Hi, I have a cheap coolmax 400watt psu that came with my case. I've had it for 9 months, and the fan noise just bothered me so much that I took it out by carefully opening the psu, and unplugging the fan. So far, after about 6 hours it's been stable and I don't smell any smoke etc. My question is: Without this fan, if the psu starts to overheat etc...will it fry components. I know my psu has some sort of supposid overload protection. Also, how long does anyone think this will last? Before when I had the jet engine fan in, the air it blew out was cool air anyway. I could just buy a new psu a seasonic, antec, or something, but I don't think I can justify it just because of a noisy fan. lol
Actually, Seasonic's S12 line is supposed to be fairly quiet. In general, if a PSU has a fan, it's there for a reason. Under load, that PSU may not provide the rated voltages if the heat isn't there. Low-quality units may only provide the rated voltage at 25*C, where a high-end one can do 50*C. Typically, a PSU operates in the 30-35*C range. Secondly, the PSU fan acts as an exhaust fan for the system. Coolmax isn't one of your better PSU companies to start with, and a solid PSU is never a bad investment.
Hey, thanks for the response. It's ironic because before your response I just decided to buy a Seasonic S-12 330watt psu. It seemed like the best choice, active PFC, silent. Trying to run a cheap coolmax without a fan was running a risk. Based on the reviews of this psu, people say the 12v rails run a little low, 11.9ish. Apparently most psu's are a little high on the 12v rail, but I'm hoping that it'll be fine just by getting Seasonic which seems to be namebrand. I wonder if this will be okay, and my system will still be stable and happy. specs athlon64 3000+ nivida 6600gt 1 gig memory 80 gig harddrive cd/dvd-rom drive cd/cdrw drive
dont worry, some psu's are designed to run just under 12v or just above like the hiper which are designed to be at around 12.2v for the 12v rail. the main thing is that the rails dont fluctuate a lot so it'll be fine.
While that's probably going to be fine for that system, it may not hold up for future upgrades in power requirements. Don't get me wrong, Seasonic is good, but make the most of the purchase and snag something with 450-500W to give plenty of elbow room down the road.
i think he's bought it. If you havent then you could consider changing it to something els but if u have, then its still good as you can keep it for the machine its being bought form and when u deicde to upgrade or build a new pc, you can get a new psu. U can always come here for suggestions.
Initially when I was looking for a psu, I thought I need something 400-500 watts. I figured that even though the seasonic on order from newegg might be a little on the low end 330 watts, or it appears that way with the watts, because it's 80%+ efficiency and active PFC, it should be equivalent to one of those cheap 400 watt units. From the reviewers on newegg, some people were running this psu with nvidia 7900, duel core processor, and duel hard drives. With my current setup it should be good, the only things I would currently want to upgrade would be a better gpu, and perhaps another hard drive in addition to my external.
Your right that effiency is important, however, Newegg reviews aren't always that good to go by. Stable doesn't mean booting into Windows without crashing. Check out proper PSU reviews at the likes of JonnyGuru or [http://www.pcper.com]PC Perspective[/url]. One aspect to be highly aware of is amperage, particularly on the 12V rail. The official recommendation for an Athlon64 based system lists 25A on the 12V rail, or via combination when referencing multiple 12V rails. Seasonic isn't pulling your leg, and probably is better than a lot of cheap 500W, but just know that effciency is only half the story of important qualities in a PSU.
My seasonic 330watt just arrived today and so far I'm initially pleased. Very quiet compared to my old psu, and significantly heavier. Voltages are within the +- 5% which is good. According to my motherboard program, the voltages tend to fluctuate a little on the 1.4v which is kinda discouraging considering it's just siting in windows with music. But, it feels good having a 3 year warrenty. Thanks for the help guys/girls.
1.4V sounds like it's the CPU voltage or something. The PSU only provides the following: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, -5V, -3.3V, and -12V. The negatives aren't that important as devices tend not to really use them these days. A heavy PSU is one of the good signs. Typically, a heavier PSU contains more capacitors and other components to provide a cleaner, more stable power source.
