Third power supply dead!

[Astronutty]

As the title says, I have one PC that has gone through 3 power supplies, one 350 cheapo with case, one 475 PC power and cooling, and one Antec 430 True Power. That is over $300 in supplies. They go out with an audible sizzle and smell burnt.

My question is, where am I jinked? This has happed in two different homes and my other hardware is ok: http://www.stevequalls.com/WorkStation.htm so I do not think I have a power issue coming into the room. (Used 400 watt Belkin UPS when the PC P&C supply went out.)

I have the following components in the PC:

Shuttle AN400 mobo w/AMD 3200
ATI 9800
Radeon PCI
SB Audigy 2 w External Bay
Gigibit PCI card
ATA133
3 @ Crucial 512mb
Plextor 708 DVD-r
Sony DVD-Rom
2 @ 200GB Maxtor Harddrives (floppy also)

Am I over loading my power supplies? I wonder if this Soyo case has a possible issue? Any ideas? Thanks guys and gals...

 

[iNViSiGOD]

Have you checked anywhere for shorts grounding out in your case at all?

 

[exrec]

Also i was just reading on the Tweak3D site that if your motherboard is not positioned correctly with the copper spacers you could have a short there also.

 

[Astronutty]

I will check for grounding issues, if it is a short, it is transient as the problem has a two month schedule.

All my components seem to be ok in the PC...

Maybe I should switch to a new case... good excuse to upgarde.

 

[Phoenix86]

Bad power to the power supply?

Are you plugging directly into the wall outlet, surge protector, or UPS?

The last two, as I'm sure you know, are very good PS manufacturers. I would look at getting warrenty replacements on them...

 

[Astronutty]

Bad power to the power supply?

Are you plugging directly into the wall outlet, surge protector, or UPS?

The last two, as I'm sure you know, are very good PS manufacturers. I would look at getting warrenty replacements on them...

All other computers, LCD monitors, speakers, hubs, switches, router, and other goodies are not damaged, so I think I am OK with power in.

Belkin UPS was used when the PC power and cooling supply sizzled... all others were just on cheap-o strips. ***The PC P&C supply has PFC (Power Fluctuation Control)***... I have been corrected, thanks...so it can handle a bit of a surge it's self.

The PC Power & Cooling supply was replaced within a week by PC P&C... great company! The Antec is going back to Staples today.

Question, if there is a short in the case somewhere, wouldn't some other component suffer the same sizzle as the supply? Or can a ground out on the mainboard somewhere cause just the PS to go out, but the mainboard remain undamaged?

 

[Phoenix86]

If the mainboard is grounded it shouldn't boot resulting in the "lights are on but no one's home" situation (all lights/fans OK, no boot).

PCs are much more sensitive to power fluctuations than other equipment, but that's on the DC side of the PS, the PS itself shouldn't be any more vulnerable to power variances than any other AC/DC converter. Of course it's pushing more watts than most, but still...

This is definatly a tricky one... You can remove the case from the equation, take the mobo out of the case, and run it on a piece of wood or something non-conductive.

I would tend to suspect the power in, given the desctiption, but testing that is beyond me. B.B.S., one of the G[H] mods(admin, super, whatever ), can likely assist here. *paging B.B.S.*

If it helps any, my PS just blew out too, and I though it was a proc. (mobo was throwing bad CPU codes), so I just dropped ~$85 on a new CPU before I realized it was the PS. At least the CPU is a fair step up from my old one (XP 1800+ to XP-M 2400+).

GL

 

[xonik]

PFC (Power Fluctuation Control) so it can handle a bit of a surge it's self.

I think you're mistaken. PFC typically stands for Power Factor Correction, a feature that is required of power supplies in the European Union. Power factor correction compensates for reactive power consumption, which deals with imaginary numbers and stuff I don't need to get into. The point is that this feature is not intended as a protection against surges.

 

[Astronutty]

I think you're mistaken. PFC typically stands for Power Factor Correction, a feature that is required of power supplies in the European Union. Power factor correction compensates for reactive power consumption, which deals with imaginary numbers and stuff I don't need to get into. The point is that this feature is not intended as a protection against surges.

PFC

"Power factor is the ratio of true power (watts) divided by apparent power (volts x amps or VA). A standard power supply has a power factor of 0.70-0.75, while a power supply with active power factor correction (PFC) has a power factor of 0.95-0.99. A power supply with power factor correction is better able to convert the current into power. This results in lower peak current and lower harmonic current, putting less stress on wiring, circuit breakers, and transformers."

I guess I was wrong...

Since this is a transient problem, I will not really be able to do bench top diagnostics. I will review mainboard standoffs.

 

[Astronutty]

Anything is hot-swappable if you're fast enough...

Ha Ha Ha!!!

 

[Astronutty]

I've remounted the mainboard without fabric washers between the screw head and top of the mainboard.

What are these little red fabric washers for, that come with computer cases?

 

[Phoenix86]

I've remounted the mainboard without fabric washers between the screw head and top of the mainboard.

What are these little red fabric washers for, that come with computer cases?

The older mobos would short out if your DIDN'T have them.

IIRC, that was only AT mobos, not sure why they are included in ATX cases. Maybe it wasn't just AT mobos. That would make sense... Otherwise... ?

 

[Stoopid Guy]

I definitely got those little red things with my mobo, which is certainly ATX (I hope so )...

 

[Sarge]

Just a WAG here. Did you install all three power supplies with the same screws?

Maybe one screw is too long and is shorting against something inside the PSU?