What are signs that my low quality PSU is damaging other components?

[Xenharmonic]

Hey guys.
I recently brought the Asrock Z77 extreme 4 motherboard with an i5 3570K processor, I also got some got 2 4.gb sticks of 2133mhz RAM.

I'm using a GTX 560 and the power supply I have is the "525" model of this: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Extreme-2-475-W-Power-Supply-Review/1550

Basically it received a terrible review—The "475" variant could only safely pull 360w before the voltages on the +12v rails
drop below the "minimum allowed".

In the review they said there was a fair bit of noise in the output power of this PSU.

I have a single DVD burner and quite a big, roomy Antec 300 case.


Ok, so guys, I need your help. What are some signs that my other components are suffering because of this crappy quality power supply?

I have this program called hardware monitor that shows voltages and temperatures. Can any of these clue me in to whether my other components are being degraded? Is it possible for my components to be "stealth degraded", so when in 2 years time I try to overclock my processor, it just craps out on me?

Please help me. I'm starting to worry about this and I don't know enough about power supplies, or computers, to know if this cheap quality PSU is going to be dangerous for my other components .

 

[Raiddinn]

Yes, the cheapy PSU will put your other parts at rick.

No you can't see that from HWMonitor.

I would get a new one ASAP if I were you, rather than trying to stretch this PSU out to the end of its working life.

There really isn't going to be a way you can see your parts declining over time. If such damage is occurring, there is no way for you to know it until some part has a catastrophic failure.

The way you will probably notice this happening is by smelling something burning, hearing a loud BANG, or by trying to turn your computer on one day and it just won't come on.

At that point, there is no telling whether the PSU has taken something out with it or not. You would have to replace the PSU and try to turn it on and see what happens. If it gave you problems booting after one of those events and still after the PSU was replaced, then its likely the PSU took something down with it.

The most likely candidates are motherboards and video cards. At this point anything is a possibility, but processor, RAM, and hard drives are remote possibilities compared to motherboards and video cards.

It is quite hard to damage a processor that is known good and confirmed working without taking it out of the slot and messing with it. The 3570k should be pretty safe from any PSU related problems, for the most part.

 

[toyftw]

Hey guys.
I recently brought the Asrock Z77 extreme 4 motherboard with an i5 3570K processor, I also got some got 2 4.gb sticks of 2133mhz RAM.

I'm using a GTX 560 and the power supply I have is the "525" model of this: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Extreme-2-475-W-Power-Supply-Review/1550

Basically it received a terrible review—The "475" variant could only safely pull 360w before the voltages on the +12v rails
drop below the "minimum allowed".

In the review they said there was a fair bit of noise in the output power of this PSU.

I have a single DVD burner and quite a big, roomy Antec 300 case.


Ok, so guys, I need your help. What are some signs that my other components are suffering because of this crappy quality power supply?

I have this program called hardware monitor that shows voltages and temperatures. Can any of these clue me in to whether my other components are being degraded? Is it possible for my components to be "stealth degraded", so when in 2 years time I try to overclock my processor, it just craps out on me?

Please help me. I'm starting to worry about this and I don't know enough about power supplies, or computers, to know if this cheap quality PSU is going to be dangerous for my other components .

Hi - along the line of Raidinn's advice, this is a quote from Tom's Hardware tutorial on building a PC:

"The power supply is the single most critical component in the entire system. A faulty unit can die a horrible death, taking out several key pieces of hardware in the process, while an underpowered part can cause crashes or even boot failure".


I pulled an almost new PSU out of my PC when I found out how poorly it reviewed

 

[Xenharmonic]

Best answer selected by Xenharmonic.

 

[Xenharmonic]

Thanks guys. Is 2 months too long to wait before getting a new one?
I don't have my license yet so it would be hard to get down to the computer store otherwise. Or are PSUs the easiest component to install?
Also, looking at my system, what's a good wattage to get?
On that PSU article they say that going too powerful is a bad idea.