My PSU died?

homerdog

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There was no smoke or loud noises, the computer just won't turn on. I popped open the PSU but didn't spot any obviously damaged components.

When it's plugged in it makes a faint clicking noise, about 2 clicks per second. Dunno what this could be but I don't recall ever hearing it before.

I tried an old 350W unit and it seemed to be working, so guess I'll write this thing off.

Any suggestions in the 400-500W range? Only requirement really is 2 6pin PCIe connectors for my GTX260.
 
Yeah, Corsair. Pick your flavor, but I have fallen HARD in love with their PSUs.

Got three now, just need one more for all the rigs to have 'em. Solid like a rock, takes the PSU entirely out of the "what could be wrong?" list when things happen. A bit pricier than others, but worth every penny imho. :)
 
When I built this PC it came down to a Corsair VX450 or the 500W XClio Goodpower I ended up with. Should've spent the extra $30. The XClio was supposed to be a decent CWT built unit, but I never felt really great about it. Live and learn.

Hmm the VX550 looks like the ticket. $80 for a PSU makes me :( but I don't want to mess with this ever again. Replacing the PSU is a huge pain in the ass.
 
I prefer Enermax. They design and manufacture their own PSUs, Corsair and virtually every other brand name out there buy OEM units and stick their own labels on them.
 
It's not too hard to figure out where a PSU was manufactured so long as you buy a semi popular model. Corsair for instance uses CWT or Seasonic, maybe others, but the end result it a high quality PSU. They wouldn't sell crappy stuff.

Looks like it'll be a few weeks 'till I have the time (and money :() to mess with all this. If anyone has other suggestions I'd appreciate it.
 
Seasonic X & Corsair's Flextronics made PSUs. The newer CWT & Enhance platforms are also pretty good. These are found in Corsair, Antec, Silverstone, etc. Enermax are, well, Enermax... They'll have some new units available soon, too.
 
According to Silentpcreview the Enermax is one of the most silent PSUs, I'll get one, since my Fortron fanless died and now I have to "endure" the "swoosh" of a too fast fan.
 
This is actually turning out to be an emergency, since my laptop died and I'll really need a computer in the coming days. Might trek down to Office Depot and see what they're offering....
 
According to Silentpcreview the Enermax is one of the most silent PSUs, I'll get one, since my Fortron fanless died and now I have to "endure" the "swoosh" of a too fast fan.
Unless you are completely fanless (and you live in the middle of nowhere with no traffic near and you are not running any kind of appliances not separated by some thick walls near you) a fanless PSU is a bit of a waste of money.

Even with all my cooling fans going ~800 RPM (which is virtually silent) they still make more noise than my HX550.
 
According to Silentpcreview the Enermax is one of the most silent PSUs, I'll get one, since my Fortron fanless died and now I have to "endure" the "swoosh" of a too fast fan.


I've only ever had two PSUs die, and they were both Enermax, and went with a bang less than two years old. There were both in different machines in different homes, and since then I've stayed away from Enermax, with Corsair being my favoured choice. Maybe Corsair don't build their own, but at least they make a point of only putting their name on quality parts.
 
I know Corsair doesn't build their own, but they don't put their name on junk either. I'm sticking with them.

Expense and over engineered, they're worth every penny.
 
Unless you are completely fanless (and you live in the middle of nowhere with no traffic near and you are not running any kind of appliances not separated by some thick walls near you) a fanless PSU is a bit of a waste of money.

Even with all my cooling fans going ~800 RPM (which is virtually silent) they still make more noise than my HX550.
Luckily not many cars pass by my window (it's at groud level and facing the street), but since I started to listen to music from the PC, noise has been an issue.
Then again, I only have this problem when I'm listening alone - when it's really quiet.

I use a whimsy passively cooled, 8600GT, and the Big Shuriken CPU cooler is undetectable even if I put my ear next to it. There is one 120mm case fan (silent). My case is an Antec P120, and the only thing I hear is the air passing through the PSU and when I stop its fan, the PC is dead silent. :)

Yes, I can't hear it if medium loud music is playing, but sometimes I turn the volume way down, and then it is almost as loud as the music.
I find lowering the volume easier on my ears after long listening periods. Maybe it's just due to the slight hearing damage I got from working in a metal working factory during summer (and being to dumb to protect my ears) and too loud music in concerts.

I've only ever had two PSUs die, and they were both Enermax, and went with a bang less than two years old. There were both in different machines in different homes, and since then I've stayed away from Enermax, with Corsair being my favoured choice. Maybe Corsair don't build their own, but at least they make a point of only putting their name on quality parts.

The Modul87 line seems to be some new construction, I hope it's durable - at least it's efficient, and according to the review the fan wouldn't change from minimum RPM at the power loads in my PC.
 
You changed the case fan? Any decent PSU (with a relatively low powered system) will make a lot less noise than an Antec trispeed, regardless of setting.
 
The "case fan" is one I bought a long time ago, and blows up towards the Asus 8600 because it needs a case fan.
I don't have any Antec trispeed, I think the case came without any fans. That one fan isn't really audible anyway, as I use a Fanmate2 with it.

My current PSU has a 140mm fan, so it's just about RPM. I chose it because it was described as silent in reviews, and my wild guess would be about 20dB (similar to Corsairs' numbers, 800RPM is about the same ballpark of the fan too).

But the dB levels measured at SPCR suggest that only this particular Enermax stays at very low dB levels. They measured 11dB/1m up to 250W (14dB at 300W) and I think at 1m that's really silent.
They haven't any Corsair PSU in that table however but all other PSUs are either louder earlier or just louder.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1044-page5.html
 
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I stopped by the local shop to see what they were offering. A 550W unit with guaranteed efficiency of over 70% :???:

The guy said he could order me whatever I want so I think I'll buy a Corsair VX550 from him. He was nice and helpful, and it pays to have a place like that nearby.
 
Corsair have good PSUs. have used for over a year a TX750 750W PSU from them. High perfomance delivers what promsied at upto 50c ambient temp and also is quiet when idling and low noise at full load. One nifty feature is that if needed PSU keeps the fan going for about 2 minutes after computer shutdown to pull out warm air from case and cool down PSU! :)

They are also well built with clean design and everything nicely secured with high quality components aswell as nicely packed with nice accessories.

I might next time I uppgrade switch to the AX850 850W PSU and a mobo for either CrossFire or SLI (I am leaning towards SLI due to Nvidia CP software and utilities for GPU which I like a lot aswell as having individual game PROFILES PROIFLES PROFILES PROFILES!). However I like the price/perfomance of AMD CPUs/GPUs so.. well time will tell!
 
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Heh. I had a 620w powering my rig until my wife's PSU went wonky. The local Best Buy actually had a pretty good spread of Corsair PSUs and at surprisingly competitive prices, so I upgraded to the 850w and gave her my 620w.

Both are just exceptional, I can't say enough good about 'em. Install 'em and forget them, glorious.
 
The local shop was too expensive unfortunately. This is the one I ordered.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

jonnyGuru had this to say about it.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=185
In what is likely the highest scoring group regulated unit I have ever tested, Seasonic has something really special here. A nice, quiet, efficient, and well performing unit that is affordable for just about any budget. Go forth and buy one, loyal readers.

It seems I was too harsh on XClio, it was actually struck by lightning.
 
Other stuff got hit and I didn't realize until yesterday. We had a huge storm the night before I noticed the computer was dead.

Speaking of which, is there any good defense against lightning strikes? It was plugged into a surge protector but I don't know of any surge protectors rated for 500 million joules.
 
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