PSU about to die?

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BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#251094 8-Jun-2019 11:37

Hi all,

So I currently have a Coolermaster RS-650-PCAR-E3 PSU. It's probably about 5 years old.

A few months ago it started making a buzzy/rattling noise, but only after playing a game (like World of Tanks) for 10 minutes or so.

Its not that loud, but it is noticeable.

When I stop playing, it stops.

The Google isn't much help - half the threads say its nothing much to worry about, the other half wail that it's about to explode, burn the house down and kill the family.

So I turn to the experts I trust on Geekzone - is it time to replace it, or, meh, nothing to stress about?

Thanks!

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

Lias

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#2254637 8-Jun-2019 22:03

Certainly sounds like it's struggling a bit under load (gaming sucks more power). At 5 years old and being made by an at best average OEM I'd say replacing it is the smart choice.

Highly recommend Seasonic for the replacement.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup.

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2254638 8-Jun-2019 22:07

Lias:

Certainly sounds like it's struggling a bit under load (gaming sucks more power). At 5 years old and being made by an at best average OEM I'd say replacing it is the smart choice.

Highly recommend Seasonic for the replacement.

Thanks for that. I imagine Seasonic is out of my price range though, unfortunately.

I was looking at a Corsair VS SERIES VS650 650WATT 80PLUS WHITE - https://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?itemID=8631696

EDIT: Although I have just found: https://techworld.co.nz/seasonic-620gb-s12ii-bronze-series-620w-80plus-bronze-p-43817.html

or https://techworld.co.nz/thermaltake-smart-600w-plus-atx12v-p-55828.html

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

surfisup1000

5288 posts

Uber Geek

#2254698 9-Jun-2019 09:56

That seasonic you link to , looks good. 5 stars on amazon. Fakespot gives the amazon reviews an "F", which is odd, because seasonic is reputable. Seasonic don't need fake reviews to sell.

Other reviews look good.

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2254726 9-Jun-2019 10:56

surfisup1000:

That seasonic you link to , looks good. 5 stars on amazon. Fakespot gives the amazon reviews an "F", which is odd, because seasonic is reputable. Seasonic don't need fake reviews to sell.

Other reviews look good.

Thanks! Just to be sure (pretty sure I know the answer, but...) - I'm not losing anything at all by going down to 620w, am I - better quality, more modern PSU with slightly lower wattage is always going to win out, correct?

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2254831 9-Jun-2019 15:08

BiggusDoggus:

surfisup1000:

That seasonic you link to , looks good. 5 stars on amazon. Fakespot gives the amazon reviews an "F", which is odd, because seasonic is reputable. Seasonic don't need fake reviews to sell.

Other reviews look good.

Thanks! Just to be sure (pretty sure I know the answer, but...) - I'm not losing anything at all by going down to 620w, am I - better quality, more modern PSU with slightly lower wattage is always going to win out, correct?

Ok, Techworld have said they have no stock, and not likely to get any more, which is a shame.

Is that Corsair a reasonable alternative, in your opinion? It's had pretty good reviews on both Amazon & Newegg as well.

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

Lias

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#2254918 9-Jun-2019 17:52

BiggusDoggus:

Is that Corsair a reasonable alternative, in your opinion? It's had pretty good reviews on both Amazon & Newegg as well.

No, the VS are lower end corsair offerings and the OEM that makes them is HEC who are pretty terrible (unless it's old stock then it's CWT who are even worse)

A $200ish Seasonic is likely to be the lowest cost quality PSU you can get. E.g. Corsair AX are great, but start at over $300, and are just rebadged Seasonic's :-)

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2254930 9-Jun-2019 18:32

Lias:

BiggusDoggus:

Is that Corsair a reasonable alternative, in your opinion? It's had pretty good reviews on both Amazon & Newegg as well.

No, the VS are lower end corsair offerings and the OEM that makes them is HEC who are pretty terrible (unless it's old stock then it's CWT who are even worse)

A $200ish Seasonic is likely to be the lowest cost quality PSU you can get. E.g. Corsair AX are great, but start at over $300, and are just rebadged Seasonic's :-)

Thanks for that.

Problem is I have a budget of $120, absolute max, no wriggle room.
Which I know will severely restrict my options.

