Another "can my psu handle this rig" question

[Spike]

So after installing a new hdd into my HTPC and shutting down I found that the pc would not start back up. One of the lights on the mobo was on but nothing would happen. I unplugged the psu and turned it off then waited a few min. After that I plugged it in, turned it on, and hit the power. My lights dimmed for the briefest of time and the pc did nothing, not even the light on the mobo. I smelled the psu and it smelled slightly odd but there was no electrical burning smell. I brought down my backup psu and did a quick and dirty swap and everything started up just fine. So here is my question, can my backup psu run the rig?

The psu is the Apevia Win-500PS that came with my Aspire Qpack 2. I looked for it online and the closest I could find is the Win-500XPSX here. All the stats are the same so it's probably the same psu just a newer version. The HTPC I want it to power is the last pc in my rig running the overclocked Opteron 165. Based on the rails alone it should not have an issue with the pc but I know the quality is not there. Anyone think it can handle an overclocked Opteron rig with a relatively low power gpu?

Thanks for any help.

EDIT Just as a FYI the psu that died is the Cooler Master Extreme Power Pro 550 in my sig... thankfully I got it for ~$10 after rebate and the rebate did actually come.

Does anyone think an earthwatts 380 would be able to handle this pc? If so I may just pick one up for $30 from the egg

 

[mpilchfamily]

Apevia is among the worst PSU brands out there. They are well known for there short life spans and there willingness to share there death with other system components.

The EA 380 is a great PSU but an OCed Opti pulls allot of juise so you might want to go with the 430W instead. On a poor quality Hiper Typer-R 580 PSU my Opti OC maxed out an about 2.7GHz. I then upgraded to a more stable Corsair HX 550 and was able to top out at 2.9Ghz.

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: mpilchfamily
Apevia is among the worst PSU brands out there. They are well known for there short life spans and there willingness to share there death with other system components.

The EA 380 is a great PSU but an OCed Opti pulls allot of juise so you might want to go with the 430W instead. On a poor quality Hiper Typer-R 580 PSU my Opti OC maxed out an about 2.7GHz. I then upgraded to a more stable Corsair HX 550 and was able to top out at 2.9Ghz.

Well, I have it running on the Apevia right now as a temporary solution. I hope to get a new PSU within the next week or so, then the Apevia can go back to backup/testing status.

 

[Zap]

I'd say that the EarthWatts 380W should be able to power those specs fine. The 430W will give you a bit of overhead, though.

Regardless of what you end up with, you should RMA the Cooler Master PSU. Once you get back a working unit, retire the Apevia and use the Cooler Master as your backup.

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Zap
I'd say that the EarthWatts 380W should be able to power those specs fine. The 430W will give you a bit of overhead, though.

Regardless of what you end up with, you should RMA the Cooler Master PSU. Once you get back a working unit, retire the Apevia and use the Cooler Master as your backup.

Yeah, I would love to RMA the cooler master but I voided my warranty 2 days after getting it. The fan was sooooooo freaking loud in it so I replaced it with a yate loon and it was much better. During this process I had to break the "warranty void" sticker over one of the screws so I knew it was over. Not a huge deal since I bought it for $10 AR.

Also, since I knew the warranty was gone I cut a bunch of the cables to assist in removing it. I had it wired all clever like so it was a pain to remove. Let me tell you, cutting the cables made it way easier 🙂

Now I'm just watching for deals on an earthwatts or something similar to replace the Apevia with. I know it sucks but it works well as a test PSU to make sure a setup is working before dropping it into a case.


EDIT** I'm going for the 500w ocz psu from the egg for $23 AR with 2x1GB DDR2 800. I know it's not the best psu but it looks good enough to handle this relatively simple system without any issues and should last a good amount of time. The cable issue will be annoying (they are apparently short) but the price is hard to beat.