault from the first PSU failure which could cause some kind of damage to the new PSU? I have emailed DFI's tech support to try and find out what repairs were done to the board, might shed some light...
 
I am not really sure what is going on here, but DFI boards are notorious for their compatibility issues with power supplies. I'd check out DFI Street and see what the people over there have to say.

On another note I had a similar Enermax 600 Watt PSU die on me, and they won't replace it without my receipt, which I don't have.
 
I wouldn't be so quick to blame the board for the problem. It's very possible (and highly likely) that the board was damaged during the power supply fault.

Twice we had power supply failures in two identical computers here at work, one before my time here and one during. What happened both times was that something in the PS shorted out and put 12V on all lines (instead of 12, 5, 3, etc)...The first time it happened the machine caught on fire...When it happened to me, it just made some flashing light and smoked a lot.

In both cases everything, EVERYTHING, was toast.
 
Dan_D said:
I am not really sure what is going on here, but DFI boards are notorious for their compatibility issues with power supplies. I'd check out DFI Street and see what the people over there have to say.

On another note I had a similar Enermax 600 Watt PSU die on me, and they won't replace it without my receipt, which I don't have.
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yea DFi's have some funny things with certain psu's . my last DFI a 975x-g wouldn't boot with a 550w tp-2 antec or a 600w sliverstone . but would work fine with a $30, 500w rosewill ?? go figure .

i would also say when a psu goes it often takes stuff out with it . the MB, ram or cpu could be dammaged as well as anything else plugged into the mb at the time . i had one that blew up--after a new psu-- it kept re-booting-- well i tried a new keyboard--and all of a sudden --the thing started running right . even the little stuff can cause a big head-ake--

so keep swapping and testing stuff untill you isolate the probelm.
 
i just put together my firs dfi machine last night ultra-d and it's kinda the same

mine shuts down after 30sec - 3 minutes...

using a Xfintiy 500w Gen2 which should work fine...

DFI = NOT FOR THE TIMID
 
I've built and services countless PCs. Not joking here, I've worked in high volume service centers and large coporations IT departments so I've seen my fair share of PC failures. With that said, I have rarely seen a power supply take out other components when it fails. Though it can and does happen, usually the PSU will simply bite the bullet and no harm will come to your other components.

On the other hand, the PSU is the one and only component that can destroy every piece of hardware in and connected to the machine when it fails. Though the possibility is remote, it does sometimes happen. .

Additionally back in the day it was standard proceedure to replace the motherboard in Compaq computers if the PSU failed. Compaq suggested it, and would always approve the parts under warranty in such cases.
 
he meant while it is remote, it is possible.

anyway, some dfi boards have problems with so called "high-end" psu's. the expert even had a new revision added because of this problem. if i recall it was a problem with the psu not applying enough 5v during boot -up. go to amd forum @ xs , there will be some guys who remember the details of this problem. i dont know how much help you will get at dfi street. they will prob tell you that your psu exploding was user error.
 
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