Is it possible for a power supply to damage the motherboard?

[Jeremy S]

Just last week my MSI motherboard stopped working and it looked as though several of the capacitors had blown and were leaking fluid so I ordered a new motherboard along with a new CPU and new memory.

But before I install the new components I would like to make sure that it wasn't the power supply that caused the motherboard to fail by giving it too much power (I'm not even sure if that's a possibility). I have a very cheap power supply that came with the case and I'd hate for it to cause my new motherboard to fail prematurely.

Thanks, Jeremy

 

[Cromewell]

a PSU can damage a motherboard but if you have a 500W PSU and only use 200W the extra overhead wont cause any problems. But if your supply doesn't handle stress very well it could provide 'dirty' power and damage anything connected to it.

 

[Jeremy S]

Is there any way to tell if the PSU is providing 'dirty power'? Would a power supply tester work?

 

[jancz3rt]

Hmm

My suggestion would be to have the PSU replaced with a good quality PSU from the list that Praetor suggested just in case and for stability reasons. Check them out here: http://www.computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=10764

JAN

 

[Jeremy S]

Just to make sure that this is a PSU worth replacing here are the Specifications for it.

Enlight 300W Power Supply - HPC-300-101

+3.3V@16A; +5V@25A; +12V@10A; [email protected]; [email protected]

So, after looking as these Specifications what would you say?

Thanks again, Jeremy

 

[skidude]

I heard that you at lest want +12@24A..... why is this??

 

[jancz3rt]

Hmmm

Just to make sure that this is a PSU worth replacing here are the Specifications for it.

Enlight 300W Power Supply - HPC-300-101

+3.3V@16A; +5V@25A; +12V@10A; [email protected]; [email protected]

So, after looking as these Specifications what would you say?

Thanks again, Jeremy

DEFINITELY not a wise choice. The 12V rail is the most heavily used voltage rail on any modern PSU (fans, HDDs, CD-Roms, DVD-RWs etc.) What this means is that the 12V rail has to be strong enough, i.e. have enough Amps. AMD 939 systems should have a minimum of 16A while it is recommended to aim for Amp figures on the 12V of 24A and above. The reasons in short are that enough power is supplied in a stable way without overstraying the PSU, resulting in a stable and reliable system.

JAN

 

[Jeremy S]

After rereading my post I should have made it clearer that those specs. are for the PSU that I already have. Sorry for not making that clearer.

I probably should get a new PSU with more amps on the 12V rail.

BTW I should mention that my new CPU is an AMD Ahlon 64.

Thanks, Jeremy

 

[jancz3rt]

Yah

Yeah I realised that you were talking about the PSU you have now. I definitely believe that you should get a better one. I have an Athlon 64 3000+ system and it should have a minimum (as I have mentioned) 16Amps on the 12V rail. The PSU plays a great role in terms of stability.

JAN