h55m-usb3: unable to switch on the system ~1h after shutdown

[rrr]

Hi all. Having some strange problem with some old psu - new motheboard incompatibility and unable to determine which one is faulty.

Configuration:
Gigabyte h55m-usb3 rev.1 (new)
Core i3 530 (new)
Kingston HyperX 1600Mhz 2x2Gb Kit (new)
Psu: Zalman 360W active PFC ATX v.2.2
Samsung F3 HDD 1TB 7200 rev/min + 2 F3 1.5TB 5400 rev/min.
Compucase Midi ATX (one power switch with wires to power and reset, no case speaker)
No separate graphics adapter (system runs with built-in inside i3)

Assembled, powered on, changed BIOS settings. Saved to BIOS -> system shutdowns. Pushing power button – nothing happens. Switching PSU power off and on, clearing CMOS with jumper – the same result. Waiting for about half an hour. Pushing power switch – system starts. Changing fewer BIOS settings, saving – system shuts down and unable to switch on for 1h or less. Always the same. Eventually discovered, that there is no need to clear CMOS and BIOS values actually are saved. So I adjusted all BIOS settings, saved them, waited for an hour, switched on and installed Windows 7 and other programs without any problems. Restart goes without problems. But when I select to shut down, I am unable to switch on the system for about 1h. When I push the start button (also tried to keep it pushed for 4 sec) during that period, nothing happens. When I switch off PSU power, switch on and push start button, diodes near the memory slots flash once, ventilators on PSU and CPU began to spin, but immediately everything stops.

Flashed new BIOS F9 (original was F6) with returning to optimized default and fail save values – all the same. Overclocked some frequencies and raised some voltages – system runs very stably, but nothing repair’s this “hot start” issue.

Eventually brought the system, which I recently assembled for the friend – Athlon 2 X4, Gigabyte motherboard, case and PSU (550W, passive PFC, ATX v.2.3), Cruciall 133 Mhz memory. Connected Gigabyte PSU to my system – everything run’s OK! Zalman PSU is faulty? But when I connect this Zalman PSU to Athlon system – everything also runs OK! Tried to change memories between systems, and put memory modules into other channels, disconnected 4 pins from 24 pin ATX connection or one 4xpin connection from processor 12V 2x4 pin – everything the same. When Zalman PSU is connected to Gigabyte h55m-usb3 system, it is unable to start ~1h after shutdown and work stably when system is running regardless of other settings or system components. Once after starting, system showed “CMOS checksum error” and return to F6 BIOS, but after that I flashed new F10 BIOS, and there was no crashes so far.

So, my conclusion:

1. When Zalman PSU is connected to Gigabyte h55m-usb3 + Core i3 530 system, it is unable to start after shutdown for ~1h, other components and settings doesn’t matter. When system switches on, it runs stably.
2. When Gigabyte PSU is connected to the above system, problem disappears.
3. AMD CPU – Gigabyte motherboard system have no such “hot start” problem with any PSU.

Which component is faulty or where hides the problem?

[Dark Mantis]

Firstly welcome to the forum. Your problem lies with the Zalman PSU. Apart from being underpowered the way Zalman splits the 12v line doesn't help the situation. I had the same problem with my build when I first put it together with a Zalman 750W. I changed it for a Corsair HX850 and never had any more worries.

[rrr]

Thank you for the very quick reply!

I was also suspicious about 12V power line for the CPU. But may suspitions were based on the fact that Zalman PSU is v.2.2, and Gigabyte v.2.3. And I read that v.2.2 specification has higher initial power supply for CPU and this may be the problem with low power CPUs. But if it would be true, it would be written somewhere that I can use only ATX v.2.3 with this system or this processor. So, probably, ATX version here doesn't matter.

I am not a technician, but can you describe "the way Zalman splits the 12v line" in more detail? It seems very strange for me why system must wait for ~1 h and after that runs without problems even overclocked at full load. A why this problem is absent with AMD system?

Thank you very much!   

 

[Dark Mantis]

I am not a technician, but can you describe "the way Zalman splits the 12v line" in more detail? It seems very strange for me why system must wait for ~1 h and after that runs without problems even overclocked at full load. A why this problem is absent with AMD system?

It isn't just Zalman who do this there are many PSUs that use a split 12v power line and some work perfectly well but my preference is for a single heavy duty 12v line. It could well be sopmething in the PSU itself that is not unlatching due to heat build up when the PSU is running and only working again once it has cooled. This would be exacerbated by the fact that it is running at full power. In time too the power supply will drop in output due to capacitor droop and will fail anyway. Why does it run on the AMD system? Maybe it has a lower power requirement or just isn't so sensitive, I really don't know without a lot more details.

[rrr]

OK, thank you. Can you recommend any other PSU makers besides Corsair and Gigabyte which don't split this 12 CPU power line and will probably work without any issues with my system? Or can you mention any othe PSU makers besides Zalman which split this 12 CPU power line and will probably have problems with my system?

[Dark Mantis]

I really don't want to make any recommendations for obvious reasons but there are many good PSU manufacturers out there and now armed with your new knowledge you can check the specs yourself for any that interest you. A lot of "makes" of PSUs are really rebadged from other manufacturers. Enermax and Seasonic are both well respected but there are many more. Check here: http://www.scan.co.uk/Shop/Computer-Hardware/All/Power-Supplies/480W-580W