He was sleeping today, heard a POP, and heard his system power down.

came home, tried a few different cables,

finally, pulled the PSU from my Chevron 9 System (600W NZXT), 6 years old, hooked the Power to the CPU/Mainboard/PCIe Sockets.

System Powered up fine (minus HDDs and stuff as i only hooked up stuff to test to see if the PSU failed or something else).


So now im trying to figure out if this was an isolated short or something, or if there's a power problem or if the unit just failed for whatever reason.

and this is the same model i was gonna buy for my system.

My PSU is 6 years old, but has been behind 700w max load UPS Battery Backup..
But Has been abused and operated in temps up to 110^F.

i dont want to poke around too much, if the warranty is good, but i cant do nothing over the weekend anyway.

ironically i was gonna order the same unit for my new system this weekend. maybe not,

Seasonic PSUs seem to get the best reviews, so if you are getting a new one I would look into getting one of those. Can't help you with anything else though.

You know as much as I do.

I try to get a Seasonic derivative (they make PSUs for a lot of brand names). I require single-rail because multi rail can overuse/overheat/blowout one of the rails unless one takes the time to distribute the load manually. I also require a minimum of 100 percent rated output round-the-clock at 40C PSU internal temperature or higher -- some are rated at 50C (sounds particularly applicable to your situation -- 110F can lead to high internal PSU temperatures). The manufacturer's specifications should say "single rail, rated for 100 percent load at 40C/50C continuously" or words to that effect.

PSUs meeting my needs are easy to get now -- but were uncommon a couple years ago. In the old days, as PSUs heated up to 40C inside, their power rating dropped in HALF -- the common cause of unexpected PSU failure.

Another approach (expensive) is to just get an "oversize" PSU so that one is never using it at above half its rated watts. A necessary and common approach in the old days, its particularly applicable to "low cost", unknown/minor-brand, PSUs these days.

FWIW

Get an Antec.

As you can see, your company buys their PSUs from a no name.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-oem-manufacturer,2913-8.html

Antec uses Seasonic, Fortron, Delta. Never heard of Channel Well or Enchance.

To Clarify, My PSU (the 6yr old NZXT is fine),

My Brother's is a OCZ, ( OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular High Performance Power Supply )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018



I Ordered another Last night, which is for my build, but I guess I'll loan it to my brother until my parts are all here, and he gets his back/replaced.

I also Ordered a 1000w Cyber Power UPS Power Conditioning battery backup for my new system, my APC Unit will be relocated to my brother's system.

Contacted OCZ about an RMA.

I Think Dirty Power might have been a factor, as my system has been running for 6 years with no power issues, while my brothers and parents have burned through a new PC (or major parts) every 18 or so months.

Mine sits behind my $200 APC, theirs dont, My APC when i put the sensitivity on High, records at least 30 events a night while I sleep, OverVolt/UnderVolt, Frequency issues, etc.

The Antec 620 High Current Gamer is based off of the Seasonic 620, and it comes with a 135mm duel ball bearing fan. I installed one of those two days ago. No issues with that PC yet.

OCZ issued an RMA, now I get to pay to ship it to Cali.. lol..