Had a close call a few days ago. The fan in the power supply just died, allowing the PS to grossly overheat. I guess one of the connections melted and it shorted out with a loud bang and a huge shot of flame out the back that almost gave my tired old ass a fucking coronary. I had noted some time ago that the unit seemed to be running a bit warm, but still the fan was spinning so I just laid it on the doorstep of the standard hot CPU operating temps nowadays. In all probability the fan in the unit was slowly going south. Luckily, the rest of the computer didn't short out. I went to a local place and got myself a Cooler Master 550W PS (~$75) and man, the quality shows. I'm never using a standard case PS again. If I had the dough I would have gotten the Antec 600W but they wanted nearly $150 for it. Moral of this story, keep an eye on your equipment maintenance. Something as simple as a fan could have cost me the entire computer. If the shot of flame had been near a curtain or some other easily flammable material it could have burnt the building down. Guess this old dog's still learning new tricks; talk about a wake up call. Damn... -what?
its always good to pay little bit more for a decent power supply. I've never had any luck with stock power supplies myself. also from experience antec power supplies aren't alwyas the best. i've been using this one for a while http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171023 its reliable and cost me less than 100 bucks
i think it depends on the case itself... reputable companies that build cases and psu's like Antec or CM usually don't have a big problem if any...
haha i learned this lesson a couple years ago i had the same thing happen with a crappy old stock power supply that came with the case, the fan died which caused the psu to smokin and all and smellin like burnt plastic, luckily i was just there at the moment and was able to turn it off before anything serious could happen. I leave my computer on 24/7 and still have the chills that it might happen again one day when im not around. My lesson is to invest in a very good powersupply its more quiet, efficent and may not cost you a house literally and oh yes invest in a quality powersurge , beware of the crap from china that only extends the plugs but doesn't help against surges!
Buy a decent power supply, crap ones are dangerous to you and your hardware, dont get a no-name PSU. i had a warning, my fan made a loud noise meaning the bearings were on the way out.
iono much bout PCs or what not, so i'll just go w/ my instincts and when my comp starts go :nuts: then i'll look into it more but its pretty brand new, so i guess im safeee (and i'll keep it away from flameable items haaha)
Thanks for a good link Tonkachi, I bought the one that I got today from a local computer place. Their prices were understandably average, but the good thing is, I don't have to pay tax (they're Chinese, so you can always negotiate after all) nor shipping, nor did I have to wait (otherwise my computer would be sitting useless on my desk). And if something does goes wrong, I can always bring it right back (I've brought stuff back before and they've exchanged it, no questions asked). But, for my future purchases, I'm definitely going to consider your suggestion, especially if there's a rebate included. (read below). Now that you've mentioned it, I sorta remember hearing a little fan rattle for a bit whenever I started up the computer. After a while the noise just got consigned to the background of 'unimportant' noises that the computer made. I guess that's a huge lesson learned, that when the box talks, you gotta listen. -rolleyes I took the time to run the new one for a few hours and then felt the back exhaust with my hand; the air coming out is cool where it was warm before (even when the box was new). I checked all the boxes that we have and the air coming out of all of them are distinctly warm. This is proof enough for me that the new PS will actually cool the entire computer too. As a precaution then, I'm going to change the PS's in all the boxes that we have. Thanks for the input, everyone!
u get wat u pay for at the end of the day =) cheapo china copies are expected to screw up sooner than later... so depends how much u treasure ur stuff, if u treat it well with proper goods, it'll treat u nice too =)
You're right, I had carefully selected just about all the components, but idiotically just slapped it all together into a crap case that cost about 50 bucks (PS included). So I was being my own worse enemy; that is, I did get what I paid for. Lesson learned.
ouch, but yeah always put the extra money in the very important components..... but then again come to think of it.... they all are quite important....... hahahah luckily this hasn't happen to me yet..... maybe because i don't have a stock PSU..... =P
iono much bout PCs or what not, so i'll just go w/ my instincts and when my comp starts go then i'll look into it more but its pretty brand new, so i guess im safeee (and i'll keep it away from flameable items haaha)
