My PC keeps turning on and off every 3 seconds. Is my motherboard faulty?

[Frostified]

Hey, so the other day my PC suddenly shut down and there was a burning smell and I couldn't turn it on. The PSU was working just fine when I shorted it to test it. I tried booting my PC without the GPU and it turns on for 2 to 3 seconds then turns off. There is no beep to indicate a boot.

I tried placing my GPU in another PC and booting and there was a loud noise followed by a blown fuse on the PSU plug (the wall plug) so I am pretty sure my GPU fried. The question is if it affected the motherboard too. I thoroughly checked over it and there doesn't seem to be any broken sokders or blown parts.

Finally, one of my fans that is connected in the bottom part of my motherboard, near where the Front Panel is, spins A LOT slower than the other fan which is plugged near the top part of the motherboard. When I switch their plugs, the one in the bottom plug always spins slower.

My question is, do you think the problem is in my motherboard for the constant turning on and off?

Things I have tried:
- Taking out the motherboard battery.
- Changing RAM slots.

SPECS:
CPU - Intel i7 6700k
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-z170-Gaming K3
GPU - GTX 9i80 Ti G1 Gaming
PSU - Corsair CX 750W

 

[Zach_01]

You have to give more info... Detailed all system specs (PSU, CPU, MAINBOARD, GPU) and what you were doing when that happend. Any overclocking(CPU,GPU)? Cooling solutions(CPU,GPU,PSU,case)?. Have you ever monitor any temperatures of the system and its components?

There is no real way for any of us to know what parts affected by this burn...
You must install another (cheap)GPU and see the condition rest of them.
But don’t do anything until you give us the details first of your system.

 

[Sybaris_Caesar]

Have to test everything one by one. But most probably original culprit was the power supply. I have to thank my last power supply that at least it didn't kill anything else when it went out.

 

[Mac2580]

Yes my best guess would be that its a Power Supply issue. Without testing the board and GPU seperately, its just a guess.

 

[AsRock]

All so thinking it's the PSU, any chance you hav a spare or a friend with one you can borrow ?.

PSU might be failing when there is a load put on it.

 

[btarunr]

This happened to me. It was a faulty PSU in my case.

 

[Frostified]

You have to give more info... Detailed all system specs (PSU, CPU, MAINBOARD, GPU) and what you were doing when that happend. Any overclocking(CPU,GPU)? Cooling solutions(CPU,GPU,PSU,case)?. Have you ever monitor any temperatures of the system and its components?

There is no real way for any of us to know what parts affected by this burn...
You must install another (cheap)GPU and see the condition rest of them.
But don’t do anything until you give us the details first of your system.

Right, my bad. Here's a list of my specs.

CPU - Intel i7 6700k
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-z170-Gaming K3
GPU - GTX 9i80 Ti G1 Gaming
PSU - Corsair CX 750W

I have never overclocked anything. The case I was using had terrible airflow and my GPU was constantly at 80°C if I was playing something intensive or my room was warmer than usual. At the time of the burn, I was playing a very light performance game (World of Warcraft) but my room was around 26/27°C and my GPU somewhere near 80°C as well.

I only tested if the PSU is working with a short. I suppose it can still be faulty without me know. The PSU I used to test if my GPU in another PC was 500W when the minimum for my GPU is 600W. Maybe that is why the fuse on the plug broke so it's not an indicator if my GPU fried.

 

[Zach_01]

First thought, before you write the specs, was also the PSU like all others responded... But now seeing the them I suspect that the GPU has gone. The CX line PSUs from Corsair is not the best but I cant imagine a 750W PSU not handling a 400~450W PC.

The 980Ti is a high power draw (~250W) gpu and has a reccomended minimum of 600W PSU but this is only for gaming. A 500W PSU for sure can at least initialize the card and display some image. If the card blow up a fuse on your friend's PSU the second you push start button then its 99% shorted, dead, fried...
Can you use some kind of an old GPU (one that you dont care about) to install on your PC and confirm if its working or not?

 

[Frostified]

First thought, before you write the specs, was also the PSU like all others responded... But now seeing the them I suspect that the GPU has gone. The CX line PSUs from Corsair is not the best but I cant imagine a 750W PSU not handling a 400~450W PC.

The 980Ti is a high power draw (~250W) gpu and has a reccomended minimum of 600W PSU but this is only for gaming. A 500W PSU for sure can at least initialize the card and display some image. If the card blow up a fuse on your friend's PSU the second you push start button then its 99% shorted, dead, fried...
Can you use some kind of an old GPU (one that you dont care about) to install on your PC and confirm if its working or not?