Although - I have found another couple of Seasonics: https://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/other/listing-2180796045.htm?rsqid=89600b3dcd594c13b1a981c98abf34f0-001

or https://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/other/listing-2180796039.htm?rsqid=0b8376533c424492aae5dd945936f933-001

Two issues though:

that's very cheap. The old saying comes to mind
The trader doesn't have the greatest rating (although a lot of the negatives have only happened in the last couple of weeks - something about Australia changing its export laws)

I suppose Trade Me has Buyer Protection through Ping, though, so not too much risk.

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Aredwood

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#2254944 9-Jun-2019 19:48

Get one of the Seasonic supplies. As they are designed as a super high current 12V PSU. And they then have 2 separate step down stages that use some of the 12V power to provide the 5V and 3.3V power outputs. This makes the output voltages far more stable.

Cheap units just use a single stage step down, and get the 12V 5V and 3.3V outputs using different transformer tap off connections. This causes big issues if you try to run the 12V output at 90% of rated output, but without also running the 5V and 3.3V outputs at the same % loading. The 5V and 3.3V outputs will get too high and cause random shutdowns due to over voltage. Under voltage problems will happen for the same reason.

Seasonic power supplies can handle wildly different output loadings without any problems. And if the 5V and 3.3V outputs are running at less than max load. The unused capacity then becomes available on the 12V outputs.

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2255005 9-Jun-2019 22:34

Aredwood: Get one of the Seasonic supplies. As they are designed as a super high current 12V PSU. And they then have 2 separate step down stages that use some of the 12V power to provide the 5V and 3.3V power outputs. This makes the output voltages far more stable.

Cheap units just use a single stage step down, and get the 12V 5V and 3.3V outputs using different transformer tap off connections. This causes big issues if you try to run the 12V output at 90% of rated output, but without also running the 5V and 3.3V outputs at the same % loading. The 5V and 3.3V outputs will get too high and cause random shutdowns due to over voltage. Under voltage problems will happen for the same reason.

Seasonic power supplies can handle wildly different output loadings without any problems. And if the 5V and 3.3V outputs are running at less than max load. The unused capacity then becomes available on the 12V outputs.

Thanks - I will go with this one then (SeaSonic 620W M12II Bronze EVO) - https://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/other/listing-2180796039.htm?rsqid=0b8376533c424492aae5dd945936f933-001

Sorry - one other thing: 620w is about right for my system, yes?

i5 4570 CPU with water cooling (just a little Corsair pump thingie)
RX470 card
2 x SSD's (500 & 250gb)
16gb DDR3 RAM
2 x 120mm case fans

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2255226 10-Jun-2019 12:54

Following on from above - are these a good option. Lower output, but (from what I have read) higher quality units:

https://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/other/listing-2180796002.htm?rsqid=884ff6da87d5478a98822c5a725360af-003

https://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/other/listing-2183882859.htm?rsqid=884ff6da87d5478a98822c5a725360af-003

FYI - they are a SeaSonic 550W FOCUS Gold, and SeaSonic 550W FOCUS PLUS Gold

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

1101

3122 posts

Uber Geek

#2255787 11-Jun-2019 09:49

Have a look at that sellers trademe feedback.... I wouldn't buy from them.
I bet they are just drop shipping from CH ...

"in Australia we are now not allowed to export boxes over 105cm" : cough cough BS :-)

Also , there are fake Seasonic's out there. What you buy may not be whats claimed on the box. Be carefull where you buy from .

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2255795 11-Jun-2019 09:53

1101:

Have a look at that sellers trademe feedback.... I wouldn't buy from them.
I bet they are just drop shipping from CH ...

"in Australia we are now not allowed to export boxes over 105cm" : cough cough BS :-)

Also , there are fake Seasonic's out there. What you buy may not be whats claimed on the box. Be carefull where you buy from .

Yeah, I know. But....if I pay using Ping, I'm protected if it doesn't arrive or it isn't as advertised.

And they are very cheap. I have the choice of taking a bit of risk to get a good quality PSU, or minimal risk to get a lower quality one.

To be fair, from what I can see, pretty much all their negative ratings are based on goods not arriving, or arriving late. Rather than the product not being legit...

If I was to chicken out, is this a good alternative: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/PSUCOR73801/Corsair-CX-Series-CX550-Power-Supply-550W-80-Plus

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries