PSU went up in smoke. New PSU won't boot PC

probuddha said:

They checked the mobo for a while and said that it has been short circuited and apparently it was giving shocks.

Impossible. Only voltages connected to a motherboard are 3.3, 5, and 12 volts. None of those shocks anyone. Otherwise a 12 volt battery in a car is also electrocuting many people.

If a motherboard was shorted, then PSU's fold back current limiting had shut off power. So nothing could exist to cause shocks.

It is always a first indication of deceit. If motherboard was short circuited, then the short circuited voltage was defined. Did they provide that number? If not, suspect the worst.

And finally, if it was short circuited, then they could not check it for a while. It would not work immediately. That short circuit would be obvious and defined in 20 seconds with a meter.

I watch auto repair shops do same to women. Claim a bunch of mumbo-jumbo knowing they can talk that woman into anything. Either a motherboard is short circuited - meaning a PSU shuts off immediately. Or it is magically generating well over 100 volts from a not shorted 3.3, 5, or 12 volts. What they said was so wrong for so many reasons that incompetence or intentional scam is obvious.

If a motherboard was defective, then they also said nothing on that motherboard can be repaired. Even a good motherboard manufacturer knows it is cheaper to shred a defective motherboard and build a new one. Why shred? Because better electronic manufacturers do not want their product rescued from a dumpster to be repaired by some third party operation. That only harms that manufacturer's reputation.

Facts are clear. Nobody has defined a defect. What was said about that motherboard cannot possibly exist. So you will shotgun. Replace good parts until something works. Because no one has yet said what part is defective.

Mellon Head said:

probuddha said:

It's out of warranty. So I guess buying a new board would be the wise thing to do, right?

Any suggestions for an AM3+ board with SATA 3 headers? My last one had SATA 2, so I am thinking if I get a new board, I might as well get one with SATA 3 headers since I use an SSD as my system drive

Thanks a lot

I have one of these and it's rock solid as long as you're not overclocking:

ASUS M5A97 R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB 950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - Newegg.ca

Maybe that's available in India.

I prefer ASUS boards myself, as I've had the best luck with them. Others may have other good suggestions.

+1 on the M5A97 R2.0. No problems and solid as the rock since the day I first powered it up. I am not doing any OC. See "My System Specs" for the details on my rig.

Thanks so much for your responses, guys.

Frankly, I do not trust the service center where I have given the mobo for repairing but I gave it to them to primarily identify which component is faulty. They checked my mobo with and without my RAM sticks and with their own PSU and even then the system didn't display anything on the screen. Then they zeroed it down to the motherboard itself. I called them today and they said that the parts of the motherboard in charge of power and display has been affected but they have not yet been able to repair them. Honestly, I don't trust them but at least now I know that the issue is with the motherboard.

I can do online ordering in India but don't think newegg.com would be shipping here and even if they did, it would cost a lot more than what I'll have to pay to buy from Amazon India or other online stores. In fact, the ASUS M5A97 is available at brick and mortar pc shops for around $95

I had used an ASUS board myself in my previous build and never had any problem with it. So yes, I am thinking of going back to ASUS. The only concern I have is whether my low end ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB GPU would be compatible with the board.

Also guys, from what I have described above, do you also feel that it's the motherboard that's at fault
I don't want to end up buying a new board and later find out that the fault is with something else. I know it's not easy to pin point the defect remotely but going by the symptoms, do you feel that there is a fair chance of the mobo going defunct?

So much thanks for all your help so far. Really appreciate it.

Thanks for your response. Sorry for confusing you as I myself was a bit confused (being a non technical person). Thanks for clearing it up for me.

I will probably settle for an ASUS board based on above recommendations and my past experience with the brand.

Thank you very much

ignatzatsonic said:

Get a decent PSU in the 500 to 550 watt category. That's enough for pretty much any single video card system.

I have already purchased a 600 watt PSU. Thanks