What happens if I push my PSU way too much??

3047 Views 24 Replies 21 Participants Last post by Quantum Reality, Nov 24, 2009

jpark59

Discussion Starter · Nov 24, 2009

I had a tight budget for a new rig,
E5200, G31, 1xHDD, 1xDVD, 1x4850 512MB, 2GB RAM

and my power supply is cheap 350W that came with a case.
I've been using this setup for 1 week. No problem so far except loud noise from PSU fan especially when I play Fallout 3.

What's gonna happen if I keep pushing this PSU like this..?
I really don't have extra money to put into a PC..
Should I replace it to 500W PSU..?

1 - 20 of 25 Posts

Deagle50ae

· #2 · Nov 24, 2009

It will either catch fire, shut down, blow a capacitor, smell terrible and burn out, or just turn off completely into safety/fault mode.

happened to me.

In my case, I was playing GTA4 knowing my PSU was junk and about 3 minutes in the system just powered down. No warnings. just POW. a little electronics burning smell, and it never booted again. Replaced the PSU and all was well.

You could always throw a multimeter on it and see what your voltages are doing.

Reactions: 1

CrazyNikel

· #3 · Nov 24, 2009

Well you should be fine depending the quality of the psu you have. It showed you using around 250ish watts(me guessing 1 HDD and 2 120mm fans along with your sig specs and no cpu overclock). But of course that's not counting actually PSU quality.

Reactions: 1

Vermillion

· #4 · Nov 24, 2009

Sometimes when a power supply goes, it can take other components with it.

Reactions: 1

pvp309rcp

· #5 · Nov 24, 2009

Computer would usually just shut off when you put too much of a load on the PSU. This happens for safety measures when your PSU gets too hot. If you experience the automatic shut downs then you know it's time for new PSU

However, too much of a load too fast = game over (fire/burn) on your electronics. So if you know that you PSU isn't enough then be sure to get what you need. For a little summary of your needs...go ahead and check out "Power Supply Calculator". Not too accurate since you have to put into consideration of quality and amps for a PSU. So calculate, add an additional 100-200watts for headroom and check the Power Supply Forum for recommendations

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Reactions: 1

BlackOmega

· #6 · Nov 24, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpark59

View Post

I had a tight budget for a new rig,
E5200, G31, 1xHDD, 1xDVD, 1x4850 512MB, 2GB RAM

and my power supply is cheap 350W that came with a case.
I've been using this setup for 1 week. No problem so far except loud noise from PSU fan especially when I play Fallout 3.

What's gonna happen if I keep pushing this PSU like this..?
I really don't have extra money to put into a PC..
Should I replace it to 500W PSU..?

You will release the magic smoke and then your computer will no longer work.

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Phaedrus2129

· #7 · Nov 24, 2009

Read this:
http://www.overclock.net/power-suppl...-when-psu.html

Also this:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/hard...selection.html

Reactions: 1

JeremyFr

· #8 · Nov 24, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vermillion

View Post

Sometimes when a power supply goes, it can take other components with it.

Very true and with cheap power supply's i.e. the ones that come with case's which is the case here, they don't have any of the protective circuitry that a good power supply will have to prevent this. I've seen this happen way to many times.

To the OP I'd highly recommend replacing your PSU as soon as money allows, its not so much about wattage as quality. An el-cheapo PSU rated for 350watt's in many case's may only be rated to supply 150 watt's on the 12v rail and the rest is on the 3 and 5 volt rails.

Even a decent Antec 380 or 430 would be much better than what you've got right now, unless you've got an antec case/psu then you'd be ok.

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Reactions: 1

jpark59

Discussion Starter · #9 · Nov 24, 2009

Thanks for all the advice people!

Now, i'm kinda scared of losing my new 4850.. haha
I think i will replace it as soon as possible..
even though this power supply won't fail, i really can't stand this noise from using too much power out of 350w. thanks all!!

jpark59

Discussion Starter · #10 · Nov 24, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deagle50ae

View Post

It will either catch fire, shut down, blow a capacitor, smell terrible and burn out, or just turn off completely into safety/fault mode.

happened to me.

