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I built this pc about a month ago and yesterday, it suddenly started turning on and off randomly. This was not just during CPU/GPU intensive tasks, this happened once while downloading a large file.

Symptoms:

  1. Video: https://gfycat.com/handmadeunfortunatehagfish
  2. Upon turning the PC on, it boots into windows.
  3. Then within 30 minutes, it restarts for the first time.
  4. If left running, it restarts faster and faster, each restart accompanied by a clicking noise from the PSU.
  5. Eventually, the restarts happen so frequently that the PC is unable to even display the BIOS.
  6. If I turn it off, and turn it back on a few hours later, this process restarts again, starting from 2.

Things I've tried:

  1. The paperclip test: The fan turns on suggesting that the PSU works to some extent.
  2. Using my PSU to power my another PC which was running CPU torture tests and GPU benchmarks: This seemed to work fine. However, the other PC draws only about 320 W and my PSU is rated for 750 so it may not have been adequately stressed.

I also learned that the clicking noise from the PSU is the voltage regulator. If there's a short or something somewhere in the PC, this clicking noise could be explained since the PSU would cut off power.

I think the things I've tried seem to exculpate my PSU but I'm not 100% sure. Could a short in the motherboard cause this? Since the processor is AMD (and doesn't have an integrated GPU), I think the fact that the BIOS menu shows up and that it boots into windows initially suggest that the CPU and GPU are both working fine.

Have any of you run into similar issues? Any ideas about what could be wrong? Anything else I can try to figure out what is wrong?

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  • Are the power and reset switch front panel headers on the motherboard attached properly and securely? If you were able to use the PSU without issue on another PC that almost certainly means the PSU is OK. If your front panel switch connectors are OK then the motherboard is the likely culprit.
    – Sam Forbis
    Commented Sep 23, 2020 at 20:06
  • Ooh, the front panel switch is a great catch, let me look into that. But yeah, it's looking like I may have to deal with motherboard manufacturer and their warranty :'(
    – anakinquitpanakin
    Commented Sep 23, 2020 at 21:28
  • Since this happens after a time, and then more frequently, it seems to be overheating, and you've traced that to the PSU. Could be a capacitor in that has gone bad. Try the converse, substituting in a larger PSU into your own home-built PC.
    – DrMoishe Pippik
    Commented Sep 23, 2020 at 22:16

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