I built my PC back in November, and tonight while I was gaming, it just shut off completely. It was running perfectly until this point! Now it's getting zero power – no fans are spinning, and the motherboard has no debug lights on. I suspect the power supply unit (PSU) might be the issue since I noticed my GPU wasn't pulling full wattage a couple of days ago, but I'm looking for some advice on what I can try in the meantime.
Here are my specs: [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/z3wHh9](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/z3wHh9). So far, I've tried unplugging everything, unplugging it from the wall, and holding the power button for 30 seconds, but that didn't help. I also double-checked all my connections, and I even pulled the CMOS battery and put it back in. Tomorrow, I'm planning to try pulling out the RAM and jump-starting the PSU, maybe give it a bare minimum boot too. Any other suggestions? Thanks!
Update: I just did the paperclip test, and the PSU fan isn't spinning. I'll borrow a tester tomorrow, but I believe I might have found the problem already.
3 Answers
You should definitely consider getting a better quality PSU. It might just be that one of the rails has gone bad. It’s worth the investment!
It sounds like the PSU is the most likely culprit. Hopefully, it hasn’t fried any other components. The best move is to get a new PSU, test it out, and if it works, great! If not, you can always return it or troubleshoot further. Oh, and I might need a new PSU too—mine’s around 15 years old!
It could also be an airflow issue causing the PC to shut down for safety reasons. But if you've been monitoring temperatures and they’re around 60°C for the GPU and 75°C for the CPU, that sounds pretty okay to me. Still, worth looking into if it’s a possibility!
I was considering that, but the temps seem manageable. Just want to rule everything out.
I planned on ordering a new one on Friday. Any recommendations for a good entry-level PSU?