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I've burned my PSU 2 times while gaming! HELP!

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ckoryom   07-18-2008 at 07:54:27 PM

Hi, I am having troubles with every PSU I've bought, the first one was a Generic 500W (not real) PSU that lasted for a year, when Iw as playing Crysis it burned...

Then I bought another one, it was a 600W Generic (not real) PSU. I was surfing the internet when the computer went off by itself and then I figured out that the PSU wasnt burned but woulnt give power to the motherboard.. So I changed for antoher one.

That next one was the same as the last one, a 600W generic. It lasted 2 months, While I was playing COD 4 yesterday with settings on max, the psu started to show sparkles of electricity and it went off, then it smelled like burned..

I had problems with this last psu before it burned because everytime I was playing a game like Crysis, Assassins Creed, or COD 4 MY PSU SMELLED LIKE BURNT , this didnt happened while surfing the web, it just happens when Im gaming.

Now I dont know what to do, I dont know if the problems Im having are related to the quality of the PSU, maybe I should buy a good one like a Thermaltake 750W toughpower. But I'm afraid I could burn that one too...

Can you guys help me decide here?? I really need help, I dont want to be burning more PSU's....

My system Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
MSI K9N Neo Motherboard
2x 1Gb DDR2 Kingston 5200 at 667Mhz
EVGA Nvidia Geforce 8800GTS 320Mb
--------------------------------------------
Case:
Thermaltake MATRIX VX. 2 Thermaltake Fans/Front and Rear, Dust Suction on Front.

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radnor   07-18-2008 at 07:58:54 PM
- 0 +

A Corsair VX550W should handle your system no problem.

A Corsair TX750 or your toughpower 750 would be very nice if you ever think of SLI/Upgrading machine. Stay away from VALUE PSUs !!!!

Follow my rule, if you ever had a beef heavier than your PSU, your PSU sucks !!!

------------------------------ Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read - Frank Zappa
Reply to radnor
ckoryom   07-18-2008 at 08:07:31 PM
- 0 +

thank you!

Then my problem is the cheap non-brand PSU's I'm buying. Im not planning on building a SLI system in any future, so a 550W-600W Real Power good brand PSU handle all my games??

I just searched brands like EnergeMax, Thermaltake, Corsair, BFG Tech, CoolerMaster.

Reply to ckoryom
Aurora18   07-18-2008 at 08:11:15 PM
- 0 +

then spend the money on something that lasts and don't be cheap being cheap can cost more in the long run if you constantly replace broken hardware

Reply to Aurora18
ainarssems   07-18-2008 at 08:28:31 PM
- 0 +

Check this out: http://corsair.com/cinema/movie.aspx?id=622747
That will help to understand why NOT to buy cheap generic PSU's.
Good 450W like Corsair VX450 will do for You. But to leave a bit of headroom I would recommend 500W or more good quality PSU like radnor's recommended VX550

Reply to ainarssems
ckoryom   07-18-2008 at 08:35:22 PM
- 0 +

Great video. That's what my X's Brand PSU did, it blowed like that! Thank you.

I thought I needed something like 750W but reading the Corsair site I've realized that a 550W at 89$ would be great.! I've already spent like 90$ on 3 X's brand PSU....

Reply to ckoryom
ckoryom   07-18-2008 at 10:29:30 PM
- 0 +

One more question, what is it with this Corsair PSU's and their its single 12V Rail.. Isn't it better a PSU with more 12 V rails?

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to ckoryom
radnor   07-18-2008 at 10:35:14 PM
- 0 +

ckoryom wrote :

One more question, what is it with this Corsair PSU's and their its single 12V Rail.. Isn't it better a PSU with more 12 V rails?



I prefer a huge 12v rail. The PSU distributes power.

Or do you prefer a 750W PSu, that only gives 240W in the 12v rail ? (PCI-E)
I prefer the whole 720W on the 12v rail if necessary. With a 750 PSU.

Imagine if you card uses 250 Watts in full load. And your PSU only gives 240 Watts. Bugger isnt it.

------------------------------ Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read - Frank Zappa
Reply to radnor
ainarssems   07-18-2008 at 11:15:43 PM
- 1 +

dual, triple, quad rails was just a marketing trick. Most of them still had one rail split in several current flows with a current limiter on each flow. And many did not have even that. What You want is a one huge rail. for example if You have two rails of 17A and cpu use 8A on one rail and video card 15A + other peripherials (5A) on second rail hten You run out off puff on second rail. If however You have one railwith the same combined current of 34A You are fine - 8+15+5=28. It is better to look for single rail. But don't worry too much as I said most that are advertised as multi rail actually are single rail anyway. Just a marketing trick to make people buy them.

