Computers Toast

I've been researching for a while and haven't really been able to find a solution. I was hoping someone would have had a similar situation.

I was playing a game today and my computer shut off. I checked my power outlet, unplugged and plugged, all that good stuff. Upon further investigation I found that when I flick the PSU power switch on and off, then try to boot my computer the PSU fan will spin for about a half of a second then completely shut off.

Is there any fix to something like this? Am I going to need to replace the PSU or could it be a bigger issue like the motherboard?

CX600 Corsair PSU
i5-3750k CPU
Radeon 7990 GPU
a bunch of other stuff that I don't think it matters if I list

thank you so much for any help

edit: I just unplugged the power from my GPU and it's working. Anyone have any idea what this means or what I should do?

 

If you wanted to test the PSU unit itself you could remove it from your computer and hook it up to an actual electrical circuit. I think you'll find there'll be a standard set of leads (common ground, 3.3V, 5V, 12V etc) so if you can get something to connect either the ATX or Molex cables to a solderless breadboard and a somewhat high-powered load, you can pretty easily check to see that the PSU is working fine.

Alternatively if you have another motherboard you could try connecting the PSU to that motherboard and see if it works.

PSUs aren't expensive though, so if you want to spare yourself the trouble you won't need to spend much.

Edit: just read your edit.

Seems your PSU itself works fine, and I'm not sure why the molex connection to your graphics controller is fucking it up. Maybe a short circuit somewhere? Try a different molex connector and see if that works. Also try another graphics card if you have one.

 

Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately I don't have any other cables or graphics cards I can troubleshoot with but I'll look more into that!

 

Sounds like your PSU is fucked. I looked briefly and it appears that a 750w or greater PSU is recommended with that card, and with only giving it a 600w PSU, the PSU was straining to keep up with the card and finally malfunctioned. You're going to need a new, bigger PSU.

 

I would have to agree here. 750w is the minimum. I would personally go for 850w+ so you won't have to go through this again.

 

Dang. Rookie mistake I guess. (It's my first computer.)
Do you guys think that my GPU is damaged at all? My computer is running fine with that taken out.

thank you for the advice

 

I wouldn't think your GPU is damaged. What is happening is your PSU is having more power/current drawn from it than it can supply. I mean, it's POSSIBLE (Ohms Law, if not enough current or voltage can be supplied then it can have implications on the other) which is why under- or over-volting is a bad idea, but I don't know if that's the same case with not enough current being supplied.

Considering the PSU shuts off before anything major, I doubt the GPU would have been affected too much though.

Doesn't mean the old PSU is entirely useless though; I would turn it in to a variable benchtop power supply with a simple variable voltage regulator circuit or something. Then again, not everyone is in to electronics, haha.

 

you've got a great selection of really powerful(and hungry) hardware there. fantastic hardware, in fact. But a 600w power supply? not sure what you were thinking there. You're essentially running two 7970 cards and a high-end cpu off of a pegged leg. While it's not likely that you've damaged your components, underpowering them opens up a door for the possibility of fried hardware.

It's like buying a brand new high-dollar Mercedes-Benz that you really like and enjoy....and then parking it outside with the doors unlocked and keys on the dash every night. You're just asking for trouble. Upgrade that power supply to no less than a 750w.