Testing new power supply?

[FlyBono24]

I just noticed that Newegg's return/exchange policy states that you MUST file a report within 7 days of receiving the product. That sucks for people that buy the parts over time, because you can't thoroughly test them.

In my case, I just received the Enermax 535W PSU... I know if you wire two of the pins together you can see if the fan turns on or not... but that doesn't really test the power supply itself, it just checks to see if the fan is turning on.

Can I hook it up to my OLD system, without causing any damage? I know that with a faulty PSU, you can possibly damage a motherboard... BUT does it work the other way around?

(My computer has been locking up a lot, and I think the mobo is bad... that's why I am building a new one... but I don't want to damage this new PSU by hooking it up to this piece of crap!)

 

[FlyBono24]

Bumpity bump!

 

[furballi]

There is a VERY small probability that you can damage the PSU if it is connected to a defective hardware. Since your PC is working, I suspect you will be okay with this test. Remember that you still have the mfr warranty. The newer Enermax units come with 3 yr warranty.

 

[FlyBono24]

In that case I think I'll just wait and not worry about it.... VERY small chance of being DOA anyways... It just kinda sucks that Newegg makes you report it within 7 days of delivery. Don't they know that many people buy the parts over time, and won't be able to put together the system right away to test everything?

 

[BOLt]

First of all, unless you find something with an incredible rebate, price, or you plan to use it in an existing computer, you really should buy everything at once, since PC parts (almost without exception; see RAM for an applicable case, and Athlon XP's for an exception) drop in price over time. With that said, your PSU is most likely fine... Enermax PSUs are high quality, but if you really feel you need to test it, go ahead and stick it in your old comp. If I am not mistaken, many Enermax PSUs (certainly that one if any) have overvoltage protection, so worst comes to worst, the PSU will crap out and your comp should be okay.

 

[FlyBono24]

Well that's why I'm already set in what I want.... but I'm buying things over time because I can't afford them ALL right now. Not to mention, I'm buying all the parts that don't fluctuate in price FIRST (i.e. case, power supply, hard drive) and the last parts will be the CPU and memory, since they tend to decrease in price over time.

 

[BOLt]

Originally posted by: FlyBono24
Well that's why I'm already set in what I want.... but I'm buying things over time because I can't afford them ALL right now. Not to mention, I'm buying all the parts that don't fluctuate in price FIRST (i.e. case, power supply, hard drive) and the last parts will be the CPU and memory, since they tend to decrease in price over time.

I still don't understand it, but I respect your opinion and, hey, it's your money.

 

[FlyBono24]

When you're living paycheck-to-paycheck like I am then you'll understand.

It's not like I'm just wasting money on this new computer for no reason either... I NEED a new computer because this one is a serious piece of crap, and it just randomly locks up for no reason. The motherboard is going out, and the CPU is slow as hell... I rely a lot on the computer for school (I'm a CompSci student, I do a LOT of programming on here!) and this thing is useless to me now. You can't get much work done when it's locking up every 15 minutes.

So instead of buying some cheap replacement, I might as well go high-end!!