RayLopez99 said:
It's a "Technoware" ATX 12V 2.2 compatible. Since I bought it in Greece, there's a chance it's counterfeit.
And from year 2006 says the sticker, meaning it's not original, and now that I think about it, I did change the original PS. So it lasted about 6 years, much shorter than the chips.
I see on Newegg the below PS, about $70 USD, that will probably fit, but then the question is: do I take a chance that perhaps the switch is bad? The pushbutton switch at the front of the case? If so, that needs to be replaced too. Might be cheaper to trash this system, which, as I say, I was only using as a backup PC to surf the net when my primary PC was unavailable.
RL
CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
4 out of 5 eggs (353) | Write a Review
In stock. Limit 5 per customer.
ATX12V v2.3
80 PLUS BRONZE Certified
100 - 240 V
The Technoware I could find listed:
+3.3V - 28 A,
+5V - 38 A,
+12V1 - 26 A,
-12V - 0.8 A,
+5VSB - 0.6 A
which means it has no -5V. And then the Corsair you're looking at,
might be a replacement.
By selecting the Bronze, the efficiency isn't high enough to require
a two stage regulator. And that could be why the 3.3V and 5V amps
are a little higher than the average supply. Supplies with two
stage regulators (12V feeds a separate 3.3V/5V module), are not
really well matched to older computers. You want a 70% efficient
unit, where all rails come from a common transformer, as you
get a more generous combined rating that way. Modern supplies
have weak lower rails.
+3.3V @ 25A, +5V @ 25A, +12V @ 46A, -12V @ 0.8A, +5VSB @ 3.0A
On an older system, the 3.3V and 5V might be sourcing the majority of
the load. While the power supply has a 600W rating, in this case
the combined rail rating on the first two rails in the previous line,
is 130 watts. (I can't find another picture like this, and my eyes
can barely make out that figure.)
http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/17-139-028-Z05?$S640W$
Your 486 likely draws most of its power from the 130 watt combined
rating section. If I was working on your machine, I would verify
current flow with my clamp-on ammeter, before returning the unit
to you. I've had machines here, ancient relics, that draw around
150W (which would include a few hard drives), so it's getting a
bit close.
The 12V @ 46A rail hardly gets used. It might power the 12V rail
on your hard drives, at about 0.6 amps per drive. It runs the optical
drive. A few things like that. If you have an older video card, they
sometimes draw a bit of power from 12V as well. So the majority of
the supply rating is wasted, as the older systems just don't draw
on the 12V that much. Even an old Powmax with 12V @ 10A rating would do.
A little additional Googling, seems to show a Corsair V1 and V2 version
of CX600. And the contract manufacturer being used for one of
those is CWT (ChannelWell). Now, personally, I've had two
ChannelWell built supplies die on me, and I couldn't envision
me buying a third. So Corsair doesn't build the supply themselves,
and CWT does the contract. When it comes to gambling, the odds
are fixed in the house's favor, as they say...
There might be another Corsair product that isn't made by CWT, for
a few more dollars. Or, you could look for some ancient
design, that has the balance between rails set for the
lower rails.
This is what I used on my oldest system.
"Sparkle ATX-400PN-B204"
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103013
Pros: Doesn't seem to have PFC that I can tell. Means it won't fight
with my old UPS.
Cons: Not 80% efficient (warmer in summer).
Wire set is pretty limited. May need Y cables to finish your build.
Doesn't come with a power cord!
+3.3V @ 30A, +5V @ 28A, +12V1 @ 18A, +12V2 @ 18A,-12V @ 0.5A, +5VSB @ 2.0A
It's still not a "brutal" unit, such as some of the older ATX
supplies that could deliver 40A on the lower rails. But it's $40.
And it hasn't blown up (yet). Check the Newegg reviews for an
idea on failure rate.
"Temperature Range: Operating 0°C to +25° C on full load;
De-rate 2W/C from +25°C to +50°C."
That means, if you run the unit at 50°C, it becomes a 350W
supply instead of a 400W supply.
http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/17-103-013-S03?$S640W$
"Combined 3.3V and 5V load = 150W max"
That beats the value-level Corsair by 20W on the combined load.
The 12V portion of the supply won't feel much of a load. And
the total system power is unlikely to get close to 350W. Maybe
200W total if you had a few drives in there.
*******
For a "blast-from-the-past", companies like this built supplies
with pretty high ratings on the lower rails. I don't know if Zippy-Emacs
is still in business, but you'd get 3.3V @ 30A and 5V @ 45A. And the
design is old enough, it even has a minimum load rating. Looks
like Zippy-Emacs was acquired by Tyan, and this supply is around $300
now (hahaha). And they don't even list a combined rail spec (as
it is unlikely to supply 324W on those rails as a total).
http://www.bjorn3d.com/2006/10/zippy-emacs-psl-6850pg1-850-watt-power-supply/
It takes a lot of time to track down reviews, find a picture
of the nameplate. As a lot of companies are so incompetent they
can't be bothered to show a proper picture of it. And then I'm
forced to squint at some low-res picture on Newegg.
Paul
