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- Mar 11, 2007
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Hi folks. This is my first time here and I'm about to perform my first major PC upgrade. It's only the PSU but to me this is looking pretty difficult. Anyway, here goes...
My 2 yo computer came with a 525W Hiper PSU which has served me very well, until yesterday. I got up in the morning and hit the power button and...nothing. I tried everything and when I moved the power lead from my Belkin UPS to the wall socket I did manage to get it 'clicking'. I took the side off the case and noticed my RAM lights were flickering. It seemed a bit scary so I switched everything off. I phoned a local computer repair guy and he told me to bring it in and he'd have a look. He diagnosed the problem as a faulty PSU and duly decided to replace it with an EZcool 550W model. It would take about an hour. I just assumed that because the replacement PSU was rated higher by 25W all would be well. I returned 1 hour later, paid the money and went home happy. When I got home I took the case side off to have a look. Argh! My previous cable arrangement was all neat and tidy but this was a mess. Cables everywhere. I don't know what I expected, I just assumed he'd put everything back as he found it. Ah well, as long as it works that's the main thing. I switched it on and everything was fine...for around 15 mins, then it shut down. Damn! I waited a bit, thinking it might be a heat issue with all those cables lieing around, and then restarted. I ran my Asus Probe temperature sensor intending to monitor any change. Temps were fine, in fact lower than with the Hiper. Then I started Winamp and it immediately shut down again. It was clear even to a novice that the PSU wasn't 'meaty' enough. I phoned the 'repair guy', explained the problem and he told me in no uncertain terms that it was down to my graphics card being a "big one" (?). He reckoned he'd have to fit a bigger one, at least 650W. He couldn't do anything about it until Monday when he would be able to phone his suppliers. He doesn't deal with any of the big brands that I've been researching in the interim. I have to say I've lost confidence in this guy and think it can't be all that hard to do this kind of thing myself. After all, he's replaced the nice sleeved cables with an untidy mess. I can do that much. Would it make sense for me to buy a decent PSU online and fit it myself? If so, I would go to the 'repair guy' and ask him to remove and refund the cost of the PSU he fitted (I guess I'll just have to kiss his initial labour charge goodbye). I could then attempt to do this myself.
I've kinda decided from online reviews, and the fact it's available at a good price from a company I've had good dealings with before, on this PSU It's from the maker of my original PSU and it has these 'modular' cables. From an engineering perspective this seems the way forward. Can anyone give me any tips on what I might need tools-wise? Also, any potential pitfalls to avoid? Is the PSU linked above a good bet?
Obviously, the clock is ticking here. It would be great if the 'repair guy' was to say "Sure, buy a PSU online and bring it here for me to fit in a competent unobtrusive way", but I think that ain't gonna happen. If I could do this myself then it might give me the confidence to tackle other hardware upgrades later. The labour charges the repair guy is making are frightening. Made worse of course when the work turns out to be not fit for purpose.
Anyway, thanks a lot for reading this far and I'll look forward to reading any help you guys can provide.
For reference my system spec is in my sig below.
Thanks.
My 2 yo computer came with a 525W Hiper PSU which has served me very well, until yesterday. I got up in the morning and hit the power button and...nothing. I tried everything and when I moved the power lead from my Belkin UPS to the wall socket I did manage to get it 'clicking'. I took the side off the case and noticed my RAM lights were flickering. It seemed a bit scary so I switched everything off. I phoned a local computer repair guy and he told me to bring it in and he'd have a look. He diagnosed the problem as a faulty PSU and duly decided to replace it with an EZcool 550W model. It would take about an hour. I just assumed that because the replacement PSU was rated higher by 25W all would be well. I returned 1 hour later, paid the money and went home happy. When I got home I took the case side off to have a look. Argh! My previous cable arrangement was all neat and tidy but this was a mess. Cables everywhere. I don't know what I expected, I just assumed he'd put everything back as he found it. Ah well, as long as it works that's the main thing. I switched it on and everything was fine...for around 15 mins, then it shut down. Damn! I waited a bit, thinking it might be a heat issue with all those cables lieing around, and then restarted. I ran my Asus Probe temperature sensor intending to monitor any change. Temps were fine, in fact lower than with the Hiper. Then I started Winamp and it immediately shut down again. It was clear even to a novice that the PSU wasn't 'meaty' enough. I phoned the 'repair guy', explained the problem and he told me in no uncertain terms that it was down to my graphics card being a "big one" (?). He reckoned he'd have to fit a bigger one, at least 650W. He couldn't do anything about it until Monday when he would be able to phone his suppliers. He doesn't deal with any of the big brands that I've been researching in the interim. I have to say I've lost confidence in this guy and think it can't be all that hard to do this kind of thing myself. After all, he's replaced the nice sleeved cables with an untidy mess. I can do that much. Would it make sense for me to buy a decent PSU online and fit it myself? If so, I would go to the 'repair guy' and ask him to remove and refund the cost of the PSU he fitted (I guess I'll just have to kiss his initial labour charge goodbye). I could then attempt to do this myself.
I've kinda decided from online reviews, and the fact it's available at a good price from a company I've had good dealings with before, on this PSU It's from the maker of my original PSU and it has these 'modular' cables. From an engineering perspective this seems the way forward. Can anyone give me any tips on what I might need tools-wise? Also, any potential pitfalls to avoid? Is the PSU linked above a good bet?
Obviously, the clock is ticking here. It would be great if the 'repair guy' was to say "Sure, buy a PSU online and bring it here for me to fit in a competent unobtrusive way", but I think that ain't gonna happen. If I could do this myself then it might give me the confidence to tackle other hardware upgrades later. The labour charges the repair guy is making are frightening. Made worse of course when the work turns out to be not fit for purpose.
Anyway, thanks a lot for reading this far and I'll look forward to reading any help you guys can provide.
For reference my system spec is in my sig below.
Thanks.
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