PSU blowout

Hey all.

I bought a new power supply from pc world on Friday, took it home, installed it and as soon as I fed power to it the thing exploded. I took the entire machine back to pc world to get looked at and the tech guy at the desk started to blame it on the machine being dusty. He then decided that it was because I had plugged the PSU in improperly to the motherboard. This is where you guys could offer me some help.

The power supply in question was 400w and had a 20 pin main motherboard power lead with an extra 4 pin lead seperate from it in case the motherboard had a 24 pin power requirement. I had actually plugged the 4 pin cable into the processor power socket, which on my motherboard is right beside the main power socket and is also a 4 pin socket.

According to the pc world tech guy this had overloaded the motherboard because there was too much power being fed into the processor socket. But on checking with a 3rd party computer expert he said that it couldn't have overloaded it because 12v should be coming out of all the leads. I then checked the manuals for both the power supply and motherboard and found that the cable I plugged in was giving 12v of power and the processor socket requires 12v of power.

After speaking to a pc world manager I was told that all the tech guys in the store were unanimous in their verdict that the place I plugged it into would blow the power supply and the whole motherboard. Could you guys give me your oppinion on the situation?

To clarify, my motherboard has a 24 pin main socket plus a seperate 4 pin socket just above, which I was told was used to power the processor. The power lead which was plugged into the 4 pin socket was the 4 pin lead that was meant to go into the 24 pin main socket along with the 20 pin lead.

If there is any more information you need just ask.

I would post the what brand and model your motherboard is. Also do the same with your PSU. If you can't find your motherboard information, tell us what type of computer and the model number of that.

That should get the ball rolling.

According to the pc world tech guy this had overloaded the motherboard because there was too much power being fed into the processor socket.

so, because your MOTHERBOARD overloaded, the PSU blew up? i AM an IT guy and i proclaim this as crap.

cliche car analogy coming:

"your gas tank exploded because there was too much fuel going to the engine."

it makes no sense in car terms or computer terms. things that could overload the POWER SUPPLY (not the motherboard) would a combination of some of the following:

high-end video card. maybe 2 if you're doing SLI or CrossFire
Lots of drives
power inefficient CPU - pretty much anything modern won't be too power draining unless you have a multi-socket rig

i ran a 7800GT, opteron 148 (basically an athlon64 3700+), and 3 drives on a 450w PSU. it blew up after about 9 months. i then used an old 185w PSU i pulled out of an old computer to limp along until i got the replacement. it ran fine as long as i kept my 2nd hard drive unplugged. =)

this is what i would suggest
1) go directly to the manufacturer for replacement. you'll likely have to pay shipping and you might have trouble getting in contact with them if they're some obscure chinese shop. sometimes you get good support though and no questions asked replacement.

2) take a picture of your PSU connections on the motherboard with the PSU plugged in. disconnect the cables and go back to this "PC World" place and ask them how you should hook up a power supply to your motherboard. when they plug everything in show them the picture that (hopefully) matches. if at that point they refuse to replace the PSU, then you should let them know that neither you or any of your friends/family will ever do business with a company that doesn't stand behind their products.

i've used that line with tiger direct once or twice because they tried to screw me over. it mostly worked out ok in the end.

[edit on 6-11-2007 by an0maly33]

It shouldn't be possible to plug the pin improperly. Have you looked at the pins carefully? It's designed so that it can only be plugged in one way. There are no other ways to plug it in. The tech dude was lying (badly at that).

Just out of curiosity, what brand was the PSU and how much did you pay for it?

Originally posted by an0maly33

this is what i would suggest
1) go directly to the manufacturer for replacement. you'll likely have to pay shipping and you might have trouble getting in contact with them if they're some obscure chinese shop. sometimes you get good support though and no questions asked replacement.

2) take a picture of your PSU connections on the motherboard with the PSU plugged in. disconnect the cables and go back to this "PC World" place and ask them how you should hook up a power supply to your motherboard. when they plug everything in show them the picture that (hopefully) matches. if at that point they refuse to replace the PSU, then you should let them know that neither you or any of your friends/family will ever do business with a company that doesn't stand behind their products.

i've used that line with tiger direct once or twice because they tried to screw me over. it mostly worked out ok in the end.

[edit on 6-11-2007 by an0maly33]

I probably should have said that I live in the UK so consumer laws are a bit different here. If a product is faulty it is the retailers responsibility to sort it out and it is illegal for them to refer me to the manufacturer. Thanks for the reply all the same. :-)

originally posted by secret titan

I would post the what brand and model your motherboard is. Also do the same with your PSU. If you can't find your motherboard information, tell us what type of computer and the model number of that.

