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Furmark Just blew my power supply! HELP

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Hi guys, first my spec:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black edition 2.6ghz dual core (not overclocked)
XFX Geforce 9600GT XXX Edition (740/1000 factory overclock)
2GB RAM
250GB 7200rpm HD
500w PSU - Single 12v Rail 36A - Had no PCI-E connector so used the molex adapter to power the card

My case is fully ventilated - 120mm front, 120mm back, 120mm side, 80mm side, good aftermarket heatsink fan for cpu.

I was having trouble with the graphics card - black screening when gaming at the standard clock, so I had underclocked it, this kept it stable but would often still artifact. I was running furmark to test for artifacts (with the max heat / max AA options enabled to really cause some stress) I left it running 30mins, came back into the room, smelt burning - thinking it was the card I leant over the case to smell the back where it was coming from (I know now I should of turned it off immediately) anyway I smell the fan exhaust of the power supply and it smells like electrical fire, no sooner than I put my nose to the back it blows, sparks fly out and a bit of smoke. Anyway I immediately unplug everything, and removed the Power Supply. I also sent the Graphics Card back today and have decided to take a HIS HD 4670 1GB as a replacement - I will be using my girlfriends standard clocked 9600GT and giving her the 4670.

On to my questions, I don't have much spare cash to buy an Antec / OCZ or any other good named brand PSU, so I have purchased the following http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330343103846 It was the best I could find for the value with a dedicated PCI-E connector

1) Do you think this power supply will be stable?
2) Why did the power supply blow? Too much stress from furmark? Faulty Graphics card? Overheating?
3) Could the old power supply of caused the artifacting / black screens I suffered with the Geforce 9600GT XXX?
4) What is the likelyhood all of my components are fried? I really can't afford to replace everything, I'm hoping the PSU dieing didn't damage any other components.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your help/input on this matter.

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Power supply Master

You'll just have to try it. Your new ps is a no name brand with marginal 12v rail ratings. And yes, a cheap ps will blow or fail in a matter of days, no matter what the wattage it's rated at. I know from personal experience. Better brands don't overate their wattage or any other settings. Fry's has the antec basiq 550w for only $29.99 today only. Too bad you couldn't get one. I would turn your resolution and game settings down for your cheap ps until you can afford a better one. Cheap ps won't protect your other components if they fail. Some take the motherboard with them.

Thanks for the reply, the power supply had lasted since I got the computer about 2months ago. I had played games for many hours with no burning smells etc, it seemed running a full furmark stress test with everything enabled must of caused more draw on the graphics card than normal gaming and the psu couldn't keep up - at a guess.

Unfortunatly I found no good retailers that ship to the UK - The ones I found priced their items alot higher than the american counterparts. Otherwise I'd be sure to shop from frys or newegg. I had a £30 budget and wanted a dedicated pci-e connector, this was the best I come up with. Do the numbers look pretty crappy on this PSU I just bought then? I know dual 12V rails is going to be better than single 12V rail, and there appears to be more than enough Amps on them for my gpu.

Lastly, do you think it's pretty likely my mobo/ram/gpu/hd/dvdrw are all fried? I can't see any noticeable damage on them and they were not as hot as the powersupply was when I cracked open the case. I will just have to be patient until the new PSU arrives and hope for the best :(  :??: 
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You're just asking for more trouble replacing your power supply with another crappy one. Don't be surprised if it fries too. The only way to know for sure if your other parts fried too is to test them. And yes, it is very likely that your old crappy psu was the reason for your graphics instability problems.
Power supply Expert

It sounds like this experience should have taught you to not trust cheapo PSU's but that would have been a better question for the forum BEFORE you made your purchase.

Personally, I would try to return the ps you just bought and go with a more reliable brand like the antec's mentioned. I also had a great experience with a thermaltake pSU I bought recently for $30 US, I was amazed at the quality, and nice extras like the packaging and the sleeved cables all around. It was a very solid buy. Granted it was only 430 watts, but you could find very competent PSU's in the 50-60US range.

Point being you don't need to spend a fortune to get a reliable power supply, and skimping won't pay off.

Also its quite possible that other components were damaged, so be careful when trying out a new PSU.

I agree with your assessment that stressing a system that was already showing artifacts was the cause for the fiery death. Obviously from your specs that shouldn't have happened with your machine's modest hardware. That 500 watt rating doesn't really mean squat right now, does it?

I think with another cheapo part you are asking for more trouble. Is it really worth it to save 20-30 bucks when you could fry your mobo, graphics card, or other components? How much are you really saving here?

Thanks for the replies.

As I stated the original power supply came with the PC when I bought it. I did see ebuyers ocz 400w power supply, but including even the 5day super saver postage it knocked up to £40+ and as I said I only have £30 spare, believe me I did try to find a decent PSU for £30 but nothing on overclockers.co.uk / ebuyer.com /novatech.com / ebay.com / amazon.com was in that pricerange.

The power supply I chose was not the cheapest, and is branded (albeit a brand neither myself or any of you have likely heard of), reading the specs it doesn't seem that shoddy, of couse it's not a preferable choice but any reason in particular the one I linked will be useless?

don't even bother, save the money for a decent PSU, yes you won't be able to use your computer, but then again you could just as easily as the last blow this one two

specs, 34A for the 12v (this is a large assumption that it gets max out of both rails, which is doubtful) only give ~400w of 12v wattage where as a good brand will give most of the wattage possibly for 12v rails, ie my Corsair 650w gives me 624w in 12v wattage though this is out of your price range

The one thing you should NEVER do when building a PC is get a cheap power supply. It's always the best and most important piece of hardware in your case. So don't skimp on a cheap PSU .. go ahead and drop the dough to get a nice, well rated, 80 plus (if possible) power supply or else you're gambling with your entire system for no reason than saving 40-50 bucks.
Power supply Expert

Quote:
Well most people learn their lesson about cheap power supplies when it blows and sometimes takes out components with it. Black screens and artifacting were likely caused by that cheap psu to begin with.

You could have just bought a good psu with a 5 year warranty for what you paid for 2 cheap ones.

Obviously you didn't learn your lesson. Maybe after this one takes out your system you'll get it. Good luck with that piece of junk.

+10000.

Well said. Post of the day!

@ainarssems - Thank you very much for this. I have taken a refund on the PSU I previously purchased and will order this antec next week. I tested my system with my girlfriends PSU earleir today and it works fine, so hopefully this antec basiq will compliment the system nicely.

Also I don't get the need for overly confrontational replies some of you have given me, I ask a simple question and you feel the need to be blunt bordering on rude. Thankfully it seems there are some nice people in this community so I won't let the impression some of you have given me put me off.

Thanks.
Power supply Expert

Quote:
Also I don't get the need for overly confrontational replies some of you have given me, I ask a simple question and you feel the need to be blunt bordering on rude. Thankfully it seems there are some nice people in this community so I won't let the impression some of you have given me put me off.

It's just that this is a common thing that people don't seem to understand and most are just annoyed with people having problems with low quality PSUs.
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