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My power supply just exploded!! Is 300W enough?? UPDATED! No wonder it blew up!

D

DARRIN

Platinum Member
I was booting up last night and it got to the Windows screen then I heard a very loud pop like a firecracker an saw a mushroom cloud out of the back of my computer. A capacitor violently gave it up.My question is was 300 watts enough. My system is overclocked and pulling quite a bit of power but I thought 300 watts was enough. It could have just been ready to die anyway. The power supply is only a year and a half old but I've only had this Thunderbird on it for a weak. Cheap power supply or not enough juice?
 
Could be both... You have to buy a new one regardless, just go ahead and buy a good 400 watter (if you have the extra 40 bux).
 
Probably your 300 watt wasn't enough. The 1.2 gig Tbird draws a lot of juice, and overclocking only compounds the prob. You should really check out the AMD recommended PS's for the 1.2gig Tbird. Click Here

(It's funny, there are some 250 watt units on the list, but the Antec 300 watt isn't. I guess it's because it's the wattage for the mb that really counts, and not the 12v accessory voltage, or whatever.)
 
I would pick the brand you want, and do a search on Price Watch. I went with the Sparkle 400 watt. Seem to remember hearing good things about the Sparkle. Expect to pay a bit more for the good 400 watt ones though.
 
Looks like this was a 300 Watt Deer. Thats on the AMD recommeded list. I'm thinking 400Watts too Webdude.
 
No wonder my power supply blew up. IT WAS A 240 WATT!

On the outside of it it says L&C Technology Inc. Model VT-300axt
On the back of it it has Deer on it. I assumed it was a 300 watt deer. When I opened it on the board it has dr-240atx. Sounds like a 240 watt suply to me! Deers part number on their 300 watt ps is dr-300atx. Bastards.
 
that's scary!



<< saw a mushroom cloud out of the back of my computer >>



i been using 300w powerman brand of ps lately, they work well with loaded systems.
 
240W for a Tbird 1.2ghz@1.5ghz!!! That was definately your problem. The Tbird was too much for it.🙂
 
The key element of power supply is the maximum output of 3.3V+5V. A decent 300W power supply can offer 160W or more for 3.3V+5V, which is crucial for Athlon.
 
Hahaha...

Usually, T-birds do fine on approved 300W power supplies. Quality is the main thing you want to look for when shopping for a PSU to power a high-performance system.
 
Yeah . . . I am running a 1 GHz T-Bird on a 300 Watt Sparkle with lots of peripherals, SCSI, USB, and IDE. It is very stable and happy.

I also have a 400 watt Sparkle driving a 1 GHz Athlon, and it is one noisy power supply (the fan!) Sounds like it is ready for take-off. Sparkle also makes a 350 . . . that might be a good compromise. The 400 really is noisy!
 
I've got a 400watt Sparkle Ps and I can say that it is louder than my 300 I had in there. BUT, that is not a problem! I'm just going to replace that fan with a Panaflow fan and I'll be down to a VERY quiet level again. 🙂
 
hahaha your CPU alone was drawing more then 1/3 of the W what the WHOLE PSU can supply.... you need bigger 🙂
 
JackBurton-

Be very careful in replacing that PS fan because your PS might overheat if the quieter panaflo can't duct enough air.

DARRIN-

Tbird@1.5 Ghz will draw 80-100W and I'm not sure if a 300w will be enough, make sure that the sustained wattage is enough to power that tbird, because the advertised 300w is only their peak.

I would spend a few extra bucks for a 350 or 400watt power supply.

I would actually clock the Tbird back to default because You won't see any performance increase with that extra speed, unless you're encoding divx or doing some professional graphics work.
 
Darrin-

Your rig should run fine on a quality ATX rev2.03 300-350W PSU, even with 4 IDE devices and fans. Antecs are among the top of standard units, Fortron/Source(Sparkle) and Enermax units are a step up from there. The Enermax EG351P-VE(331watts) is an excellent unit at the price, ~$50+shipping.

Deer PSU's are not well regarded among enthusiasts, despite their place on the AMD list. Yeh, the Enermax I just recommended is not on the list for 1200's, yet, anyway. If your deer experience leads you to distrust &quot;The List&quot;, select 1200 in the speed grade and SFX, see what pops up. If one of those will run your 'Bird, then the Enermax certainly will too.
 
Hmmm...Mule, you don't think the panaflo is capable of removing all the heat from the PS? Well, I guess the fan it came with will have to suffice.
 
JackBurton, just make sure the Panaflow fan has the same cfm rating as the fan in the PS or at least the same rpm rating. I just got a generic looking fan at a computer show, which the guy claims is double ball-bearing and this thing blows a lot of air but is silent compared to my CPU fan.
 
Well I picked up a new PS today and everything survived the catastrophy. I did not have the money or patients to get a really good one. I think it was a Sky Hawk 300 Watt. Everything is running well. Maybe I will upgrade one of these days. That power supply was in a Penguin (sp?) full size tower. Do you think I should contact them?
 
that 300W with a 160W rated 5+3.3 is fantastic.

regular 300W power supplies are rated 130 to 150 watts.

my 430W enermax is rated 220W =)

hee, my computer can't even boot with a 300W power supply with all the devices. it locks up =(
 
I had a Athlon 650 Slot A 0.25 (which is the most power-hungry of all Athlons) running off of a Fortran Source 250 watt power supply w/no probs.

FFF-Fun Fact for Free
 
I have the Sparkle 250W PS (On the list) with a 1.2 GHz running at 1.3 GHz fine. A decent quality 300W PS is far better than a no name 300 or 400W. Most of the larger PS' are of name brand, however.

Cheers!
 
The only power supply that's ever died on me was a generic POS with L&amp;C Technology written all over it. Go figure.

Sparkle (300w for PIII 933) has worked well for me as has my PC Power &amp; Cooling (235w running a Duron 700).
 
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