Nexus Value 430 or PicoPSU or .. ?

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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morglum
Posts: 45
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:34 am
Location: ottawa

Nexus Value 430 or PicoPSU or .. ?

Post by morglum » Tue Oct 05, 2010 8:04 am

Hey all,

Long story short, I believe my antec "smart power" PSU is dying on me and I'd like to replace it.

My rig is based on a Dell Inspiron 530 that I moved inside an Antec Sonata 2 case (Foxtronn G33M02 motherboard, Core2Duo E4500 with arctix freezer 7 heatsink, 1x 8600GTS passively cooled, 4x 1GB sticks of ram, 2 SATA HDD, 1 SATA DVD-RW).

I did the "eXtreme Power supply calculator" and it says I need a 34W PSU. I used a kill-a-watt device about 2 years ago and if I remember correctly my energy consumption was around 60W idle, 100W when used.

I want to get a decent, quiet, efficient PSU. My first guess would be a S12 II 330 or 380, but I can't seem to find anywhere that has it in stock.

I've found an S12 II 500 locally for sale for 50$, but that seems too powerful and I believe that it wouldnt be efficient in the power range I'll be using it.

I then found the Nexus Value 430 at newegg.ca for 77$CAD+13$ (95$CAN including shipping and taxes). It's cheaper than the corsair VX450 (79$CAD)

I almost ordered the nexus value 430, then remembered the picopsu-150XT. Ordering it with a 150W brick from short-circuit.com would set me back 105$USD including shipping and taxes.

Which one would you suggest?

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the long story on why I believe I need to replace my PSU:
-there is a coil whine coming out of it even under almost non-existent load (after turning the computer off).
-I only succeed to start the computer about 1 in 20 times. The other times I just hear a "click" and the fans spins for about 1 turn then stop.
-I tried disconnecting everything and putting the PSU and the motherboard on carboard, and I get the same problem.
-I tried disconnected the motherboard and only connecting a case fan to the PSU, then shorting the green wire and a black wire on the 20 pins atx connector. The fan spun alright. Does this mean that the PSU is fine?
-also, when the computer does start up, everything is fine.

KayDat
Posts: 222
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:37 pm
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Post by KayDat » Tue Oct 05, 2010 1:31 pm

I don't suppose you have access to another PSU to test with? Sounds like some sort of a short circuit somewhere.
Is budget a major issue in terms of PSU? If you can afford it, the Seasonic X-400 is a great choice. Take a look at the review, if you haven't already.

morglum
Posts: 45
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:34 am
Location: ottawa

Post by morglum » Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:10 am

Hi,

Nah I'm afraid everyone around me has laptops these days, so no PSU for me.

I'm not sure where the short circuit could come from since I tried with only the motherboard on a cardboard box and it still didnt work.

The PSU whine has been bugging me enough that I want to change it even if it isnt the source of the problem. :)

I finally found a store that could order the seasonic S12ii 330 locally. I'll try this psu tomorrow and let you know what happens.

Cheers.

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