How to blow up everything!

[scaryjim]

Further to my adventures destroying fans at work by running too little voltage through them (seriously, duuuude...), tonight I've decided I must be having a cursed week.

I was heading upstairs after my tea when I hard a bang and a shout of - well, something approaching terror - from my wife. So I ran into the front room to find her pale and clearly shaken. Turns out that when she turned the power switch on at the wall there was a loud bang, but she couldn't tell what it was.

Now, given that the only things plugged into the 4 way she'd turned on were the printer, the Wii, a network switch and my HTPC, and I could see that the printer and network switch were both on and the Wii had it's standby light glowing, this didn't fill me with hope. Sure enough I could smell an obvious metallic burning smell that got worse when I started taking the case panels off the HTPC

Anyway, I carefully dismantled the case and sniffed around, and it didn't take long to realise that the smell was strongest near the PSU. Now, my HTPC is housed in an Antec Aria (the older, better version of the NSK1300) so getting the PSU out is a PITA, but eventually I managed it. I also grabbed a spare PSU (a QTEC, believe it or not!) so I could check the computer was OK if it was the PSU that had blown.

So, I connect up the kettle lead and short the appropriate pins: nothing. Try the same on the QTEC: nothing. OK, kettle lead fuse blown too, not a problem, get another kettle lead. Try the QTEC first this time to check the lead: up it fires, nice as anything. Try the Antec: *BOOM*! Extra loud bang and lots of lovely blue sparks (and a healthy dose of "burning metal", the new fragrance from Antec PSU!). Fair do's, PSU's dead. Try plugging the QTEC back in... and no. Kettle lead number 2 blown for the night

Anyway, onto the third kettle lead; Antec Aria now looking like the QTEC is trying to assimilate it (due to the propietary fixings I can't mount the QTEC so the leads are having to go in through the side!) and up fires the computer, happy as Larry: so plus points for Antec that their PSUs don't fry the innards of your computer when they blow: but now I have a problem.

Replacement PSUs for the Aria / NSK13xx are not cheap. Like, at least £60 not cheap if you can source one, and I've seen up to £96. Which strikes me as ridiculous.

The other option, is PicoPSU. Very tempting, still expensive (like £60 expensive ) but should be much more efficient.

I'm currently leaning towards the Pico, but can't decide which one to get. Last time I did a power draw test on my HTPC, with an undervolted CPU running wprime I only pulled about 74W from the wall with the 300W PSU that it now turns out with within a year of blowing up. That's leading me to think that an 80W Pico would be enough, but would it be wise to go for a higher power one - say 120W - to give myself leeway? The reviews I've seen suggest that even with the 120W it hits peak efficiency at around 60W, so perhaps this is one case where overprovisioning the PSU isn't such a bad idea?

Either way, I am *not* touching anything technological all weekend, if I can avoid it...

[Pob255]

If hexus dies tonight we'll now know who to blame

[Terbinator]

Just get a newer, better case that takes newer, better PSU's ?

[scaryjim]

But look, the Aria's so pretty...



I mean, card reader, front firewire, full height PCI slots, that sleek silver-and-black exterior - how could I let that go to waste?

[Pob255]

Yes they are nice, shame about the psu form factor, oh and it sounds like something was shorting in the psu.

You know what I'd say in a situation like this . . . Mod it!

[nibbler]

But that's your catchphrase isn't it pob, so it's perhaps not always the best idea

[Terbinator]

Scary - now is the right time and excuse for the wife to get yourself one of those very snazzy Lian-Li uATX cases.

[nibbler]

They are very, very nice. I second that excellent and economically viable plan.

[scaryjim]

Well, one of the pluses out of this is that the Aria PSU uses a chassis-mount IEC socket with some short connecting wires (rather than having the IEC socket directly attached to the PSU), and I believe I have a project ongoing that is crying out for a chassis mount IEC socket

Also the old PSU has a 120mm fan in it, and I may be able to find a use for that.

Common sense says get a 120W Pico, and enjoy the ultra-high efficiency. I'll have to do a little modding (a new plate to take the input jack for the pico, and new mounting holes for a 120mm fan in the rear), but nothing significant.

Also, have looked more deeply none of the places advertising the replacement PSU for ~ £60 actually have any in stock so that doesn't really leave me too many options!

Oh, any replacement case would have to be no bigger than the Aria (i.e. 26.9 cm x 33 cm x 20 cm) and cost no more than £60...

