PSU help for my sister in law.

[Colin.B]

So my sister in law has had 2 PSUs crap out on her recently in her machine that isn't even a year old. I believe one was a Rosewill and I'm not sure what the other one was. My brother in law says she should get a 700-800w and a few other ppl suggest 800w. I'm of the mindset that 650-700w would be plenty if it's a good brand PSU like Corsair or Antec.It's going in a micro atx case and she won't be doing any Crossfire. Here are the specs:

She didn't give me much detail but yeah...

AMD FX 3.6Ghz Processor - If memory serves correctly from when he built this for her it's the 4100

500 GB Harddrive

Radeon 6850

She doesn't know the make of motherboard or how much ram there is.

I was suggesting http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020 - Corsair 650W Enthusiast series. She's on a budget and it's 69.99. Apparently a few people are telling her to get an 800w for her set up...Am I wrong here?

[tim_s]

Do you,

A: live in a rural?

B: live in a large apartment?

C: have a lot of power outages?

Have you tried,

1: Plugging the computer into a UPS?

2: Plugging the computer into a surge protected adapter?

3: insuring the case is well vented?

Questions,

1: Is your PSU top or bottom mounted?

2: Did you install it yourself?

[LaP]

Before buying a new PSU she should ask an electrician to check her wall plates.

Two PSU in one year sounds like a not correctly wired wall plate to me.

BTW a surge protector might not protect if the wall plate is not correctly wired.

650W will be perfectly fine. But 90$ for this computer seems overkill to me. Something less expensive by Thermaltake or XFX would do the job.

BTW looks like Newegg prices are really high. I can find better price in Canada ... the Thermaltake TR2 600W is 20$ less on ncix.ca.

[remixedcat]

800w may be overkill...

I got the Antec HCG-620M and it's a good bang-for-the-buck nice modular PSU. I have two of them. One is in a Phenom II X4 system and another is in this i5 system I'm using. This also powers a 650Ti SSC as well.

I get 40mins on my APC Back-UPS XS-1000 runtime on max settings with skyrim and 55-65min runtime on normal ops. very efficient and good PSU....

can be had for 65-80USD. Not a bad deal at all.

[Colin.B]

She lives in SoCal, Edwards AFB in a house. Not many power outages. Case is well vented. Not sure where the PSU is mounted and I know she installed the second PSU and my brother in law installed the first. She hasn't tried any troubleshooting steps. She was just going to buy another PSU. I'm over 1200 miles away so I can't troubleshoot it for her.

LaP - Didn't think about that! 2 in under a year definitely is odd.

[tim_s]

BTW surge protector might not protect if the wall plate is not correctly wired.

This is true but then in some manner I would imagine the computer would not be running either. I recommended the surge protector as a cheap solution to fluctuating voltage.

[sc302 Veteran]

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

try that.

[Sonne]

2 gone in a single year is excessive and does lead one to think something else to be the culprit such as a short, perhaps between the motherboard and case or maybe bad caps on the motherboard (bulging/leaking from top).

I would remove the side panel from the case give everything a good visual inspection, reseat everything, blow it out with compressed air and follow some of the suggestions above as well such as making sure it is plugged into a good surge protector.

Finally you are correct in that a quality 650w PSU minimum is plenty for that set-up, Rosewill is ....junk obviously. Look at Corsair, Seasonic, PC Power & Cooling, Silverstone and look for 80 Plus certification.

[2xSilverKnight]

Yes definitely check the wall plate. My father had issues with his computer because of that. After he removed the screws, the wires almost fell in his hand all dried up.

It's also a fire hazard.

This is true but then in some manner I would imagine the computer would not be running either. I recommended the surge protector as a cheap solution to fluctuating voltage.

Not true, he did have surge protection and it still caused lots of trouble. He needs to check the wall plates, at least just to rule that out. Like I said, it can be a fire hazard.

[tim_s]

Yes definitely check the wall plate. My father had issues with his computer because of that. After he removed the screws, the wires almost fell in his hand all dried up.

It's also a fire hazard.

Not true, he did have surge protection and it still caused lots of trouble. He needs to check the wall plates, at least just to rule that out. Like I said, it can be a fire hazard.

I am not one to go against the masses lol

I was within a meeting - consulting between the VP of IT and CEO of a company I will leave unnamed. The CEO walked in and said, "I am concerned that 5 servers is not enough, I need certainty, can we tack on 1 or 2 more servers" and the VP of IT replied, "I sure can - this is probably a good time to ask, will the company buy me 2 or 3 more cars to insure that I can get into work tomorrow?"

It is a pointless debate, of course everyone should inspect their house IF signs of electrical problems occur but we still have not asked the questions for example,

1: have other electronics had issues?

2: Have the PSU's been incorrectly installed?

I agree something is wrong - but we need more information. Electrician will cost a lot of money - guess it is the price of safety.

[LaP]

She lives in SoCal, Edwards AFB in a house. Not many power outages. Case is well vented. Not sure where the PSU is mounted and I know she installed the second PSU and my brother in law installed the first. She hasn't tried any troubleshooting steps. She was just going to buy another PSU. I'm over 1200 miles away so I can't troubleshoot it for her.

LaP - Didn't think about that! 2 in under a year definitely is odd.

This is a problem i actually ran into when i moved in my current house. My computer died twice in 1 year and an half. I had a cheap surge protector but still technically good enough to protect. I decided to buy a better one. This new surge protector came with 2 lights. One light told if the wall plate was grounded and the other light told if the wires were properly wired. The ground light told me my wall plate was not grounded. The warranty of the new surge protector was clear. If one of the 2 lights was not on the warranty was void.

I opened my wall plate, grounded it and i did not have any problem since then.

[westom]

She hasn't tried any troubleshooting steps. She was just going to buy another PSU. I'm over 1200 miles away so I can't troubleshoot it for her.

Nobody can post a recommendations based upon posted facts. For example, what determines whether a PSU works or does not? A power controller. How many discussed that essential part of the power system? Demonstrates how many will recommend without facts. Without even knowing about a power controller.

Useful answer means using a maybe $12 meter and one minute of labor. A task that any kid can even do. Many will entertain their fears and emotions rather than learn how easy a suspect PSU can be identified. Numbers can even identify a completely defective PSU that still boots the computer. Labor is simple. A full minute. Then at least 50 possible suspects are immediately eliminated or identified.

Is the PSU defective? No reason was posted to say either supply was defective. Shotgunning (replacing good parts until something works) is how symptoms get cured temporarily. That sounds like why she is having failures.

Is wiring defective? Also answered by first getting facts. Connect an incandescent bulb to the same receptacle. Does it change intensity? If not, wiring is perfectly OK. Ideal voltage for any computer is when an incandescent bulb dims to 40% intensity. If the bulb never changes intensity, then wiring (voltage) is better than ideal. If a bulb is changing intensity by 40%, then get an electrician immediately to avert a potential house fire. Another example of a useful recommendation based in hard facts.