Thanks a lot for the response. I did use the said other PC's old GTX 770 to try boot up my PC but it starts up and tuns off instantly after 2 seconds with no beep to indicate the successful boot. I thought my Hard Drive might have been a casualty as well but even after changing it, same thing happened. Maybe the GPU killed my motherboard as well when it shorted?

 

[Zach_01]

Thanks a lot for the response. I did use the said other PC's old GTX 770 to try boot up my PC but it starts up and tuns off instantly after 2 seconds with no beep to indicate the successful boot. I thought my Hard Drive might have been a casualty as well but even after changing it, same thing happened. Maybe the GPU killed my motherboard as well when it shorted?

Things are difficult at this point and you need to test every component one by one to find what survived or not. keep that 770 and next one to change is the PSU.
If you install another known working PSU and the same thing happens then chances that the board has gone too is close to max. And who knows about the rest... CPU, RAM...

PSU checking...

And if you have a voltage meter...

 

[Frostified]

Things are difficult at this point and you need to test every component one by one to find what survived or not. keep that 770 and next one to change is the PSU.
If you install another known working PSU and the same thing happens then chances that the board has gone too is close to max. And who knows about the rest... CPU, RAM...

I see. I will try the links you sent once I get home later today. I ordered a new motherboard which if I don't end up needing will probably give to a friend. I think it should be fine after changing the motherboard, but I will be sure to check my PSU and test with a different one. If that doesn't solve the problem, I don't know what will. I appreciate the help a ton.

 

[eidairaman1]

Where do you live?

 

[Zach_01]

Where do you live?

Worry about power grid/network voltages?

 

[eidairaman1]

Worry about power grid/network voltages?

Exactly especially with a cx psu

 

[64K]

I agree with the others. I think it's your PSU. Swap in the other PSU and see if it's still doing this. I had a PSU go bad on me and it was turning off and on about every minute. Mine was a 750 watt Corsair HX and I was using a 980 Ti too with a 3570k CPU. I was nowhere near the capacity of the unit. It was just a faulty PSU after a few years.

 

[Frostified]

Where do you live?

United Kingdom, England. Shouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.

 

[64K]

@Frostified when you put that different PSU in your rig let us know if that fixes the issue.

 

[Frostified]

@Frostified when you put that different PSU in your rig let us know if that fixes the issue.

Right. You lads were all correct. I put in the new motherboard I bought and it didn't change anything. So I changed the PSU aaand... You guessed it. It's working! I really appreciate y'all's help.

 

[eidairaman1]

Right. You lads were all correct. I put in the new motherboard I bought and it didn't change anything. So I changed the PSU aaand... You guessed it. It's working! I really appreciate y'all's help.

Now is old motherboard still good?

 

[Frostified]

Now is old motherboard still good?

Yep. I will find a use for it. It's still nice and healthy.

 

[eidairaman1]

Heck id get money back tbf

 

[FreedomEclipse]

In my own experience. those CX power supplies are absolute JUNK. Some people have had great success with them but Ive had to replace a few for clients as well as heard stories about bad power supplies like yours. More than enough to stick with the RM/RMX line or stick with Seasonic power supplies.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

In my own experience. those CX power supplies are absolute JUNK. Some people have had great success with them but Ive had to replace a few for clients as well as heard stories about bad power supplies like yours. More than enough to stick with the RM/RMX line or stick with Seasonic power supplies.

agreed.

For future reference, my sig has a link to a PSU ratings list, the CX ranks worse the older it is, at best its only rates a C level, basic entry level.

 

[E-curbi]

This happened to me, it was a faulty APC power strip, that had a grounding issue, that led to faulty bios flashing. With a new motherboard and the power strip had worked just fine for 24months, so you would 1st guess - motherboard. NOPE.

The diagnosis was made by switching off the mobo, and the board not completely powering down for 2-3minutes, sometimes longer = grounding issue.

A motherboard and PSU with healthy grounding will discharge all power in 5-6seconds.

Check to see if that is what's going on.

At least one mobo variable you can possibly eliminate from your troubleshooting list.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

agreed.

For future reference, my sig has a link to a PSU ratings list, the CX ranks worse the older it is, at best its only rates a C level, basic entry level.

I mean the sad thing about it? CWT make some of the CX line alongside Great Wall. CWT made the CX750. CWT make most of corsairs PSUs (over 90%) Even some pretty high end ones. CWT make some of the RM and all the RMX series of power supplies and the RM/RMX line are known as some of the best in terms of reliability. Where does it all go wrong??? I can only assume that corsair really cheaped out on the components or the overall circuit design inside is pretty janky.

CWT are capable of making good PSUs, so why is the CX line so unreliable?