[Pob255]

But that's your catchphrase isn't it pob, so it's perhaps not always the best idea

Rubbish, it's always the best idea!

infact that's give me an idea for a mod, an ATX power brick
Take a decent ATX psu, put a filter on it, extend the cables and stick them all inside a length of flexable tubing.

[peterb]

The Pico psus are very neat - I've used a couple in builds - the last one was the 120W, which ran the computer OK, but when I added a tape drive it started protesting . The first one was a 60W and runs a file server with a couple of 2.5" drivs without any problems.

At higher power levels, it is recommended by the mfr that you use some form of forced air cooling, but if you are running the 120W at around 75W, you should be fine. Don't forget that the main voltage converter is external, so yu will need to make up a blanking plate for the hole where the old PSU was, with a hile drilled in it for the 12V connection socket.

(I'm sure pob255 can advise )

[Behemoth]

What I find disturbing is that you use a Q-Tec as your fall back PSU, are you mad ? Do you need to be reminded what they were called back in the day ? That reputation doesn't go away you know !

[Sputnik]

Probably just the MOVs in the PSU have gone permanent short circuit. Open the PSU and cut them out and try it. If it works just solder some new ones in. Usually they are just soldered across the back of the mains socket of the PSU.

[scaryjim]

At higher power levels, it is recommended by the mfr that you use some form of forced air cooling, but if you are running the 120W at around 75W, you should be fine. Don't forget that the main voltage converter is external, so yu will need to make up a blanking plate for the hole where the old PSU was, with a hile drilled in it for the 12V connection socket.

Looking at the price difference between the 90W (probably this FSP unit rather than the actual PicoPSU) with a 90W external brick vs the 120W with a 120W or 150W brick I'll probably go with the 90W tbh. Like I said, even with the dying PSU the PC was only pulling 70-odd watts (it made it up to 84 at stock volts), so 90W should be more than enough with the increased efficiency.

The nice thing about switching the Aria to a pico is that it doesn't have a large cut-out for the PSU: just a fan vent (the bulk of the PSU was entirely enclosed in the body) and a small hole where the IEC chassis socket was fitted. I should easily be able to make a small plate to replace the IEC fitting, which will take the 2.5mm barrel from the external brick. I'll do pics when I get everything sorted as I don't think I'm explaining it very well I'll also be able to add a 120mm fan where the PSU was to ensure I keep enough airflow through the case for the passively cooled components.

What I find disturbing is that you use a Q-Tec as your fall back PSU, are you mad ?

Are you reading Project Cunning Plan? Of course I'm mad

The QTEC is an alledged 550W unit, and it ran my old main rig (Athlon XP 2600+ / ASUS A7V8X-X / Radeon 9800 Pro) happily for several years. I reckon as long as I don't ask it to provide more than ab out 200W I should be OK with it I do have a nice CWT OEM PSU kicking around somewhere but couldn't find it tonight: I might swap that in instead if I can dig it out!

Probably just the MOVs in the PSU have gone permanent short circuit. Open the PSU and cut them out and try it. If it works just solder some new ones in. Usually they are just soldered across the back of the mains socket of the PSU.

Ooooh, sounds complex. MOVs? Dunno if I want to try that. Besides, I've wanted to get a pico in this rig for a year, now I've got a perfect excuse

[nibbler]

What I find disturbing is that you use a Q-Tec as your fall back PSU, are you mad ? Do you need to be reminded what they were called back in the day ? That reputation doesn't go away you know !

having never heard of Q-tec or there nickname, and taking the inference into account, can I guess that it was POO-tec?

[Behemoth]

having never heard of Q-tec or there nickname, and taking the inference into account, can I guess that it was POO-tec?

Not even close !

They were given the name "Q-Bomb" and quite rightly so. They were really cheap, because they were very poorly designed with what I can only say were the weakest components I've ever seen in a PSU. They had this very nasty habbit of just letting go and taking out other components with them.

I had one which had a habbit of spiking motherboards, I sent three away from RMA once (motherboards that is) to Aria before we worked out what the fault was. For a couple of weeks the boards would function normally then for no apparant reason Windows would blue screen.

Switch the PC off as thats all you could do as it had locked solid. When you turned it back on nothing, not a beep, not even a fan would spin up. Tried the board on a 250 watt HP Psu and nothing.

It was only when Dad took the "Q-Bomb" to work and ran it through a proper diagnostic meter that after five hours of it being on the 12v rail would spike at 22 volts ! Causing the board to pop.

My "Q-Bomb" went straight in the bin after that, it was still in warranty but I'd only have ended up with another one. I saw the light and bought an Antec supply after that.