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#1 Sep 19 2011 at 7:44 AM Rating: Good
Computer is absolutely dead. No beeps, no flashes. Can I be fairly certain that I have a dead power supply, or could it be the mobo or something?
#2 Sep 19 2011 at 11:49 AM Rating: Good
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Open the case and make sure no lights or anything come on when you hit the switch. Also, make sure the PSU fan doesn't start up. It could also be the switch that tells the PSU to turn on, but it's most likely the power supply. You can short two wires on the PSU if you really want to make sure it isn't the case switch. You can Google which wires, but I would suggest checking the forums on the PSU manufacturers website. I've heard of a few generic PSUs that don't like being shorted, but that's more the exception than the rule.
#3 Sep 19 2011 at 6:06 PM Rating: Excellent
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Chech the power switch on the back of the power supply too. sometimes that gets hit. It could also be a bad power cable, bad surge protector, or bad outlet. Individual power ports on a surge protector have been known to go bad.


Raolan is on the correct path to check the internals. if you have anything internal spinning up or blinkiing, you have power.
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#4 Sep 20 2011 at 5:26 AM Rating: Good
Yeah, I couldn't hear anything when I tried powering it up, but I'll give it a visual since I have to open it up anyways. In regards to cable and such, this older computer that I'm using as a substitute powered up just fine on it, so that's a plus.

Now all I need to do is not buy a wrong power supply.
#5 Sep 20 2011 at 5:40 AM Rating: Good
Oh, silly question. I have no idea what I should do for wattage. It's either got 4 or 6 cores, 8 gigs of ram, one so-so sata HDD, and a 470 gpu or something. Think 850 will cover it?
#6 Sep 20 2011 at 11:31 AM Rating: Good
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Admiral Lubriderm wrote:
Oh, silly question. I have no idea what I should do for wattage. It's either got 4 or 6 cores, 8 gigs of ram, one so-so sata HDD, and a 470 gpu or something. Think 850 will cover it?


Probably. Go over to Corsair's website and use their PSU finder. That'll at least give you a range for where you should be. And you could always grab whatever they recommend, they make some pretty solid PSUs.
#7 Sep 20 2011 at 7:11 PM Rating: Excellent
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For an old pc, 850 is overkill unless you plan to upgrade the whole thing. A 650 or 700 watt would suffice unless you plan on running dual video cards.
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#8 Sep 21 2011 at 3:48 AM Rating: Good
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Raolan wrote:
Admiral Lubriderm wrote:
Oh, silly question. I have no idea what I should do for wattage. It's either got 4 or 6 cores, 8 gigs of ram, one so-so sata HDD, and a 470 gpu or something. Think 850 will cover it?


Probably. Go over to Corsair's website and use their PSU finder. That'll at least give you a range for where you should be. And you could always grab whatever they recommend, they make some pretty solid PSUs.


If you don't go with a Corsair model, make sure you are getting an 80+ certified model (some descriptions may not mention 80+, but may mention being certified for nVidia SLI). Otherwise, eventually your PSU may only be able to deliver output in the 60-70% range under sustained loads, so you'll need to pad the rating a bit (basically, go a tier higher: instead of a generic 600w, go with 700/750w, etc.).

I know the prices may look a bit steep for the 80+ models, but these new GPU's combined with the multi-core CPU's can really hammer a PSU--and when those generic models get hot, their output drops off pretty quick. You may actually save money in the long run with a higher quality PSU because of the longer warranties. I got a Corsair TX650 on sale a while back at Best Buy for $85--and it has a 5yr warranty (Corsair typically just swaps things out, so their warranties usually translate to free replacement). Even their entry level CX models have 2 years--Pro lines have 7.
#9 Sep 21 2011 at 5:23 AM Rating: Good
The corsair 850 is going for about $130, which I can swing, so I think I'll just go with that. Thanks for all the advice, guys.
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