PSU dead - RIP or reset switch?

TheLastMan

TheLastMan

TheLastMan

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14 Feb 2003
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Location
UK
I am fairly sure my PSU in my main PC has gone the way of all flesh.
Am picking up a multi-meter today to double check.

Assuming it has stopped working and before I chuck it in the recycling, does the standard ATX design include some kind of reset switch?

If it is some kind of transient event (over-volt, over-current, surge etc) I don't want to chuck it if that is not necessary. It is about 5 years old and have long lost the literature that came with it.

If it has gone, what would rating of PSU would I need for my hardware (see sig)?
The three hard drives are SATA.
I have 2 x DVD drives
The Graphics card uses an extra power connector as well as the AGP slot.
I have two USB devices that draw power from the USB, plus about 5 other USB (self powered) devices - printers, scanner etc.

Thanks for any help.
 
5 years doesn't sound that long to me. I would be surprised if the design life were so short. The replacement you link to has a MTBF of 100,000 hours or just over 10 years.

As the Akasa was only just over 400w could it be that it was not quite up to the job?
Is the life of a PSU linked to the stress put on it?
Would it be safer to increase the specification, say to 600w?

Interesting that the only devices ever to actually fail in my various computers, as opposed to being replaced as part of an upgrade, (so far, touch wood) have been CD / DVD drives and PSUs. In this case, the PSU before the Akasa was a 300w Enermax that lasted around 3 years (bought 2001) and before that was the 250w PSU that came with my original Gateway PC (bought 1996). Both failed - with different symptoms each time.
 
The capacitors in the psu's get less and less efficient over time (capacitor aging, somebody else will explain it better than me) so 5 year's is'nt bad. It is nothing to do with not being able to deliver the power. The rig in my siggy is far more power hungry than yours yet only draws a max of 274w at the wall and even then only if i run Fur stability test and Prime (100% cpu and 100% gpu load) both at the same time. In addition to my siggy there are a pair of sata ll hdd's, sata dvdrw, 5x fans and a Zalman ZM-MFC2 multifunction controller.
 
Thanks for that. Googling for background info it seems that the big killer of PSU components is heat. So the secret to making them last longer seems to be making sure there is sufficient airflow and a good exhaust fan.

That is not the best aspect of my PC. I have gone for quiet rather than cool and my case temps have been a bit high. Looks like I may have paid the price!
 
Pastymuncher,
tested the PSU last night and no power. Changed the fuse in the plug and tried it with just the graphics card and one hard drive connected but no joy. I also could not see any reset or other switches so assume that some components have failed.

So will need to place an order.

Thanks for your help.
 
Isolate the PSU itself, remove all of its connections from any devices/hard it's plugged in to, then you'll want to short the green wire on the main motherboard power cable, to any black cable on the same connector, that'll get the PSU running itself, you'll be able to tell for sure if the PSU is doing absolutely nothing.
 
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