Power Supply [Quick Replies Please]

[Fortune117]

Right ok,

Currently im running a:

P4 3.06Ghz
Nvidia 8500GT
2GB DDR2 RAM

rig on a 250watt PSU.

This machine has eaten through 2 previous PSU's one was 250 Watt, the second was a 500 Watt in the past week or so.

The most recent one happened when I was installing my Zalman CPU fan, I turned the computer back on and was presented with nothing. Therefore I thought my graphics card had blown. I put the old CPU fan and heatsink back on and everythings fine! Apart from in the BIOS the RAM and CPU isnt being detected (Which means the -5v has gone one the PSU according to a 'Doctor Power' Unit) and I just hang at a black screen

So what can be causing this guys? I originally thought my old case was the problem becuase it was cheap with tacky gadgets so I got rid of it. Am I overloading the PSU's?

I have a 650Watt PSU and a new case on order which should be here tomorow, And I really dont want to waste the PSU if its only going to break

[Terbinator]

What brand was the PSU ? If it was a crap brand then that is most likely theproblem. I suggest buying the Corsair CX400 which will power youy system easily and be a lot more reliable. It costs around £35.

[Fortune117]

The first one was a HP OEM one which I took from an old computer. Other two were generic brand ones. The one on delivery is a Titan 650Watt.

I dont get how it could be the same problem on 3 different PSU's if it was just because they arent good brands though :/

[Blaineoliver]

I would say something dodgy with the motherboard, or cpu combo, time for new cheap pc i reckon.

[Fortune117]

Ahh D:

What part of the mobo would this be? :/

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Ahh D:

What part of the mobo would this be? :/

I would check that the capacitors on the motherboard to see if they are bulging!

You could replace your existing motherboard and CPU with a dual core CPU and motherboard combo for under £100 though.

I assume that this is the PSU you have bought:

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=554

[Behemoth]

It might also be worth checking to see if maybe there isn't something inside the case that perhaps causing a short in turn blowing the power supplies. Failing that it sounds like a dodgy voltage regulator on the motherboard.

[Fortune117]

I would check that the capacitors on the motherboard to see if they are bulging!

You could replace your existing motherboard and CPU with a dual core CPU and motherboard combo for under £100 though.

The PSU i have bought is

(Cant post URLs, Let me get 5 posts first

And I cant see any blown capacitors ;P

Im saving for a

Phenom 2 3.10 Ghz Black Edition
Asus M4A785TD-V Evo (To possibly make the Phenom 2 a quad core)
and 4GB OCZ DDR3 Ram.
XFX Radeon 4850HD

This is going to cost me 310 GBP so I would rather wait imho.


Anything that I could possibly do to stop this one eating CPUs?

[Fortune117]

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Home/Pr...-12cm-SATA-ATX

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Home/Pr...-12cm-SATA-ATX

I would have gone for a better PSU IMHO.

One of the following would be a better choice:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400w-...ed-cooling-fan

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...400SXS-UK.html

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...U-400CXUK.html

Once you get 20+ posts on Hexus you can get free postage from Scan on orders over £20 excluding VAT:

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...tup-guide.html

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...0-07-08-a.html

[Behemoth]

That Titan thing is a mini ticking time bomb !

A cheap PSU does make not a good PSU. I've learnt my lesson, never going to skimp on my PSU in the future. I suspect many of us here will remeber the old Qtec supplies, cheap but they made for some very expensive fireworks.

[Fortune117]

I would have gone for a better PSU IMHO.

One of the following would be a better choice:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400w-...ed-cooling-fan

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...400SXS-UK.html

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...U-400CXUK.html

Once you get 20+ posts on Hexus you can get free postage from Scan on orders over £20 excluding VAT:

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...tup-guide.html

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...0-07-08-a.html

I didnt know that

Ill buy a good PSU when I get my new rig. But Back to topic.

What could be causing these PSU's to blow? Or is it just cheap PSU syndrome D:

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I didnt know that

Ill buy a good PSU when I get my new rig. But Back to topic.

What could be causing these PSU's to blow? Or is it just cheap PSU syndrome D:

It sounds more like an issue with something in your PC as your setup should not be drawing a massive amount of power TBH. The best thing is to rebuild your system and make sure that the motherboard is not shorting out on the case and that all the cabling is well organised too.

[Fortune117]

At the moment its in a really old case. which has no side panels, and the PSU is actually mounted above the Processor fan

Before this I had it in a 'Jeantec Phong 2' case which ate 2 PSU's so I chucked it.

[TAKTAK]

My advice?

Reject the PSU under the distance selling regulations (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2000/20002334.htm) and purchase a decent PSU, your PSU is the backbone of the PC, if you're going to have a PC why cripple it?

Much like a spine if the PSU breaks, it has the potential to take some/all other components with it.

A decent PSU should minimize this with clever circuitry (however, the potential cannot fully be removed).

Also you mention buying a better PSU when you upgrade in the future. Why not buy the better PSU now, and then the rest of the upgrade when you have the funds available.

In the long run it will cost you less, and i for one would much rather have a decent brand (i'm currently on Silverstone (inc Silverstone Corsair units)/Enermax/Be Quiet) powering my systems.

Why? Because they just do what they say on the tin.

For example, Corsair did a demonstration of a cheap PSU under less than 100% load: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTVEtr14FEA

[Fortune117]

My advice?

Reject the PSU under the distance selling regulations (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2000/20002334.htm) and purchase a decent PSU, your PSU is the backbone of the PC, if you're going to have a PC why cripple it?

Much like a spine if the PSU breaks, it has the potential to take some/all other components with it.

A decent PSU should minimize this with clever circuitry (however, the potential cannot fully be removed).

Also you mention buying a better PSU when you upgrade in the future. Why not buy the better PSU now, and then the rest of the upgrade when you have the funds available.

In the long run it will cost you less, and i for one would much rather have a decent brand (i'm currently on Silverstone (inc Silverstone Corsair units)/Enermax/Be Quiet) powering my systems.

Why? Because they just do what they say on the tin.

For example, Corsair did a demonstration of a cheap PSU under less than 100% load: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTVEtr14FEA

Sadly ive had the order placed over 4 days and its been dispatched already :/

And also Corsair could have made their video a little bit better by showing a test of their PSU

If this one doesnt work im not going to skimp out on PSU's again.

Give those Cheap PSU's one more chance eh?