Reply to ainarssems
ckoryom   07-20-2008 at 08:03:02 PM
- 0 +

What do you guys think of this BFG Tech 550W PSU.
http://www.amazon.com/550W-BFGR550 [...] 490&sr=1-2

It has Life-Time Warranty. I'd like to know if it will run my games without burning this PSU.

I was thinking of this one too. Corsair 750tx PSU.
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-750W [...] 89&sr=8-28

but it has only a 5 year warranty.

I'd like to know what is the difference between this two, and wich one should I choose..

Reply to ckoryom
spook24   07-21-2008 at 05:08:44 AM
- 0 +

i had the BFG Tech 550W PSU(mine was the GS series) but i upgraded my PC so i had to get a Ultra LSP 750 watt. the BFG is a nice unit. 135mm fan that sucked air from inside your box and out the back of it. really nice finish on it. sorta chrome-ish or a gun metal chrome finish.

 

you prolly don't want to hear what the finish is like. i was powering a P4 3.0 OC'd to 3.4; 2 gigs ram OC'd; 3 - 160GB SATA HD's and a 7800GS agp gfx card oh and 1 intake and 2 exhaust fans. the card alone req. 400 watts and i got a 15% deal on the psu.

 

i don't too much about output of the power as i dont know what a 12 volt rail is(i know what a 12 volt battery is :P) but for the money and a Life-Time warranty you cant go wrong. But if your willing to spend the extra $$ to get the other unit - get it.

 

I actually almost bought a Corsair psu(750 watts) similar to the one u linked but i got the Ultra instead. it was like $60 cheaper than the Corsair and the Ultra has a 135mm fan on it(which i like), like the BFG and sleeved cables. the Corsair didnt.

 

BFG - $85 - Best Buy
Ultra - $106.99 - CompUSA in store
Corsair - $160.50 - CompUSA in store

 

really the only reason i didn't get the Corsair is because I only brought $160 cash, so i had to get the Ultra and it was the last one left. so i got lucky :)


Message edited by spook24 on 07-21-2008 at 06:39:42 AM
Reply to spook24
San Pedro   07-21-2008 at 11:08:40 PM
- 0 +

I think the Corsair 550 was the best choice for your system of all those mentioned.

Remember the PSU powers all your expensive hardware, don't skimp on it.

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to San Pedro
spook24   07-22-2008 at 02:06:49 AM
- 0 +

San Pedro wrote :

I think the Corsair 550 was the best choice for your system of all those mentioned.

Remember the PSU powers all your expensive hardware, don't skimp on it.



its a BFG 550 watt and a Corsair 750 watt not a Corsair 550 watt.

Reply to spook24
ckoryom   07-22-2008 at 09:26:41 PM
- 0 +

Guys I was searching on Amazon, it is the only online store I can buy in USA and ship to my country ( I'm not from USA).

I think the best price for my Gaming Rig is this Corsair 650W TX Power Supply.
Everybody tells me that i should get a 550W Corsair. But I want to know if this one is better for my games.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-650W [...] 61&sr=1-19
Thats the link.

I cant buy the 750W too expensive dont have enough credit on my credit card.. I need a price below 100$ for the duty charges..

Reply to ckoryom
spook24   07-24-2008 at 10:35:06 PM
- 0 +

what are your specs? cant really help you unless we know what you have. :)

Reply to spook24
ckoryom   07-28-2008 at 04:46:12 PM
- 0 +

I said it before...

My system Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
MSI K9N Neo Motherboard
2x 1Gb DDR2 Kingston 5200 at 667Mhz
EVGA Nvidia Geforce 8800GTS 320Mb
2x Maxtone HD's SATA II 160 GB

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to ckoryom
radnor   07-28-2008 at 05:00:25 PM
- 0 +

ckoryom wrote :

I said it before...

My system Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
MSI K9N Neo Motherboard
2x 1Gb DDR2 Kingston 5200 at 667Mhz
EVGA Nvidia Geforce 8800GTS 320Mb
2x Maxtone HD's SATA II 160 GB



The Corsair 650W will do fine also.

------------------------------ Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read - Frank Zappa
Reply to radnor
asdasd123123   07-28-2008 at 08:18:06 PM
- 0 +

You'll be happy with a 400w psu on that little rig.
The power supply is the single most important part in stable running of your system. Why skimp on it?

You'll pay double the price of a high end psu after a few months with generic rubbish anyway.

Corsair makes pretty PSUs, so do Fortron source and "be quiet!"

Reply to asdasd123123
ckoryom   07-29-2008 at 05:06:47 AM
- 0 +

Thanks, my Corsair 650 is on the way

Reply to ckoryom
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