aspekt 0 Report post Posted March 5, 2009 (edited) Is there such a thing as "too much" when it comes to workstation power supplies ? Can you short out your board if the power supply is too big? Edited March 5, 2009 by aspekt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iline 0 Report post Posted March 5, 2009 No - a more expensive, say Seagate, PSU will just run more efficiently, and be able to power more graphics cards and DC-power dependent devices. It runs at +/- 12vDC no matter what, you can't fry your motherboard. A good PSU is a worthwhile investment - fluctuations in power output can make your computer's processing suffer badly. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aspekt 0 Report post Posted March 5, 2009 No - a more expensive, say Seagate, PSU will just run more efficiently, and be able to power more graphics cards and DC-power dependent devices. It runs at +/- 12vDC no matter what, you can't fry your motherboard. A good PSU is a worthwhile investment - fluctuations in power output can make your computer's processing suffer badly. So given the above stated are there any scenarios in which something can be shorted or fried on the motherboard? Or is that just indicative of a bad motherboard? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iline 0 Report post Posted March 5, 2009 (edited) Well, accidents can happen, but a cheap PSU is far more likely to malfunction. The brand I meant to recommend was Seasonic - they don't make any bad PSUs so you can buy with confidence. I say this because I saw a group test in Micro Mart (British modding magazine) where they deliberately overloaded the power supply and measured the output with scientific equipment. You can't connect the PSU incorrectly, or to any components, because the connections are designed to be fool proof. We're talking 12V DC, so nothing should blow up or melt. The connections are well insulated so it's not like you can short it out by letting it touch the PCB. I guess that if your motherboard fried, then something might have been wrong with the power supply itself, or it wasn't earthed properly. It's possible that a power surge could blow up a PSU but it's unlikely to harm the board as most PSUs contain serial circuits designed to short out and stop your thousand-dollar graphics card taking the hit. If this happened you might be able to contact the manufacturer, but as you installed it yourself they could level the accusation that you're liable. My computer stopped working once, and knowing that the lights in my flat were always flickering whenever we turned on a power switch, I correctly guessed it was the PSU blown by a surge. I bought an EZ Cool 550w PSU and problem solved, plus my dual-head graphics card worked way better. Try to diagnose this before you spend $150 on a boring piece of equipment. I know it's not as cool as a new graphics card or monitor, but it's gonna save your ass. Edited March 5, 2009 by iline Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aspekt 0 Report post Posted March 5, 2009 I have an antec true power 1000w quattro power supply, and my building is brand new...litterally only 8 months old...hmm... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SaintEfan 0 Report post Posted March 5, 2009 a cheap PSU will always go out at 2am when you can't go get a replacement. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beaver 1 Report post Posted March 5, 2009 Antec usually gets pretty high marks - did something happen to your box or are you just asking? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aspekt 0 Report post Posted March 5, 2009 Antec usually gets pretty high marks - did something happen to your box or are you just asking? My system didn't post when I powered it up. I'm really just trying to narrow down the things that could have gone wrong. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monovich 0 Report post Posted March 6, 2009 I've always spent the extra money and gone Seasonic. They are built so much nicer than the cheap stuff. it's impressive. Question: If I put in a 700w power supply, is it always drawing 700w even if I've only got a simple graphics card, one hard drive, and the CPU, or does it its consumption rise and fall based on whats in the case and what is plugged into it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
destro 0 Report post Posted March 6, 2009 I've always spent the extra money and gone Seasonic. They are built so much nicer than the cheap stuff. it's impressive. Question: If I put in a 700w power supply, is it always drawing 700w even if I've only got a simple graphics card, one hard drive, and the CPU, or does it its consumption rise and fall based on whats in the case and what is plugged into it? Yes to "rise and fall". The 700w is the max it will handle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KGB 0 Report post Posted March 6, 2009 (edited) My system didn't post when I powered it up. I'm really just trying to narrow down the things that could have gone wrong. If you had no action at all; no beeps, etc... then take a look at your CPU and make sure is seated properly. If you have a dual CPU capable board, try running one CPU first(if it supports it). Edited March 6, 2009 by KGB Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duder 0 Report post Posted March 6, 2009 Best PSU's are from PC Power & Cooling. I think OCZ owns them now. But you can't go wrong with Corsair, OCZ, Antec (higher end ones). The most important part of a PSU is stable voltage and amperage. A high end 750Watt will outperform a cheaper 1,000watt PSU. I think Somewhere around 700watts is good for anyone here. If you plan to put 10 hard drives in your machine with dual power hungry SLI cards, then by all means, get a 800Watt PSU. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xdozex 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Yeah, if its not posting, are you at least getting beeps from the small speaker? If your motherboard didnt come with a speaker I suggest grabbing one from Newegg, they are pretty cheap. The beaps will tell you whats going on, for the most part. And you just reference the beep sequence to your mobo manual. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xdozex 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Oh also, if you're ever worried about power supply consumption, try out Asus's power supply calculator: Link The program told me to go with a 500, so I just upped it to 750 to play it safe and leave a margin for more HD, Ram, Overclocking in the future. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
