Power supplies :

[LeperousDust]

When power supplies go pop.

I'm on the look out for a cheapie power supply to fix me up. I've got a little server PC happening, and i've put it together first thing that happened was the power supply in the case (antec) blew, scared the life out of me ;D. I'm worried it was maybe how i wired the computer up or the cable (but what can go wrong with a standard 240 cable thats on the same strip as my laptop etc..).

Anyway it needs to run 5 molex hard drives a molex DVD drive 3 molex fans and power for case power light. So i need about 10 molex connections which doesn't sound easy. I hadn't actually connected them all up, just the main hard drive DVD drive and all the fans, i wasn't sure what i was going to do to power the other things after i got it all up and running, I was thinking maybe just y-splitters (but i maybe against that now :D).

Most modern PSU's come with loads of SATA and useless connections this PC doesn't need, where should i be looking and at what?

[Flibster]

How soon do you want it?

PC World used to do some half decent PSU's that were modular - and if you use the reserve online feature you pay less in store. ;) Built a fre using the Storm 700w psu iirc...

Oh, dump the light to save the plug. ;)

You can use splitters as well on the molexesseses... esessses. Untidier, but fans don't use that much power so you should be able to plug them all into one.

[Mark]

Unless of course he has a Delta monster (i.e. the 120mm one), which draws about 3A. :o

I had an Antec PSU go bang, and like yours, it really did go bang.

Anyway, you can use splitters, or even chop off a string or two of molex connectors from the old PSU and then go pick up a few female molex connectors from Maplin. :)

[Flibster]

I currently have several of them off a splitter. :D The machines in the cupboard so noise doesn't matter. ;)

True, the 12v line dues handle 28amps on this PSU iirc so it's nice and easy for it.

[LeperousDust]

Yeah i was planning on putting all the fans powered off one molex tbh because they shouldn't draw much really... I can ditch the light but that can go in the same "loop". That just leaves me with 5 hard drives and a DVD rom :p I'll check on PC world now, it would be nice to have soon... rather than wait for the post (bloody postal strike).

[LeperousDust]

Not particulary a great deal by any means, but this'll (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0899699936.119168842 3@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccfiaddmehldglgcflgceggdhhmdgmk.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=529740&category_oid=) do right? I mean i hasn't really got much work to do, few hard drives fans a passive PCI (yeah not e) graphics card and an old P4c (which probably uses more than everything else put together in the PC)... Could i get away with 350w or am i pushing it? I know everyone overspecs power supplies for no reason i just want cheapest and vague reliability.

//Edit: Actually thinking about it, a quieter PSU would be nice, im probably better being patient and waiting for delivery of a similar priced quieter PSU, or theres one on the members for sale area for £40 "Hiper Type R" seems ok?

[Stan_Lite]

You should be able to get SATA-Molex adapters then you can use the unneeded SATA connectors for your Molex stuff.

[Flibster]

Hiper Type R = guaranteed failure!

They are the Crucial Ballistix DDR of PSU's.

[LeperousDust]

Ok cool i didn't go for it anyway, just looked to have big fans and be cheap second hand. Are they really that bad? Could i knock him down, but would i really expect it to last a year? He's had it in his system powering everything for a while?

[Mark]

Not sure about Hiper myself, but Q-tec are definitely in that league.

When an Antec, Enermax, or other quality PSU blows up, it usually tries to sacrifice itself (and sometimes the fuse in the power plug) and the rest of your hardware might survive. When a cheap PSU blows up, it might try to send unexpected voltages through any conveniently connected hardware nearby - and I'm sure I don't need to explain what happens next after that.

While there are of course absolutely no guarantees when hardware gives up, this is one reason I don't buy cheap PSUs.

I did once short an Antec. Sparks flew, but no harm came to anything except my nerves. ;D

[LeperousDust]

Yeah qTec are definately known in the business, i thought Hiper were OK though, but i've not really read much for years now so i'm outta the loop so-to-speak...

[Zirax]

The hiper psu's have been blowing up like crazy on ocuk recently. I really would never skimp on a psu (£400 server rebuild cost makes you see the benefit in paying an extra £50). I recommend Tagans for best bang/buck. The antec truepowers are ok.

[Mondo]

i got a hiper somewhere, it went a year fine in my rig. The safety even kicked in when there was a spike, thought it blew but it wasn't. Replaced it with an enermax now, much quieter. I would give you the psu free but it weight a ton, will cost more to sent than it's worth. Personally i get a decent one and not but corners on psu.

[LeperousDust]

Right i'll avoid the Hiper then i guess :D
Enermax used to be a nice little brand to go with and if they're pretty quiet i may try and get an eBayed one of those? Older ones are fine with me, i only need legacy PSU connectors (i wan't to do this as cheap as possible :p really!)