In my case, I was playing GTA4 knowing my PSU was junk and about 3 minutes in the system just powered down. No warnings. just POW. a little electronics burning smell, and it never booted again. Replaced the PSU and all was well.

You could always throw a multimeter on it and see what your voltages are doing.

Oh... thank god that didn't happen to me yet lol
ur still kinda lucky that replacing psu was all u had to do haha

my last psu was hx1000w which i really loved..
when i left canada last year i sold all my parts.. two 4870s.. and i'm so happy with one 4850 right now! xD

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HighOC

· #11 · Nov 24, 2009

It will blow BUMMM!!!

It happend to me while running furmark

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getbigtony

· #12 · Nov 24, 2009

it'll just die prematurely
500w would be perfect for your system actually
and enough to be used on the 5000series as well

Maddog7771

· #13 · Nov 24, 2009

THey have been know to explode just as that poor ol guy in asia. Oh wait thats right he is dead.

Raiden911

· #14 · Nov 24, 2009

first, the fan will spin 100% and then crash...and Kab00m...sparks and maybe fire.

DUNC4N

· #15 · Nov 24, 2009

When an older PSU went, it killed one of my motherboards as well. Be carefull, and replace it when you can.

H-man

· #16 · Nov 24, 2009

I have a 3850 in a gateway from 2004, the PSU is 300 watts, still works.

Applying power tools to delicate problems since 2009.
What have I done......... -Murlocke

Wrath II: The Dragon has Ryzen again.

CPU: AMD Ryzen x6 1600 | Motherboard: Asus Prime B350 Plus | GPU: Nvidia 970 3.5GB | RAM: ECC 16GB*2 2933MHz 14-16-16-16-32-52 M391A2K43BB1-CPB (B-die) | Hard Drive: 500GB WD Blue 3D NAND | Power Supply: Seasonic SSR-650FM | Cooling: CRYORIG H7 Tower Cooler For AMD/Intel CPU CRYORIG H7 | Cooling: FAN: 4x ARCTIC F12 PWM PST (120mm) Idles at 400RPM. | Case: Thermaltake Core G21 with rubber isolators to carry all fans. | Operating System: Windows 10 EDU/ OO shut up 10 | Monitor: QNIX 2710 @110Hz with a bunch of k'nex to hold papers above and around it. | Monitor: Dell 21.5" | Keyboard: Kinesis advantage modded to PS/2, 4th foot Pedal connected. | Keyboard: Some random HP branded USB unit I redirect to Virtual Machines | Keyboard: Kinesis Savant Elite Programmable Triple Foot Pedal | Mouse: Razer Deathadder 3.5G | Anker Vertical Mouse | Audio: Klipsch iFi I found dumpster diving. | Other: CyberPower 810 Watt Pure Sine wave UPS

Quantum Reality

· #17 · Nov 24, 2009

Yeah, don't count on safety features in cheap PSUs to save your equipment. There's always a chance of a PSU dying taking something else with it especially if the Bad Smoke comes out.

r34p3rex

· #18 · Nov 24, 2009

My friend learned this the hard way. When he built his first rig, C2D E6700, 8800GTX, he used a 500w PSU that was included with his case. Two weeks later, every component suddenly died after the PSU blew out. Motherboard, RAM, CPU, GPU, it took everything! Except the harddrive

Raiden911

· #19 · Nov 24, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by r34p3rex

View Post

My friend learned this the hard way. When he built his first rig, C2D E6700, 8800GTX, he used a 500w PSU that was included with his case. Two weeks later, every component suddenly died after the PSU blew out. Motherboard, RAM, CPU, GPU, it took everything! Except the harddrive

and case.

-------
One item in any rig that should never ever be overlook is the PSU. It is the most common overlooked hardware.

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Hickeydog

· #20 · Nov 24, 2009

If you push the power supply too hard (put too much load on it), you let the magic white smoke out. All electronics run on the magic white smoke. You let the magic white smoke out and it doesn't run anymore.

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