M17xR2 Power Brick Just Died - My Fault?

Hey guys,

Just a short while ago, my M17xR2 AC power adaptor died - perfect timing too as I was supposed to start work today on a presentation for a job interview on Thursday

Anyway - I was gaming (wanted to get in a quick SMNC match before I sat down to work - God evidently punished me for my procrastination) when the fps suddenly dropped. I exited the game to realise that the lappy was running off battery. Played with the power cord plug at the back to see if it hadn't become loose, then felt the adaptor to find it bloody hot, and the AC plug then proceeded to give me a lil shock as I unplugged it from the mains.

I'm wondering if this is just one of those sad things that happen, of whether I am to blame due to my OC'ing of hardware...

1. Both 5870Ms running @1.15V from stock 1.05V
2. 920XM throttlestop'ed to run with TDP 80W with 25 multiplier, up from stock 60W and 24 multiplier.
3. I also have various USB periperhals plugged in (gamepads, HDD) although some of these have their own mains power and the USB hubs they are all plugged into are plugged into the mains.
4. I have 2 SDDs, although the second is almost always sat idle (as in I don't use it except when I transfer files to the lappy for video editing).

Ironically, (or pathetically), the lappy AC power plug was actually plugged into a Watt Meter when it crapped out, but I failed to see what power was being drawn when I was gaming. All I know is that gfx cards were running maxxed out at 100% and the CPU was being hit for about 30%.

I ordered a new power supply through Dell at the extortionate price of damn near £100. If I had the luxury of time, I would have shopped around for a deal, but nvm. I just want to make sure I don't inadvertently kill the next one too.

ALSO - if it matters - the Alien Head Power/SDD indicator light has been flashing/changing every now and again between the "plugged into AC" colour and the "on battery" colour. I mentioned this in another thread pertaining to loose AC cables that plug in at the back, but now I'm thinking this was an early indication of a dying power supply.

Any and all thouights would be greatly appreciated and a comfort whilst I try to restore backups of emails and files onto my friend's rubbishy lil lappy and try and put together this presentation I just realised why those cheap USB sticks were so cheap.

Thanks guys as always.

 

Of course it's all your fault!! (just kidding)

While overclocking can lead to smaller life spans, it sounds like your Power supply was simply dying out. It is happened to me and I never overclock anything.

The R2 also has two versions of the power supply. In the end the DELTA version was known to last longer and be more responsive to the R2 power supply sensor. Just so we know read the back side of the power supply and tell us who is the maker.

If somehow your second power supply shorts out and dies in the next couple of months, then I would put everything back to standard clocks and see what your average temperatures are. Maybe another component is starting to go bad as well.

Let us know how everything turns out!

 

That at least is a little reassuring, ok!

Let's see...

... it says "Flextronics" in some funky writing at the top, so I guess I have the least reliable of the two, meh. Any ideas which one Dell is likely to send me out now?

Temperatures all seem fine across GPUs, CPU and the 6 AW sensors inside the lappy. But I think I'll pay extra attention to the power draw - I should actually bother to read the numbers on the Watt Meter!

I will do brother, thanks for your reply! In the mean time I'm a little stressed out with this presentation I've now gotta do on an unfamiliar and lower performance lappy . Don't let anybody tell you gaming lappies don't increase work productivity, they surely do!

Thanks again

 

Yep, sorry. I do hope you get the Delta from Dell. They are newer so i guess you have a better chance of getting one.

Don' t I know it! Prove it every week! First, my coworkers drool over my lappy, then they see my VMs running circles around their applications.

 

UPDATE!

Got the new AC adaptor and it's a DELTA! So YEAY! I guess that's better than the Flextronics one I had.

Initially when I plugged in the new adaptor, the battery would not charge, so I did the whole remove-battery-power-drain-for-20-secs thing and now all works fine.

FUNNY THING IS... the old "dead" AC adaptor is working fine now as well . So what the heck happened last time when it just went silent? How's it magically fix itself? Is it still reliable?

Thanks guys!

 

Hiya,

They're likely fitted with a thermal switch, like LINK These are bimetallic strip switches. Some of them have quite a large level of hysteresis too, so they don't switch back on for a while.

It's quite possible that your PSU overheated, protected itself and was fine 20mins later

At least you have a spare now.

P.

 

nice. grats on the new spare charger. lol

i find the power bricks get pretty hot especially when you're overclocking, so it's best to let it rest upright or on a hard surface so the heat can dissipate faster