42 minutes ago, martin-w said:

Yep, exactly, Its just one more thing that I don't have to leave on. I keep them to the minimum if I can.

If turning the system off is causing these problems I’d be inclined to leave them powered up. 

42 minutes ago, martin-w said:

EVGA 1000 Gold+ I don't believe the efficiency is relevant though.

Probably not but just checking you didn’t have a dodgy one. 😉

18 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

If turning the system off is causing these problems I’d be inclined to leave them powered up. 

^^^^^^ This ^^^^^ 😆 

1 hour ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

If turning the system off is causing these problems I’d be inclined to leave them powered up. 

 

1 hour ago, odourboy said:

^^^^^^ This ^^^^^ 😆

 

As I sad before... I may do that... but with a replacement. A normally functioning PSU does not let of a fire cracker when you power it on from the wall. 

If the thermistor is no longer capable of handling the inrush of current that its designed to handle, then I'll RMA it.

Not logical to keep this one and just "leave it on" when the thermistor is now compromised. I would be keeping a defective PSU when I could replace it with a new one under RMA. Its warranted for 10 years. 

 

1 hour ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Probably not but just checking you didn’t have a dodgy one.

 

 That will never happen, I'm the guy that frequently proclaims the PSU to be the heart of the system and advises never to buy a cheap one. I'm Mr. over spender, not Mr. under spender.  

I tend to agree with Johnny Guru, turn off from the OS and on using the system pwr button.

I agree with you about the importance of the psu.  Within reason, if I'm already spending xxx for a PSU, why not spend a little more for a higher-tier PSU?

Okay boys and girls... I've been casting my mind back those 6 or 7 years, and I recall that after I changed the PSU I still had the same intermittent issue.

I recall that it wasn't until I changed the motherboard that the issue resolved.

Might be counterintuitive that its the board at fault but that's what I recall.

Will be interesting to see how this pans out.

20 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I haven’t turned off any of my computers at the wall in years. The only time power is disconnected to them is during a power cut. Thankfully very rare here.

The only time I’ve had a PSU fail was back in the 90s and the very loud bang made me jump out of my skin.

I always buy the Gold version of the PSU.

same  here  never  have  even ,  but  wonder  how  long  does  the battery  last  before  it  runs  out  🙂

5 minutes ago, pete_auau said:

same  here  never  have  even ,  but  wonder  how  long  does  the battery  last  before  it  runs  out  🙂

CMOS batteries last years.

2 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

CMOS batteries last years.

I have only had to replace one in all the 42 years that I have had a computer. (Mind you, the ZX Spectrum probably didn't have one).

Not worth powering off mains electricity supply imo, I can't imagine the standby current/wattage draw on a modern PSU is significant. You would spend more replacing the CMOS battery (I've only ever changed them on systems which are routinely disconnected from mains power, typically after about 6/7 years). The clock on your microwave probably draws more current, or the standby mode on a television, and your router certainly will pull more power so do you turn that off when you're asleep?

I expect most will not disconnect their systems from mains power when not in use, simply because the UK is one of a very few countries to have switched outlets/sockets as the norm. Most countries truly switching off means having to physically unplug the thing, or gaining access to the rear of the case to get the power switch on the PSU.

8 hours ago, pete_auau said:

same  here  never  have  even ,  but  wonder  how  long  does  the battery  last  before  it  runs  out  🙂

 

CMOS batteries last about 3 years minimum, to something like 6 max. I've replaced about 3 over many years.  If you leave the PSU energised though, like many of you do, a lot longer. 

 

Edited March 15, 20233 yr by martin-w

I now have a new PSU and motherboard, and all is well.

Tested the old PSU outside of the case, on its own. Huge bang and loads of sparks shot out of the fan grille. 😀 Boy did I jump, even though I was expecting it. RMA'ing the PSU of course.

Re the motherboard, need to test it, but when this happened 7 years ago, I replaced the PSU and the same symptoms recurred and it wasn't until I replaced the board that it was truly resolved, So we shall see. 

 

 

Edited March 31, 20233 yr by martin-w

I should add... in praise of the UK company Novatech.

EVGA suggested I try them for the RMA as it would be cheaper  than shipping a weighty PSU to EVGA.

One email to Novatech, reply the next day, no issue and they'll send a courier to pick it up. They did the same with my faulty RAM a while back. Great company, friendly and helpful. 👍

Edited April 4, 20233 yr by martin-w

I have developed a slight 'phobia' for PSUs since one of my builds I made back in 2007. I seem to remember it behaved just about how you described it. Then one morning when when we woke up the whole apartment was completely blacked out. Immediately suspecting the PSU I started the hunt for the fault there. 

Replaced the fuse and stretching to reach the power switch on the PSU one of my feet accidently came in contact with the rooms radiator. I got the shock of my life and I watched in horror and with a numb foot a thin trail of smoke rise up from the computer. 

I had insane amounts of luck though, as the PSU hadn't taken anything in the computer with it to the afterlife. The PSU was obviously dead and I RMAd it and got a new one. Never had anything like this happen again, but when it comes to PSUs I have almost unhealthy levels of respect for them. I still cringe when I turn the little word not alloweds on, expecting it to shock me into next week.. 😉