blar

well since sept my computer has been shutting down on its own whenever the windows desktop shows up after 5 min or when ever the windows xp loading screen appears. I thought it was a virus but i did not get any warnings about the computer shutting down. and just now after not touching my comp for a few weeks I try to turn it on and poof goes the PSU........i guess a learned a valuable lesson don't use cheap no name PSU's that come with towers

Dragonlich

...unless the tower is from a big brand, and uses a good PSU.

hope your PSU had enought quality to stop power surges from reaching the rest of the system...

KrazyKracka

um, what exactly is a PSU? I'm sure I've heard of it but never used that term before....

Dragonlich

Power Supply Unit

blar

yea i am hoping that too....there is no way for me to know right now

i hope my cd-rom drives are ok

Dragonlich

I'd say you should be more worried about your motherboard, CPU, memory, videocard and harddisk. A cd-rom drive is waaaaaay cheaper, and less of a pain if damaged...

phobs2

Antec TruePower series are quality, u can usually tell a good power supply just by wieght. The generic cheapos weigh nothing

Raleighbum

Oh, the PSU's that come with the computer aren't usually good?

damn... because I've noticed that my PSU-fan keeps weird noise. Or not weird just some squeeking every now and then..

Posted about it a long time ago, but then noticed that it's the PSU-fan that I can't get my hands on, and let it just be..

Should I keep the Fire dept. number closeby?

ikoul4

Personally, I don't trust any PSU not made by PC Power and Cooling. I have a 510 from them, and it puts out 500w even at 40 degrees. 650 when temps are good. The bad part is, they set you back about 200 bucks.

Lasereth

I've blown 4 or 5 of the PSUs that come in most cases. I'd bet that your PSU will blow sooner or later.

-Lasereth

__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

Redjake

when Lasereth's computer caught on fire, I was nearby and I just unplugged the PSU and it went out. It was an electrical fire. The CPU fan was still gyrating and oxidizing the fire though. Created something similar to a coal-oven inside his computer. Burnt my index finger pretty bad.

__________________
Off the record, on the q.t., and very hush-hush.

jonjon42

not the fire department...just a nice small fire extinguisher...let this be a lesson to all of you. For PSU's you get what you pay for! No you didn't just get a deal with that generic 1000000w PSU you picked up for 40 bucks(I exagerrate of course). Instead you get a PSU that may get to that level but usually runs at about 250w, is loud, and runs hot. Buying a quality power supply is a good investment. They run better power, with lower heat, and lower noise. I personally can vouch for Antec.

__________________
A damn dirty hippie without the dirty part....

bendsley

jonjon is right, you get what you pay for. The better power supplies are usually a bit more expensive at first, and you take the hit immediately, but over the life of the PSU, you end up saving money due to not having to buy new ones.

__________________
"You hear the one about the fella who died, went to the pearly gates? St. Peter let him in. Sees a guy in a suit making a closing argument. Says, "Who's that?" St. Peter says, "Oh, that's God. Thinks he's Denny Crane."

phobs2

Last I recall PC Power & Cooling doesnt make their own power supplies, they outsource it. That was a while back, they may have changed it. They're a good name but too overpriced for me.

I've had generic power supplies die on me. Never needed a fire extinguisher, they just stop powering up. Worst case was where it fried some hardware too when it died.

Dragonlich

Not *every* PSU that comes with a case is crap. You just have to think for a moment. A 40-dollar case with a 400 watt PSU will be a fire hazard. A 100-dollar case with a 400 watt PSU probably won't. We sell Aopen and Chieftec cases, for example, and their PSUs are damn good and reliable.

As others said: you get what you pay for, and a good PSU is a corner-stone of a good computer. Personally. I just HATE IT when people get a top-of-the-line gaming machine, and get a cheap-arse case/PSU combo to save some money... IDIOTS.

/anger

aKula

One of my friends did this latley even after i warned him againts it. I get better performance out of my PC even though he has a better graphics card because i have an antec truepower 430W that came with my Antec Plus 1080AMG. He certainly learnt his lesson the hard way.

KrazyKracka

Hahaha... I went to Penn State University, so that explains my confusion!

Dragonlich

Depends on what you mean with "better performance". The PSU should only be noticable during high-stress situations (playing a game or something); a bad PSU will crash your computer, a good one won't. You shouldn't see any performance benefits beyond that.

But if you think about it, there's a definate performance difference between a crashed PC and a running one...

blar

ouch thats bad luck man.... geez 4 out of 5!!!

well i don't really care about my motherboard and cpu becuase i am upgrading but i care about my cd-rom drives and HD