Close call!

_simon_

New Member
I've had many PSU's die on me over the years but this is the first one that produced a very strong burning smell. From the smell I don't think it was far off catching fire!

Typically it would have to happen on a Sunday evening when the shops have closed, so I've got to wait until tomorrow before I can buy a new one. Having to use the Mrs's pc at the moment.
 

_simon_

New Member
Bought a modular one today. Old one still stank of something fried, took it apart to see what it was but couldn't find anything.
 

jdbennet

New Member
yeah i had an icute one that smoked and got real hot, seriously it was nearly on fire.

killed my motherboard :(
 

Computer_Freak

Active Member
Thats why you should buy a quality PSU.

Corsair, PC power and cooling, Seasonic, Enermax, are all good (There are others)

It is also better for your computer.

and you possibly wont have that many PSU's die on you
 

jdbennet

New Member
i think it was a duff one, i replaced it with an indentical one and its been nearly 24/7 for 2 years.
 

_simon_

New Member
Thats why you should buy a quality PSU.

Corsair, PC power and cooling, Seasonic, Enermax, are all good (There are others)

It is also better for your computer.

and you possibly wont have that many PSU's die on you

Better how?

I'm not convinced it's worth spending extra on a big brand. How long do they last for? The one I got today is an iCute 500w modular.
 

newguy5

New Member
Better how?

I'm not convinced it's worth spending extra on a big brand. How long do they last for? The one I got today is an iCute 500w modular.

did you read the above post? he had an icute one that smoked and fried his motherboard. so to answer your question, i'd say it's better how because a better psu might not fry your motherboard when it lights itself on fire.
 

mep916

Administrator
Staff member
yeah i had an icute one that smoked and got real hot, seriously it was nearly on fire.

killed my motherboard :(

The one I got today is an iCute 500w modular.

lol :p

Any brand of PSU can be faulty, so it doesn't answer my question.

Read the PSU guides in this sections announcements. Also, take a look at ceewi1's signature. Just trust us, you want a PSU from a quality manufacturer.

http://www.computerforum.com/computer-cases-power-supplies-cooling/announcements.html

ceewi1's sig said:
Cheap PSUs - 2% of system costs, responsible for 28% of system deaths
 
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_simon_

New Member
Not sure why that's funny... like I said any brand can produce a faulty PSU. If you read his other post he replaced it with the exact same model and hasn't had a problem with it. As long as it powers my PSU I don't care about anything else. I use enough computer related forums to know that even PSU's from "quality manufacturers" need replacing at some point.
 

jdbennet

New Member
simon yeah ive got the icute modular

other than that 1 time, its been great (and i think the first time was due to being exposed to metal dust)

good psu, on a budget

looks nice, not too quiet , but not noisy. nice and cool.modular and sleeved is good - p.s did you figure out which hole the voltage regulation thing goes? took me a while
 

newguy5

New Member
Any brand of PSU can be faulty, so it doesn't answer my question.

okay, well that is a dumb response, and a dumb question. yeah anything can be faulty regardless of the name brand, but you get better quality with better name brands as long as you know which better name brands are good quality.

i mean that is pretty much how the world works. you're not going to buy a shirt from wal-mart and compare it's quality with calvin klein, just like you're not going to buy a ford escort and compare it with an aston martin.

in fact i feel silly i have to even make these points.
 

Computer_Freak

Active Member
Not sure why that's funny... like I said any brand can produce a faulty PSU. If you read his other post he replaced it with the exact same model and hasn't had a problem with it. As long as it powers my PSU I don't care about anything else. I use enough computer related forums to know that even PSU's from "quality manufacturers" need replacing at some point.

Any brand can, but the better brands use better parts, have a better warranty, better Quality control and they save you on electricity (ever heard of 80+? well that means that some PSUs are so efficient that they convert 80% or more of the AC power the draw to DC. Cheapos have about a 40% conversion (maybe more). And Good PSU's are guaranteed for 100 000 hours. That 11 years of pure running (100 000h\24h = 4166,66 Days. 4166.66\ 365 = 11,41 years)

Thats good.

