What power supply ?

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stevewestern

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The last couple of mornings my pc has not turned on properly - ie nothing has happened except the screen and mouse have powered up, but not the actual pc - I fear the power supply ( a Corsair TX 650w) might be on its way out.
I have to turn the main switch on the PSU off then on, and then it powers up.
If my guess is right, what might be a good unit to replace it with ?
I don't need anything as big as a 650 watt unit, as its a simple machine, no graphics card, just a couple of slow fans and an i5 - 3570 with 8gb of ram.

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
Can't help on a replacement other than don't go cheap and go for a well known make. I had a similar problem a few years ago. Eventually I found the PSU was fine but the power switch on the case was failing. I put everything in a new case and the problem was solved.

Dave
 
Corsair, coolermaster, be quiet, 400W psu's are £40-50. Take a look at the noise rating on them and the connectors you need.
 
Tringa said:
Can't help on a replacement other than don't go cheap and go for a well known make. I had a similar problem a few years ago. Eventually I found the PSU was fine but the power switch on the case was failing. I put everything in a new case and the problem was solved.

Dave
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Funny how the obvious can elude so easily - I hadn't even thought about the switch.. I'll try squirting it with some contact cleaner later.
Thanks Dave !
 
Modern PSUs are switched mode, basically small Power supplies with amplifier stages. At the same time there is always some power assigned to the motherboard for things like wake on Lan, i.e. to keep the network card powered, meaning that some parts of the PSU are always on even when the computer is turned off.

Turning off the switch/pulling the power cord and waiting around 30 secs ensures everything is completely powered off and allows a clean start up.
But, if you're starting to see issues then thats the sign of things starting to go, and it'll be worth paying out the £40 or so just so you're not caught out for a while when it finally fails. Sod's law says it'll be when you need it :)
 
Byker28i said:
Modern PSUs are switched mode, basically small Power supplies with amplifier stages. At the same time there is always some power assigned to the motherboard for things like wake on Lan, i.e. to keep the network card powered, meaning that some parts of the PSU are always on even when the computer is turned off.

Turning off the switch/pulling the power cord and waiting around 30 secs ensures everything is completely powered off and allows a clean start up.
But, if you're starting to see issues then thats the sign of things starting to go, and it'll be worth paying out the £40 or so just so you're not caught out for a while when it finally fails. Sod's law says it'll be when you need it :)
Click to expand...

You are right - even if it is the switch, the whole computer is a good few years old, and the last thing I need is for it to die on me, as there is never a good time for that sort of thing to happen..
I'll start looking for something by Corsair or the others you mentioned - guess the next question is who to buy from..?
 
Seasonic are the best brand as far as I know but very expensive.
If I remember in group tests they come out on top so its not just a badge thing
 
GTG said:
Seasonic are the best brand as far as I know but very expensive.
If I remember in group tests they come out on top so its not just a badge thing
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Yup, from what I've read they seen to be very highly recommended so I've gone for one of them. I don't know enough about computers to take the risk of anything going wrong so would rather pay more and get something that get good reviews and has a ten year warranty..!
Many thanks everyone for the help.
 
For future reference to anyone looking for PSU's, the list on this page is very handy.

In laymens terms of best reliability and knowing that your not getting cheap crap the recommendation is to buy a PSU thats listed in tier 1 or 2. Tier 3 is plausable whilst tiers 4 and 5 are best avoided.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

Jonnyguru is also good for PSU reviews.
He goes in to great detail in his reviews, stripping them down and testing the components etc.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Review_Cat&recatnum=13

Both these links are invaluable when it comes to PSU's
 
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A 400 watt power supply should be ok but never buy a cheap model they can cause problems,ie fire!!
 
Terry C Baker said:
A 400 watt power supply should be ok but never buy a cheap model they can cause problems,ie fire!!
Click to expand...

I have used free PSU in cases for decades, never had a fire and only needed to change one or two.
 
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