PC Power supply
Discussion
The PSU on my PC is getting hot, after a few hours on it sometimes starts to smell like it's cooking, well at least I think it's the PSU as the air from it's fan is hot whereas the PC seems to be working ok and the air in the case, CPU etc is relatively cool.
So I am looking to get a new PSU, current one is only 250w, which I think maybe part of the problem as the PC has had several upgrades and 'add-ons' extra HDD's & fans etc and so requires considerably more power than when it was new and I imagine that although the standard one was probably sufficient as original but is probably marginal now, especially after a couple of years use.
So any advice?, what's good, what's not, is an ebay £10 PSU OK or am I wasting my money, all advice welcome.
So I am looking to get a new PSU, current one is only 250w, which I think maybe part of the problem as the PC has had several upgrades and 'add-ons' extra HDD's & fans etc and so requires considerably more power than when it was new and I imagine that although the standard one was probably sufficient as original but is probably marginal now, especially after a couple of years use.
So any advice?, what's good, what's not, is an ebay £10 PSU OK or am I wasting my money, all advice welcome.
If you value your PC components do not fit a cheap shit PSU !! They'll provide an inconsistent voltage and be noisy and hot and may cause the pc to crash if its stressed.
If you want the best then get what i have : a Seasonic 600w PSU. Costs nearly £100 but its the best and totally silent If you clock or add big graphics cards it will handle them all no probs. You can go cheaper also, but generally its best to have a decent psu if you want the most from your system.
If you want the best then get what i have : a Seasonic 600w PSU. Costs nearly £100 but its the best and totally silent If you clock or add big graphics cards it will handle them all no probs. You can go cheaper also, but generally its best to have a decent psu if you want the most from your system.
Thanks for the advice, I never really thought about PSU causing crashing, but I have recently had a couple of minor 'incidents' that now that you've mentioned it could have been power related - seemed as if a HDD, stalled & re-started.
So I'm thinking a minimum of 400w but I suppose the bigger the better? - although £100 is more than I'd like to spend, from looking on the net & ebay they seem to start at £10 upwards (no brand name mentioned) along with Seasonic are there certain brands to look for (or avoid), are all ATX type PSU's compatible with one and other? or are there different types that I need to be aware of?
So I'm thinking a minimum of 400w but I suppose the bigger the better? - although £100 is more than I'd like to spend, from looking on the net & ebay they seem to start at £10 upwards (no brand name mentioned) along with Seasonic are there certain brands to look for (or avoid), are all ATX type PSU's compatible with one and other? or are there different types that I need to be aware of?
I've been building a few PC's recently and all the problems I've experienced (I've building them for over 10 years!) have been related to cheap PSU's, if you're running the latest stuff (especially AMD 64's with nForce4's and high power graphics) go for a minimum 550-600w and buy a branded quality product.
The cheap stuff may say 500w, but that is more bulls**t than anything, most won't handle more than 350w at best.
Had 2 480w for two machines, similar spec. Both PSU's died within 4-5hours of startup (i do a 24hr burn in as its for friends), plugged a decent brand 550w in they both ran perfect without issue.
They also ran better on an old 400w unit I had stashed in a box than on the so called '480'w!
If your buying decent gear as has been said, for £400-500 of components, spend the extra £30-40 and get something decent.
They seem to think they are chip manufacturers now, with stating 3800 or whatever, when the chip runs at 2.2ghz.
The cheap stuff may say 500w, but that is more bulls**t than anything, most won't handle more than 350w at best.
Had 2 480w for two machines, similar spec. Both PSU's died within 4-5hours of startup (i do a 24hr burn in as its for friends), plugged a decent brand 550w in they both ran perfect without issue.
They also ran better on an old 400w unit I had stashed in a box than on the so called '480'w!
If your buying decent gear as has been said, for £400-500 of components, spend the extra £30-40 and get something decent.
They seem to think they are chip manufacturers now, with stating 3800 or whatever, when the chip runs at 2.2ghz.
Cheap PSU's do cause a problem but IMO people over-emphasise the importance. If it can handle the load then you wownt get any problems (the way to check this is by looking at the max amps per voltage). Lots of PSU's are modified reference designs using the same components so theres hardly any difference except a blue flashing LED fan (or something else completely pointless).
Ive never had problems with Tagan, Antec, Etasis* and Enermax. The cost depends on your current hardware and if your going to leave it like that or upgrade some more. Also; be careful with the wattage ratings - they can be misleading. A 600watt cheapo psu is rarely 600watt.
*only had experience of there fanless psu.
Ive never had problems with Tagan, Antec, Etasis* and Enermax. The cost depends on your current hardware and if your going to leave it like that or upgrade some more. Also; be careful with the wattage ratings - they can be misleading. A 600watt cheapo psu is rarely 600watt.
*only had experience of there fanless psu.
[quote=jfrf]i have a cheapo £10 supply from ebuyer, 500 watts i think
hasnt caused me any problems and ruined my expensive components.
no crashes and isnt loud at all
I know the ones, the people who I built PCs for wern't so lucky, no less than 2 died, or were very seriously faulty - on both occasions, we had to go to PC World and get 400W Jeantec PSUs, I do think these are the best for reliability/value for money - even if they are from PC World (who have the most expensive printer leads in the world!!)
hasnt caused me any problems and ruined my expensive components.
no crashes and isnt loud at all
I know the ones, the people who I built PCs for wern't so lucky, no less than 2 died, or were very seriously faulty - on both occasions, we had to go to PC World and get 400W Jeantec PSUs, I do think these are the best for reliability/value for money - even if they are from PC World (who have the most expensive printer leads in the world!!)
polus said:
Ive never had problems with Tagan, Antec, and Enermax.
These brands get pretty good reviews (my antec is rock solid even after a minor shorting incident - my fault not concentrating) so I wouldn't expect too many issues. Qtek seems to be less reliable shall we say. I'm sure there are people out there that spent £10 on a 600w and its working fine but I couldn't recommend doing that.
Thanks for the replies, I went to a local (independant) PC supplier/repairer and got a 500w PSU for £30, don't know what make it is but they 'assure' me that it is good quality and I have a warranty with a shop not a faceless ebayer, anyway it works and cools the PC better it has 2 fans and a variable speed fan controller, it's noisier than the old one on full speed but OK if I turn it down a bit.
Fair play - i'd advise on getting some kind of voltage monitoring tool. My asus board monitors the voltage for the entire time its on and the line is solid with no deviations. Its when you start stressing components that the voltage will start jumping around and either cause poor performance, or damage your components or crash it. If you can see the voltage is being supplied at a constant throughout being stressed/loaded up rate then well done you have a good PSU. If its all over the place i'd advise a better one in the long term. Chances are a cheap PSU might start getting noisy when the bearings wear on the fan etc... that MHO anyway
I'd agree also that cheap PSU's often state inflated ratings. A cheap 500w PSU could potentially only have 250/300w of actual useful power for your components (remembering that good PCI-E cards with dediated power feed require 300/400w minimum for stable operation), the rest is lost in heat/crap components.
Good luck
Steve
>> Edited by lockstock2sb on Tuesday 28th March 12:54
I'd agree also that cheap PSU's often state inflated ratings. A cheap 500w PSU could potentially only have 250/300w of actual useful power for your components (remembering that good PCI-E cards with dediated power feed require 300/400w minimum for stable operation), the rest is lost in heat/crap components.
Good luck
Steve
>> Edited by lockstock2sb on Tuesday 28th March 12:54
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