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.
Nexus Value 430 or PicoPSU or .. ?
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee, Devonavar
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.
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.