Fun with computers

So I'm minding my own business yesterday, trying to make some progress on my taxes running Turbotax, looking for a particular 1099-DIV and I get back to the 'puter and it's off. Hmm. I know I didn't turn it off. Push the power button. Nothing. Switch off power at the back of the unit, then back on. Push power button. Nothing.

But wait! Suddenly there's that familiar crackling noise and sparks are shooting out of the back of the box. Yay. I cut power, yank all the wires out the back of the box and carry it downstairs and out onto the back porch. You know how fried electronics can stink up the place.

A postmortem on the power supply revealed that one of the heat-sinked power transistors was split apart and charred. This was a pretty nice system, just over a year old, with a fancy Gigabyte "Ultra Durable" Dual Bios motherboard. Apparently the power supply was the weakest link. I'm off to my supplier for a new one. Hopefully that will be the extent of the trouble.

Anybody else have issues with power supplies? It seems I can't get one to last much more than a year. When I replace them, I get the best I can buy. That usually does it.

It sounds like you have flaky power issues...

Suggestion: Get a good UPS.

scardeal wrote: It sounds like you have flaky power issues... Suggestion: Get a good UPS.

Nah, the box in question is connected to a massive Best Power UPS. I've had supplies fail at a variety of locations, with or without UPS's.

I;ve had the best luckly lately with thermatake power supplies.

I never had a problem with a power supply, but the wife had her laptop start on fire once. She was typing away and all sudden like, screen goes black. Hit the power, nothing. Start smellin' something a little funny, so I snatched it from her, flipped it over, and smoke was coming out of the exhaust port on the bottom. Turns out an improperly grounded monitor feed fried the video board and near took the mobo with it. Thank god that pig was under warranty.

How old was the power supply? How hard are you pushing it relative to its specs?

Anandtech had a pretty cool article comparing three different 550W supplies at different price points to see what made them different:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3985/three-550w-psus-for-different-prices

in all my years of computing.. I have only ever killed one PS. And that one had been on for 4 years 24/7.

Just get an Apple. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated

Scott Lear wrote: How old was the power supply? How hard are you pushing it relative to its specs? Anandtech had a pretty cool article comparing three different 550W supplies at different price points to see what made them different: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3985/three-550w-psus-for-different-prices

Thanks for that article! I did in fact just get back with a 650-watt Antec power supply. It appears to outweigh the old one by at least a factor of two. Good that my guy knows what the good stuff is.

The old supply was just over a year old. The rating was 450 watts. The system is pretty basic, so 450 should have been enough. It's the supply that shipped with the barebones kit.

I should have it up and running here shortly!

EDIT: Done! Now to get back to my taxes!

At my old place of work I would run some pretty hefty simulations they would take 8 to 10 hours to complete. Initially they gave me some dell slimline computers optimized for people who needed nothing more than word or powerpoint...

I think our group burned up 3 or 4 computers (it was always the power supply the went first) before management saw the light and sourced some real engineering desktops for us to use.

I find it worthwhile to invest in a decent power supply. It is the only part in a computer that, if it fails or malfunctions, can irreparably damage every other component.

I have had a flaky power supply kill a mobo in the past. Not quite so dramatically, but dead none the less.

Salanis wrote: I find it worthwhile to invest in a decent power supply. It is the only part in a computer that, if it fails or malfunctions, can irreparably damage every other component. I have had a flaky power supply kill a mobo in the past. Not quite so dramatically, but dead none the less.

Agreed. I had my fingers crossed when I fired it back up. Here's the power supply I picked up, albeit for a slightly higher price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015