My PSU blew up...

shadow_boxer · 4 Apr 2012 at 23:08

Good luck bud. Herd good things about xfx psu's, they tend to get very.good reviews too. Got a corsair cx430w in a second machine and that has a fairly noticeable high pitched capacitor whine when the rig is both on and off. Just luck I guess as to whether it not you'll have any problems with any psu but fingers crossed it'll be ok.

Crowort · 4 Apr 2012 at 23:10

I know someone that got a whole new PC (well a check to buy one) via contents insurance when their PSU blow and took out her mobo. Would depend on policy and premiums would likely go up but worth looking into if you need to?

gazjam · 4 Apr 2012 at 23:31

neuk said:
Going to eBay was your first mistake. I hope you do get your refund.

Sorry that about me?

*EDIT*
No it wasn't

danjama · 7 Apr 2012 at 22:17

Brief update. They said once they recieve it back they will test it and call me for an exchange or refund. Thanks to easter weekend will probably be looking at a call on Tuesday earliest (mailed it Thursday, hopefully they got it today).

Think i'll exchange for the Corsair CX600 builder series. Anyone have experience with that unit? Looks very decent with 21amp per rail, and has the required 8pin atx plug.

Mal X · 7 Apr 2012 at 22:40

wazza300 said:
I'm not keen on ocz psu's either,sorry,I'd choose xfx cos they are made by seasonic for xfx,corsair are decent too

OCZs are great, i've got two of them, get the modular one, great cabling

danjama · 14 Apr 2012 at 00:04

Final update. CX600 v2 recieved today, installed tonight and everything survived the explosion! All up and running. So relieved. :cool:

shadow_boxer · 14 Apr 2012 at 01:15

Lucky you, important lesson for anyone considering cheap power supplies.

danjama · 14 Apr 2012 at 01:19

shadow_boxer said:
Lucky you, important lesson for anyone considering cheap power supplies.

Indeed! Be warned.

IvanDobskey · 14 Apr 2012 at 01:23

Never ever skimp on the PSU. I'm amazed at the amount of people happy to buy a £20 PSU just because it has a large number on the side of it. If it costs £20, it's because it has rubbish cheapo parts that are likely to go bang and wipe out your PC

J-FRO · 14 Apr 2012 at 02:03

OCZ/Antec/XFX/Corsair, pretty much the only brands you should look at IMO. Unless you know it's made by Seasonic, then you'll be fine.

I've never heard somebody rate a Coolermaster PSU, but not really seen/heard anyone knock them either.

The Halk · 14 Apr 2012 at 02:10

Here we go down the PSU hysteria road again.

That particular PSU is an inexpensive one, budget or whatever you want to call it. It's not the best choice, and not one I'd buy or recommend. However it's not a cheap/nasty one. It's not a 10 quid firework. Most people will buy one and it'll last longer than they need it to.

He's done himself a favour by upgrading the PSU, but some of the talk here makes it sound like anything under £50 is a ticking time bomb, that's disproportionate.

sexyhyde · 14 Apr 2012 at 05:33

J-FRO said:
I've never heard somebody rate a Coolermaster PSU, but not really seen/heard anyone knock them either.

i have a Coolermaster iGreen 600w which is made by AcBel Polytech, seems to be a good company which mainly specializes in the higher end. got it for £20 from a friend who had it as a reserve psu and had about 2 days use in the six months he had it, but when he went crossfire he got a larger psu for back up.

The Halk said:
Here we go down the PSU hysteria road again.

That particular PSU is an inexpensive one, budget or whatever you want to call it. It's not the best choice, and not one I'd buy or recommend. However it's not a cheap/nasty one. It's not a 10 quid firework. Most people will buy one and it'll last longer than they need it to.

He's done himself a favour by upgrading the PSU, but some of the talk here makes it sound like anything under £50 is a ticking time bomb, that's disproportionate.

i am of the opinion that as soon as you have a graphics card that requires its own power [or a system worth over £400] you are wiser to get a branded psu.

IvanDobskey · 14 Apr 2012 at 07:59

The Halk said:
Here we go down the PSU hysteria road again.

That particular PSU is an inexpensive one, budget or whatever you want to call it. It's not the best choice, and not one I'd buy or recommend. However it's not a cheap/nasty one. It's not a 10 quid firework. Most people will buy one and it'll last longer than they need it to.

He's done himself a favour by upgrading the PSU, but some of the talk here makes it sound like anything under £50 is a ticking time bomb, that's disproportionate.

I looked it up, it costs about £22. Would you be happy knowing your £1000 PC was being run by a £20 PSU? I know I wouldn't

The Halk · 14 Apr 2012 at 09:07

You are wiser to get a better PSU. And no I wouldn't be happy with it in a £1000 PC. But they have their place.

if you were building a G620/H61 system for £200 what PSU would you use? A £20 that's fine or a £80 top of the range one?

They do have their place, and it's not a terrible PSU.. just not a very good one.

olivier renault · 14 Apr 2012 at 09:52

I wish there were regulations in place to stop manufacturer advertising their PSU to be '500W', '600W' when they clearly are not capable to sustain that amount of power, especially with graphics cards.

There needs to be a better way to classify these units so people stop buying the wrong thing for their rig.

opstrat · 14 Apr 2012 at 10:05

these things obvioulsy have to pass regs from places like the bsi group.
i thaught mayby the british kite mark but thats only for safty equipment and sockets, plugs etc.

now either the test that gets done on them just isnt sufficiant or they are not getting tested at all.

IvanDobskey · 14 Apr 2012 at 10:24

The Halk said:
You are wiser to get a better PSU. And no I wouldn't be happy with it in a £1000 PC. But they have their place.

if you were building a G620/H61 system for £200 what PSU would you use? A £20 that's fine or a £80 top of the range one?

They do have their place, and it's not a terrible PSU.. just not a very good one.

I don't think the OP has a £200 PC though does he? Buying a PSU that matches the value of the PC is a good idea in my opinion.

My point was that far too many people think a £20 PSU will do fine for their £1000 rig just because it has a large number on the side.

BuToNz · 14 Apr 2012 at 10:26

J-FRO said:
OCZ/Antec/XFX/Corsair, pretty much the only brands you should look at IMO. Unless you know it's made by Seasonic, then you'll be fine.

I've never heard somebody rate a Coolermaster PSU, but not really seen/heard anyone knock them either.

I've had my Coolermaster M1000 for about 4 years now and it's been perfect. No noises, heat issues or problems overclocking. Previously I'd owned a few Corsair PSU's and they all developed fan/bearing noise.

If I did have to go for another then I'd pick something from Corsair though!

olivier renault · 14 Apr 2012 at 12:25

opstrat said:
these things obvioulsy have to pass regs from places like the bsi group.
i thaught mayby the british kite mark but thats only for safty equipment and sockets, plugs etc.

now either the test that gets done on them just isnt sufficiant or they are not getting tested at all.

They need tighter controls. Especially on their advertised performance. cheap 600W units are often only safe to 300W, or even less.

I would not even consider a PSU not certified at least 'Bronze', whatever its use. An inefficient PSU means the wasted energy is converted to heat transferred to the components, which can only be trouble (and fan noise, poorer voltage regulation, ect...).

cereal3 · 14 Apr 2012 at 13:24

My friend just had a cheapy £25 PSU die on him, luckily it just went softly and refused to start rather than taking other bits with it. I recommended him the OCZ ZS 550w, installed it for him, it's really quiet.