That should get the ball rolling.

My motherboard model is MSI MS-7255 and my power supply is a jeantech 400w power supply. Thanks for the reply also. :-)

Originally posted by Beachcoma
It shouldn't be possible to plug the pin improperly. Have you looked at the pins carefully? It's designed so that it can only be plugged in one way. There are no other ways to plug it in. The tech dude was lying (badly at that).

Just out of curiosity, what brand was the PSU and how much did you pay for it?

You're right the pins are shapen so you can't plug the pins in the wrong way. The third party computer expert I consulted also mentioned this fact, but still pc world stick to their guns. Is it the general opinion that pc world are trying to get out of providing compensation and so are lying?

i have no beef with MSI boards. i've never heard of Jeantech though.

Is it the general opinion that pc world are trying to get out of providing compensation and so are lying?

i'd say that or they just have no clue what they're talking about. i worked at the best buy tech bench for a while (i needed the money) and they were all well-meaning guys but some of them weren't up to par on a few things.

Originally posted by an0maly33
i have no beef with MSI boards. i've never heard of Jeantech though.

MSI boards are good. I use them in 2 out of the 3 PCs I have. The third one is using an Intel board (I regret it so much... Intel sucks rectum). But I've never heard of this Jeantech either. I've replaced all my generic PSUs with PowerLogic PSUs. Twice the price of the generic brands, but well worth every penny.

I had a board burn out because of crappy made in China power supply, so once burned, twice shy. The old PSUs I now use for my other experiments.

they were all well-meaning guys but some of them weren't up to par on a few things

Things are a bit different here in Malaysia. The IT tech guys here all know their stuff. It's an educational experience just to go browse the stores and ask questions.

To daviroo1 - I think you should consider the following:

1. Check whether the power supply was accidentally switched to 120V power rating. This could explode the unit if plugged in a 240V outlet.

2. Check whether you could have accidentally dropped a screw on your motherboard without you noticing it. This could damage your motherboard as well as your PSU. Drops of sweat too can short circuit your motherboard.

3. Your casing perhaps might be old and thus when you installed the unit it got grounded because the casing might not be properly insulated. It might short circuit the PSU and the Motherboard, thus causing the explosion.

4. A sudden surge of electrical power in a thunderstorm might also cause the PSU to be damaged if inadequate protection is not installed, like a surge suppressor.

...

Usually when in an overload state, the PSU powers down automatically to prevent further damage. Some parts may work, like the CPU fans, but the whole machine is shut down. The PSU can only operate normally when you have removed the extra hardware installation.

However, I've yet to see a PSU explode. In the past, I've accidentally short circuited the 3pin fan connectors nakedly to the motherboard because I've hot wired it, without the plug, however, all the PSU does is shut down. I've to wait about 3-5 minutes before normal operation. I've done this many times because I was experimenting. This is on a generic made in china PSU made in somewhere in the province of Ningbo on a makeshift factory. lol

However, in the past, I've exploded some 120V appliances when I accidentally plug it in a 220V outlet. That's the only thing I see fireworks.

I suspect that the unit they have sold to you is rated for other countries. Perhaps you should check the rating, 220V@60hz, 220V@50hz, 120V@60hz, and 120V@50hz. Wrong Hz rating can also explode the system.

So, in conclusion, it might be more complicated than you think as you have to consider many factors as well.






[edit on 29-11-2007 by amitheone]

i've had a psu literally POP. sounded like someone threw a baseball at my case. it was all contained inside the psu but it was loud and it didn't work after that. it was running at the time and had been for about 6 months, so yeah it does happen. this was a supposedly decent brand of power supply too.

tiger direct screwed me on the replacement for it i might add.

[edit on 29-11-2007 by an0maly33]

Originally posted by an0maly33
i've had a psu literally POP. sounded like someone threw a baseball at my case. it was all contained inside the psu but it was loud and it didn't work after that. it was running at the time and had been for about 6 months, so yeah it does happen. this was a supposedly decent brand of power supply too.

tiger direct screwed me on the replacement for it i might add.

[edit on 29-11-2007 by an0maly33]

Luckily your Hardisk didn't got damaged. Most probably its a busted capacitor that cause the explosion. The life of the capacitor will be shortened if operated under high temperatures so its important to have adequate cooling in your computer.