What happens if you overload a PSU?

Captain Jack Sparrow

Captain Jack Sparrow

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Hi, As some of you may know, I am going for a total PC renovation this Christmas. I'm getting:

Gigabyte GA-MA790X-DS4 AMD 790X Socket AM2 Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+ 3.10GHz (AM2) OEM
OCZ 4GB PC2-6400 Reaper HPC (2x2GB)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 PRO PWM Fan
Nexus 80mm Fan Filter x 3

A PSU calculator says that 450W is not enough for this with the rest of the parts that are already in my computer. They are:

Maxtor STM340211AS 40GB SATA Hard drive
Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II Hard drive
Western Digital WD6400AACS SATA II Hard drive
HL-DT-ST DL-DVD-RW
Compaq CD-ROM
Sony Floppy Disk
80mm Case Fans x 3
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 3650

I'm worried about what will happen if I try and run the new componants with 450W...
Will the power supply explode?
If it is not safe to do this then I will get:
SumVision 600w SilentLoad 20 & 24+SATA PSU
How good are Sumvision anyway? I want a nice cheap high power PSU.

P.S Anyone know if the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 PRO PWM Fan is enough to cool the AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+ 3.10GHz?
P.P.S What is an "Active" and "Passive" cooler?
P.P.P.S Are these Nexus 80mm Fan Filter effective?
 
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Well if the calculator says the PSU is not enough for all your new bits, then sure as hell its not going to be enough for your new bits and your old bits.....Thiis is my theory when building a computer..Spend a few more £££'s and get a much bigger PSU than you actually need..This way there is room for expansion at a later date..
 
Captain Jack Sparrow said:
Seriously? :eek:
I'm getting the 600W then.
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Like I said, allow for expansion....Hey there's only a few £££'s difference between 650/750/800 and 1000w ..I have always bought 1000w PSU's even if the combined outage only requires 500w...A PSu is an area where it doesn't hurt to over size....
 
You will regret paying £15 for a PSU. Buy a Corsair or other respected make.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/371

You would be much better of with a Phenom than a 6000.

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Look for the Johhnyguru site he reviews power supplies, he reviewed 3 cheapo for a laff, all 3 blew up.

The only cheapish brand i use for builds is Xilience from Aria, silent and enough amps on the 12v for crossfire or sli.
 
What have you got against SumVision?! I used them for three years, no problem. Why would I regret? It was on special offer! What could possibly go wrong?
 
FFS, All i said was the only cheapo power supply i can recommend are the Xilience ones as i haven't used any other cheapo ones.

The only Sumvision thing i have had was a DVD Upscaler that was a piece of crap.
 
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Captain Jack Sparrow said:
Too late, anyway find a link to a picture of a Sumvision power supply blown up then I'll get a better one.
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It's not guaranteed to blow up, but it has a higher chance than a good quality PSU. I've had a few PSU's blow over the years, not necessarily from overloading but from component failure.

Please do let us know in a few years time if that PSU is still going - I hope it is, but I wouldn't be surprised if something does go wrong. I know a PSU is a boring thing to spend money on, but it's worth it in the long run - I'm sure many of us have learnt that the hard way over the years
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Ironically, just a few months ago I had a Xilence go belly up in my main PC (thread on it here). However, I heard generally good things about them at the time - they certainly aren't the worst.
 
"The power supply is probably the most neglected component on PC. Usually when buying a computer, we just take on account the processor type and clock, the motherboard model, the video card model, the quantity of installed memory, the hard disk storage capacity, and we forget about the power supply, which, in fact, is the one who supplies the "fuel" for the PC parts to operate properly."

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/181

"In this tutorial we will explain about everything you need to know about PC power supplies, including form factors, efficiency, power factor correction (PFC), rails, protections, ripple and much more. You will learn that the power supply power rating should not be the only factor to consider when buying a power supply unit."

It is your choice as to if you read and take on board some of the info in the above article. Personaly I have read it and am glad I did so.

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" A power supply is arguably the most important component in every computer system. It must supply a steady, reliable source of power to every other component in the system, and it must do so without making too much heat or noise. If the power supply is incapable of providing the power needed, data corruption and possibly physical component damage could result. It is paramount, therefore, to choose a quality psu when building a computer."

http://www.xoxide.com/buy-computer-power-supplies.html

 Speaking of instability, it is time to address a most unfortunate fact.Power Supplies are almost always overrated in their peak wattage number (which is the number most heavily advertised). There are really only a handful of brands out there that do not involve themselves in these games. These are the brands that I talk about towards the end of this article in the 'Recommendations' Section. If you are going to buy from a lesser known brand you will want to pick a power supply that seems like “overkill” simply to make sure you have adequate power. If you are building a brand new system, anything under 400 watts simply won't cut it. SLI, multiple hard drives/optical drives, case lighting, and especially overclocking significantly raise this number. A general rule of thumb is that one should purchase the nicest power supply he or she can afford. The power supply should be the highest priority when choosing components; if working with a set budget, invest in the power supply and compromise elsewhere.

happywave.gif

 
Ok will let you know in a few years if it is still going strong. BTW, Ian, that link you posted is dead.

If it burns out, then I will just get another one.
 
Captain Jack Sparrow said:
Ok will let you know in a few years if it is still going strong. BTW, Ian, that link you posted is dead.
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Thanks, link fixed :thumb:
 
Hmm that worries me, but no comment on SumVision. I was thinking of getting and Xilience one, but the 600W one was out of stock.
 
I f you actually spent some time googleing and less time gripeing you might have found this.

http://www.otest.co.uk/test-results/sumvision-power-x-500w-109892.html

"... Once we increased the load to 75 per cent, the PSU ran for five seconds before exploding spectacularly. The Power X is very cheap but can't even deliver 375W, let alone 500W. One to avoid."

Mind you it could have been a biased review test.

:p
 
Abarbarian said:
I f you actually spent some time googleing and less time gripeing
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I couldn't agree more with that if I tried..The idea of a forum si for people to come for help or to learn from other peoples experience...Whats the point of asking for help/advice if whenever somebody gives you help or advice, you just go against them....??? Rant over..
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