PSU Meltdown

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30 Apr 2011
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198
Hi
Something very bad appears to have happened to my pc and I would appreciate some advice.

My PSU made a light crackle last time I flicked the switch. Didn't think too much about it but just now I went to turn the pc on and the psu just cracked for a few seconds until I turned it off.
I have a i5- 2500K, some sort of MSI motherboard, GTX970, and nothing unusual attached. The power supply is OCZ StealthXStream2 600W which should be powerful enough according to everything I have read and online calculators. So I assume the thing just has a fault and needs replacing.

So my question is, before I order a new PSU and replace the old one; what else might I need to consider, if anything?
Does anyone have experience of OCZ PSUs? Should I try a different make?

Any general advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
 
Hi Grimley, thanks for responding.

As my current psu is 600w I was thinking I should get something of at least that level of higher. Ive just been reading about evga G2 but apparently it doe not have the full range of safety features. I wish it was easy to tell which ones have longer cables!

I also fear for my other pc components :(

I built my pc in 2011 so I doubt I am in warranty. I am resigned to buying a replacement. Is sUperflower a make you have good experience with?
 
Hi Vertigo1
Do you happen to have any recommendations for a new PSU? I am not getting any clear answers from my research. Even the most popular ones like the EVGA have reviews saying they lack even basic temperature safety measures!!
I really hate trying to shop for this kind of thing. Should all be straight forward but you end up debating between endless virtually identical items when all you need is a working power source!
 
Super Flower are extremely well made power supplies, anything from the Leadex range will see you in a much better position than the OCZ PSU you were using, other brands to consider are XFX XTR, Seasonic X/P or Prime Series & EVGA G2/P2.
 
Hello again.
My quest for a new PSU is quite honestly not going that well and I really would appreciate some help. Problem I have is there is no apparent reason to choose one psu over another other than the chance of it failing on you and that is not exactly an advertised feature.
My failed PSU is 600w. I have discovered that it is not necessarily beneficial to have a higher rated PSU than you need. In fact it can be a bad thing to have a 1000w psu when you only need 500.
Tried a few of those power calculator sites and they seem to think I only need 300-400w which seems unlikely.
So My question is. Could anyone advise me as to what PSU would best fill the requirement of being about 600W, reliable and suitable for i5-2500k and GTX970 with 8gbRAM.
I'm just beaten by the search!!
There are some that are around £50 which look exactly the same as those that are £90 or more. I just don't know if I need to spend the extra. Should I just pick one at randon from a reputable maker?
Thanks everyone
 
EVGA 650 W G2 GOLD 80+ Modular PC Power Supply Unit

For example - Is this worth the £90 or so price tag or should I just buy a £50 one by the same manufacturer?

Sorry for my ignorance. I actually enjoy shopping for most components but this one drives me mad,
 
Thanks for your reply, IvanDobskey. I will probably order the G2 as many people seem to recommend it (although many said that last one I bought was good so who knows!!:confused:)

Do you happen to know if it has long cables? I remember the old PSU being a nightmare to fit because the main power lead was so short!
 
OCZ anything isn't that reliable.

Their memory and SSDs were unreliable junk, had several of each fail on me before I learned my lesson.

They did some good stuff (ULV Blade and the Fatal1ty PSU, etc.) - but the StealthXStream wasn't one of those :S well they were ok but output capability degrades a lot quicker over time than many comparable PSUs and all the ones I've encountered failed eventually long before most other PSUs I've had experience of.
 
Thanks for your reply, IvanDobskey. I will probably order the G2 as many people seem to recommend it (although many said that last one I bought was good so who knows!!:confused:)

Do you happen to know if it has long cables? I remember the old PSU being a nightmare to fit because the main power lead was so short!

No problem :)

I have just ordered one myself to replace my aging corsair unit.

Not sure about cable length though. Will report back when it arrives.
 
Ive only had one PSU to fail spectacularly over the years.
It was an OCZ StealthXstream II 600W. The SATA power connectors caught fire. :p

Superflower and EVGA use the same internals for the most part. I usually recommend just getting whichever has the lowest price and / or longest warranty depending on what you value most.
 
Ive only had one PSU to fail spectacularly over the years.
It was an OCZ StealthXstream II 600W. The SATA power connectors caught fire. :p

Never had that happen - I've had a few of the original SX that after 18 months the max load they could handle stable had dropped more than 200 watt below their rated max output :S (which meant the system would reboot when gaming or other heavy load).
 
In the end I ordered the EVGA G2 650W. More expensive than I was intending but at least I should be able to rely on it. Thanks to you all for your advice.

Now it's fingers crossed that my pc did not do itself damage when the old psu went down!!
Cheers!
 
Hi guys

Well the G2 arrived yesterday and I installed it last night. No problems with the installation. It seemed noticeably more quality than the OCZ stealth stream that I took out so that was good.

Turned on the mighty pc and it worked!!

I do have a question for you though. Before this whole PSU saga began, the power button on the case stuck in. This is a Zalman p9 case. It was when I did a hold it to restart type manoeuvre and the button never came out again.

The consequences of this have been that I turn my pc on at the power switch on the back (the pSU switch). The PC whirs into life for about 3 seconds before falling silent for another few seconds and then it boots up fully. It then runs fine until I turn it off which I do normally but when the PC shuts off I have to flick the PSU switch off or it will boot up again in half a minute or so.

Now I have come to accept this state of affairs but a friend mentioned today that PSUs do not like to be switched on and off and this could even be the reason for my old PSUs failure.
Obviously I do not want to risk damaging the new one so I wonder if anyone on here could tell me what they think. Is this bad? Should I be working on the full, terrifying change of case??

Cheers

Ivan - Thanks for taking the time to let me know about the cables. I agree they are a decent length. The CPU cable was a good length compared to the old one which was a stretch. The SATA cables were a bit short though. It seems like a quality PSU.
 
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