Possible PSU issue? Need advice please

[VampD]

Hey everyone, so my beloved computer (specs: Q6600, GTX 460, gigabyte P35-DS3R, windows xp 32bit, Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620-Watt HX PSU), is almost coming up on 4 years now and I was fortunate enough to not have any major problems, however that may look like things have changed.

About a week ago it froze during the loading of windows and after I hit the reset button the whole machine turned off and wouldn't turn back on (power button had no response). This isn't that out of the norm however and had happened a few times rarely in the past. The solution was to reach in the back and turn off the power switch wait a bit and turn it back on, then press the power button to start the whole thing up again. My understanding was that something funky happened in the PSU where it had to disable something that could only be reset by flipping the power switch on and off. ( I'm really bad with the terminology here )

However most recently the computer froze up at desktop once it booted up which caused me to restart the computer, however instead of rebooting the computer just turned off and refused to turn back on. I tried the same method of flipping the power switch in the back on and off and pressed the power button again. The computer lit up for only a few seconds before turning off again and refusing to respond. It was only after flipping the power switch on/off and waiting longer before hitting the power button did the computer finally come back on and boot successfully to desktop. This whole issue concerns me dearly though and leads me to believe that possibly the PSU may be dying? Anyone have any advice or comments?

-PS: got no warning beeps or anything from the BIOS during this whole process and it even remembered my mild OC settings.

 

[MindoverMaster]

It sounds like either the PSU or overheating. What temps are you getting? Get HWMonitor.

 

[VampD]

It sounds like either the PSU or overheating. What temps are you getting? Get HWMonitor.

I have coretemp and GPUZ, temps are a little higher then normal but nothing out of the ordinary - ( CPU temps range from 40 to 50 C but my room is hot, GPU temps under 60 C ). If the problem was temps wouldn't it most likely have problems during intense applications like games instead of booting up?

Anyone ever have to use the power switch in the back method like me? ( I guess the proper terminology for that switch I've just learned is the "rocker" switch )

 

[MindoverMaster]

Yeah, not super hot. If you have a spare PSU to try, I would do that. If you get better performance, then I would bet it is the PSU.

It's just really a PSU switch. But it's been called many things. We know what you mean.

 

[Digerati]

Anyone ever have to use the power switch in the back method like me? ( I guess the proper terminology for that switch I've just learned is the "rocker" switch )

It's actually the "master power switch" and what it does when set to off, besides the obvious, is to remove the ATX Form Factor Standard required +5Vsb standby voltage from several points on the motherboard. A master power switch is not required by the standard, however - so not all PSUs have them. For those PSUs without a master power switch, the +5Vsb voltage is applied across several points on the motherboard when the PSU is plugged into the wall. This is why is it always best to unplug from the wall whenever you do maintenance - even where there is a switch, since they are a $.05 part that could fail.

Note the function of the computer's front power switch is configured by settings in the BIOS. The settings allow for instant off, press and hold for 4 seconds to turn off, and depending on the BIOS, may have other settings. If me, I would probably replace the motherboard battery too - just because the board is 4 years old and those batteries are cheap.