Besides that, they provide good clean power in a constant stream (dont know how elso to say it), no fluctuations no nothing.

okay, well that is a dumb response, and a dumb question. yeah anything can be faulty regardless of the name brand, but you get better quality with better name brands as long as you know which better name brands are good quality.

i mean that is pretty much how the world works. you're not going to buy a shirt from wal-mart and compare it's quality with calvin klein, just like you're not going to buy a ford escort and compare it with an aston martin.

in fact i feel silly i have to even make these points.

Aston Martin are not the best car to compare to. British cars are good, but their reliability varies (sometimes lkast forever, sometimes breaks in a couple of years).

You can even compare a a much more expensive car (even ferrari) to a Toyota. Toyota's are cheap, but i have never seen a toyota break down. Ever. (wear and tear on parts is normal, parts do need to be replaced eg spark plugs, filters etc).

Ive seen Toyotas circulating from 1984, they have nevehad a major service (oil change and basics excluded) and they run without a problem.

What Im trying to say is that it is just how they are built. Toyota make reliable cars cause they use reliable parts, have good QC, and they have the name to uphold.

You can buy a cheap PSU, but PSUs are not cars. With PSU's the more you pay, the better it gets. The cheapest good brand is corsair. Get a corsair.

Just dont say we never warned you if your PC becomes something that looks like it came out of Diablo's Hell that releases greenhouse gasses (Burnt plastics, silicon, and and possibly a house.)

Its not only quality, but a safety thing
 
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TFT

VIP Member
It is beneficial to buy a decent PSU, heat is the one thing you want rid of in a computer and the cheaper low efficiency ones convert that inefficiency into just that, heat. More stress on the components, voltage fluctuations. On saying that I've got a cheapo running at the moment. :)
 

Okedokey

Well-Known Member
Any brand of PSU can be faulty, so it doesn't answer my question.

I agree!

You know when people start talking about cars and tshirts, they don't know what they are going on about when it comes to PSU's. Computer Freak started off on the right track but i will try to answer your question in a little more detail Simon. There are things to look for in a quality unit:

1. Active PFC
2. Efficiency of 80%+
3. MTBF rated at 40oC or 50oC instead of 25oC (no psu in the real world operates at 25oC)
4. 5 year warranty
5. Overvoltage AND undervoltage protection (amongst others)
6. Polymer capactiors
7. Ball bearing fans (larger the fan the quieter too)

Now lets compare the above to your new PSU that i assume you bought from Maplin right? This is not an incredibly bad PSU, most Rosewill''s are worse and Computer Freak's PSU is worse (but he's upgrading), however there are a few points of concern:

1. Yes
2. No
3. At 25oC not 40oC
4. 14 days not 5 years (actually that 14 day warranty isn't worth the paper its written on if you look closer).
5. No undervoltage protection
6. No
7. No.

I wouldn't use this PSU to power anything other than a AGP based basic system. Why? It has only 2 x 12V rails at 20A. The 12V+1 is dedicated to the CPU, effectively removing any excess capacity from the rest of the system. This leave only 1 x 12V 20A rail. Not enough to power a PCIe based system. Read the Multi/Single Rail PSU link in my sig for a more detailed explanation.

I've had many PSU's die on me over the years...

Typically it would have to happen on a Sunday evening ...

Now looking at that it looks really bad i know, and to be honest, if you keep buying crap like this, it will keep dying (didn't the 14 day warranty give that away?). Thats the difference between a good quality PSU and the crap maplin and others sell. Its false economics to continually purchase new crap PSU's, especially when you add up the increased energy costs to run a low quality PSU, its replacement costs, and if a PSU failure takes out other components. Also, look on ebay in the future, as I sold my 6 month old (still 4.5 years on warranty) Corsair HX520W (a great PSU) for 25 pounds.

BTW, Corsair are certainly not the cheapest quality brand, but strike a good balance between very good quality (the best really), and a reasonable price. Look at the HX520W next time. http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=446788

Hope this helps clarify.
 
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