I decided to upgrade one of my systems. It was running fine, but the 10-year-old motherboard was underpowered. The power supply was a Corsair AX760, which had about one year of service. I left the PSU, cables, and case fans in place, pulled out the old motherboard, and replaced it with the same components that I used on another system:
- MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk motherboard (love these!)
- Intel I7-13700K
- Noctua NH-D15S CPU cooler
- CORSAIR Vengeance DDR5 RAM 64 GB (2x32 GB) 6800MHz CL32 Intel XMP iCUE Compatible (CMK64GX5M2X6800C32)
I also reused the same video card, an MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 3X 12G OC GGDR6 PCI Express 4.0.
When I turned on the power, nothing happened. I used a PSU tester and found that the PSU provided no voltage. That was odd, it had worked well until then.
I purchased a CORSAIR RM1000X (the same PSU used in a similar system) and tested it before installing it. It worked. Still using the old PSU cables, I replaced the dead PSU with the RM1000X. Again, nothing happened when I turned on the computer. I tested the new PSU - it was now dead.
This seems like what would happen if an internal fuse or breaker shut down the PSU. However, there is no externally accessible fuse or breaker. Corsair does not offer support for their PSUs; they cite liability issues.
I ordered a replacement RM1000X. It is still in the box. I will:
- Test the newest PSU before installing
- Not use any of the old cabling
- Unplug all components, including the CPU, from the motherboard before the smoke test
Can anyone suggest what the problem might be, or how to proceed without destroying a third PSU?
Might there be a problem with the motherboard? How could I test this without blowing up another PSU?