Well, for the last week or so, my PSU had been crackling for a few seconds when starting it up. I didn't know what it was, but it always went away within a few seconds of startup, so I didn't think anything of it. The rails were staying right around where they usually did, so I didn't worry. Well, this morning I turned off my computer to fix a loose USB header on the mobo, and when I was done I reached around back to my PSU and flipped the switch. All of a sudden, I heard a loud "POP", followed by a prick and numbness. The fecking switch acually blew out of the PSU, then shorted against the PSU case. Now I have to go buy a decent Antec .
Nah, tabs didn't break, there was just enough force created to blow it out of the socket. Lucky for me, it didn't take anything with it .
That PSU isn't so bad! It's even got a DC FAN! Seriously though, I'm not overly surprised that there were no safety measures in place. An Antec will fix your problems
One of the reasons i went and bought a Tagan - good quality psus, that dont blow up, unlike q-tech any other cheao 'n nasty brands.
Good thing your PSU went the way it did; mine decided to go out while the computer was in use; took out everything that was connected to a molex that was drawing power at the time of failure Thus causing me to lose a GeForce FX-5700 Ultra, 80 gig Western Digital hard drive and an Asus A7N8X Deluxe. Lesson to be learned: NEVER EVER buy a cheap PSU.
I never had one go that badly on me before... just aggraveted my by crashing in games..... But as someone once said a decent PSU can make a system, cheap one.. break a system literally..
Im still using the psu that came with my case, a 300w. Not had any problems with it over 2 and a bit years. Its not a brand one so ive never seen the point in getting one. Ill wait till i get my fingers burnt, i hope not literary.
Well.. it's for gits and shiggles... I have to agree guys. I've got a Q-Tec 450W dual fan. Loved the pink fans soooo much, I ripped the basts out and replaced them with clears w blue leds. Needs replacing now coz the plugs are crap. Touch a wire and the hdd stops or the pc switchs off..... !
Shuttle psu's rock there like 250w and can power a 6800ultra, Im trying to persuade a freind to upgrade his generic 400w unit before it takes out his pc which has a 6800gt in it
Funny, that switch looks like the same one used in all PSU's. Im quite familiar with the practices used for manufacturing electronics. Generic brands do have a tendancy to use cheaper components and assembled by less strict standards. But not all generic brands can be classified by "they are peices of junk that will blow up your pc". Ive used many many generic PSUs. Ive had one go bad on me, after 4 years of running striaght. Ive also had an Antec go bad in 2 months. If your a true enthusiast, then your going to be a little bit safer with a higher brand. But not everyone dumps every penny they have into thier PC.
Well, this is my experience. It was also putting out votages ~11.5 while idle, and as low as 11, or as high as 12.4 under heavy load, so I was weary. Doesn't matter, nabbed an Antec that's rock solid at 11.92 no matter what. I'm happy .
similar experience I had a similar experience. Last week a PSU fan started to make sounds when it was below 20C. Cheap RAIDMAX 420W that came in "Scorio" (85US$ case). Well I started to suspect something was comming, and then 2 days ago the sound wouldn not dissapear even after it reached its normal operating temperature. So I turned pc off and went to other PC to research internet about PSU's. Tom's Hardware Guide helped me. With information I found this what I was predicting: AMD xp barton 2800+ 85-90 W Abit An7 with all integraded peripherals 30-35 W 2x 256 simpletech DDR-sdram 3200 50W each nVidia geForce fx 5900 xt msi 128MB 30 W Diamond Maxtor 7200 ATA 120Gb 112 W Western Digital 7200 SATA 120Gb 8MB 112 W CD/DVD drive 13 W USB mouse 5 W Keyboard 1W CPU FAN 3W Mainboard Fan 3W 7x 80mm FANS 3W each _________________________________________ Total power consumption 520 W So I went to store and bought ANTEC 550W power supply 150US $ + tax When I was sitting in the car going home I remember every word my brother (great PC technitian) said about how power supplies are getting important and that I should buy Antec for 150-200$. I didn't listened so I got to pay twice P.S. Whoohoo 2nd post
Hate to tell you... but those wattage numbers are WAY off. A hard drive draws closer to 15 watts... not 112. And a stick of ram is like 8-10, not 50. Still, avoid cheap PSUs.
Yeah..most good PSU's would run all that rated at ~400W, 450W at the most. A Shuttle PSU would run rated at 250W, but they're a league of their own .
"...hate to tell you" I took that information from Tom's Hardware: http://www4.tomshardware.com/howto/20040122/power_supplies-04.html Where did you get the info that the HDD W usage is that low?
Thanks guys my huge mistake Next time a mistake like that can lead to my hardware beying fried or even worse. Bit tech forums rulez, in most of other forums I'd be called dumb $%!^ and all those other words right away. Most modders have patiente for modding and for noobs.
