Power supply specs?

  • Thread starter Thread starter yerk55
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yerk55

Understanding specs on power supply units definitely are a weak area
of mine.

Im trying to replace a confirmed dead PSU with a new one. The new one
didnt power up the system, but works in other systems. I have photos
of the specs here:
http://geocities.com/melly8542/psu.htm

Can someone point out my mistake and what I *should* look for to find
a suitable replacement PSU for the old one.

TIA very much
 
yerk55 said:
Understanding specs on power supply units definitely are a weak area
of mine.

Im trying to replace a confirmed dead PSU with a new one. The new one
didnt power up the system, but works in other systems. I have photos
of the specs here:
http://geocities.com/melly8542/psu.htm
Click to expand...

If the PSU works in another system there are only a few things you could be
seeing...

#1 - It's not the PSU that's failed. My money is on this one.

#2 - You didn't plug in all the PSU connections to the mainboard. The PSU
may not even have some of the connections you need - like the 4pin auxiliary
power, etc. No idea since you didn't provide any details about the system.

#3 - The new power supply is too "small" to power this particular PC. Not
likely since you're going from a 250watt to a 400watt.
 
I would suggest getting the specs on your friend's power supply,
since that one worked, then get a PSU with equal or better specs.
Also, if the MB has a 4 pin ATX12V CPU connector, make sure the
replacement also has one. Have you made any system changes
before the original PS failed?
 
Understanding specs on power supply units definitely are a weak area
of mine.

Im trying to replace a confirmed dead PSU with a new one. The new one
didnt power up the system, but works in other systems. I have photos
of the specs here:
http://geocities.com/melly8542/psu.htm

Can someone point out my mistake and what I *should* look for to find
a suitable replacement PSU for the old one.

TIA very much
Click to expand...


Your replacement PSU is an overrated generic with a label
that is misleading. Similarly you can't buy based on a
numerical spec again unless you can trust the manufacturer
to be conservative in rating it.

I could be jumping to conclusions too quickly as you didn't
mention the major parts in your system so we'd be able to
approximate a power budget, as that is the applicable
parameter towards picking a PSU rather than what the prior
one was.

You should be able to use a typical 350W made by Antec,
Enermax, Sparkle, etc. Major brands. Ideally you would
seek one spec'd for a combined 3V+5V rating of at least
180W, but 200W would be even better. Unless your
motherboard uses a 4-pin 12V plug from the PSU, it is not
likely you will need many amps of 12V power, unless you have
a lot of hard drives (over 4-6) or a particularly power
hungry newer gaming oriented video card.
 
Noozer said:
If the PSU works in another system there are only a few things you could
be seeing...

#1 - It's not the PSU that's failed. My money is on this one.
Click to expand...

But don't plug the old power supply into a working machine!!!

I had a pc die on me. It was the power supply, and it turns out it had
damaged the motherboard. I bought a new power supply plugged it in, and it
didn't work. Checked the new power supply in another pc to be sure it was
fine. Then thought maybe it wasn't the original power supply but some other
issue, so to check I plugged the old power supply into a working pc ... the
end result ... I had two pcs that didn't work!

Stupid in retrospect, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Don't repeat my mistake. If you haven't already binned the old power supply
then do it now.
 
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