[Zirax]

I don't mean to be blunt and I understand that you are trying to save a few bob. If its a brand new psu then no probs, however I wouldn't buy a second hand psu. You will have no idea what abuse its taken during its life (ie routinely overloaded etc).

[semi-pro waster]

Hiper 580w Type-R Modulars are the ones that suffer from the most problems it seems, the rest of the range are reasonable.

Akasa, Corsair, Enermax, Seasonic, Tagan are all good solid brands so I'd pick one in your price range if you can.

That Jeantech PSU should be ok although it seems somewhat pricey for what it is. They aren't the best brand in the world. :)

[LeperousDust]

So i shouldn't be looking at this (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/B3657-Seasonic-SS-300GS-300W-ATX-PSU-Power-supply_W0QQitemZ120168810619QQihZ002QQcategoryZ420 19QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) then :D :p
Hmmm cash is tight and i really don't have ~£50 to go to a PSU atm, so annoying i wan't this bloody print/file server working :mad: :(

[semi-pro waster]

Seasonic usually make decent PSUs but it it difficult to tell from that listing anything about it other than it is 300w. I guess for £11 it might be worth a punt. :)

[LeperousDust]

Too late, this could be a bad investment, but i doubt i'm even going to push a 300w PSU, if i over spec everything 10w HDD x 6 + 10w DVD + 100w P4 that leaves over 100w for a PCI video card motherboard and fans...

[Mark]

I think 10w for a running HDD is reasonable, but beware startup current which can hit double that. That still leaves 50w though. :)

[LeperousDust]

I'm more than happy with that, should do fine and it should be pretty much whisper quiet being seagate :)

Are there any things I should be aware about when ghetto modding my fans to 7v with the 12v and 5v lines trick? That won't mess around with my power supply will it? The only sound will probably come from the stock(ish i think) cooler that comes with the P4).

[kaiowas]

i've put it together first thing that happened was the power supply in the case (antec) blew, scared the life out of me ;D.

Funny that. The one time I spent money on a decent case it was an Antec Sonata that came with an Antec PSU. Within 1/2 hour of powering up the system it blew with one hell of a crack.

[LeperousDust]

VERY ironically, it was a power supply i stole from my incredibly reliable sonata! Who'd guessed! it's been trusty and chugging away for 4 years, although its had the last year off when i upgraded, and bought a shuttle, then relegated that and bought a laptop (uni, computers and living a few hundred miles apart are bad - lesson learned).

[LeperousDust]

Well it arrived today (super impressed with delivery from this guy on ebay) even though RM are striking he used citylink (good feedback for that :)). All up and running fine, except i'm more short than i realised on power leads :D By about 5 i think, but thats without any y-spliters so i will be good to go whenever they arrive :) I've got a few hard drives plugged in moving data around everything is good to go.

I've got OpenFiler ready to install too, but i can't see that it supports being a print server but it wouldn't suprise me if it does anyway, or can be told to...

[Admiral Huddy]

Sorry if I'd have seen this earlier you could have had one of my test PSUs..

[LeperousDust]

No worries, only cost £10, but cheers for the offer :) If this one dies (possibly :p) i'll be right onto you ;)

[Admiral Huddy]

No worries, only cost £10, but cheers for the offer :) If this one dies (possibly :p) i'll be right onto you ;)

Hands off young man! :p

[After_8]

When (not if) that one dies, I'd recommend spending money on a decent PSU instead of a cheap one. I used to always cut corners on the PSU since I never thought it'd make that much difference, and they used to die all the time - I must've gone through at least half a dozen of them before I decided it would just be cheaper to get something good that wasn't going to break. It worked.

[Mark]

Exactly - and even one can be a false economy. Seasonic are generally good, but if a cheap PSU dies and take other hardware with it, then you'll probably pay more to replace the dead hardware than the cost of a decent PSU the first time.

[LeperousDust]

I know about false economy guys, but the Antec that was in it died, only lasted 3-4 years i guess, whenever i built the sonata PC up. Yeah it didn't take anything with it because its a good make. I only need a decent name for reliability, seasonic is that... I'm barely loading 300w if i've calculated correctly, so theres no real problem here. There's no point buying a new PSU becuase they're
A)TOO big generally or overprice for 300-400w's
B)have too many new connectors i'm only going to cut off

This won't die anytime soon, i was unlucky with the Antec, and maybe i'll get unlucky with this, but it'll obviously give up the ghost (like any PSU no matter how much you spend) eventually.

£50 on a PSU really isn't in my budget what-so-ever i needed something to get it on the road ASAP this is the best (without a doubt) i could have done for £10 delivered. It's perfect :)