# Is my power supply broken?



## chrisharris1981 (Feb 28, 2007)

My PC has got a Pentium dual core 3.0, 3 GB of RAM, Nvidia 7800GTX and two 250 GB drives, Maxtor and Western Digital. I’m not sure what the other parts are.

Yesterday while I was playing a game my computer just shut down suddenly, which believe is due to something over heating as I have had over heating issues with the CPU, graphics card and hard drives in the past. After this it would not turn on until after 5 or 10 minutes which I assumed was because it needed to cool down a bit first, it was giving off a lot of heat. I then turned it back on and loaded Speedfan and the Nvidia temperature display so I could keep an eye on the temps of the CPU, drives and graphics card. I put the game back on and frequently went back to windows to check if anything was getting too hot. The CPU was not going over 60 C (it starts to under perform when it nears 70 in my experience). The GPU stayed around 78-80, it has previously crashed when it starts to get in the mid 90s. The drives were around 40 which has been ok so far. After playing and checking the temps for around half an hour I stopped checking and after 20 mins the PC shut down again, again it was hot. But this time it will not turn back on even after being left over night. What happens when I press the power button is that the lights on the front come on for a second and it makes a noise like its trying to turn on and then nothing happens and it is off. Now I’ve never had a problem like this and can’t think what piece of hardware is causing the problem. If it won’t come on is it the power supply, but lights do come on for a second and things (ie a USB wireless adapter) still receives power if plugged into the USB ports of the PC when the power supply if turned on (the light comes on). Could something have over heated so badly that it’s permanently damaged? If so, is there a way of working out what it is.?

The main question is what can cause a computer not to be able to turn on even when it is receiving power.

Any help would be much appreciated


----------



## Terrister (Apr 18, 2005)

Please take the cover off your computer and see if you see a label telling what type of power supply this is. 

This does sound like your power supply gave out.


----------



## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

It could be either your power supply or your motherboard .. 

Have you run your set up against the power supply calculator to see whether it is underpowered or not ..

I would suggest that you open the case and check for dirt and dust etc that might be clogging fans. Remove your power supply and try another one of better or equal rating.
give the power supply a good blow out .. if it's not in warranty then open it and check for signs of bulging capacitors .. check your motherboard too .. when they get hot they don't work so well.

You could also try (before you do the above) to remove everything apart from the CPU and CPU fan .. then try powering on .. if t starts it will beep because of no memory .. so power off and ad memory .. slowly by powering off placing a part then powering back on again add your memory, VGA, hard drives etc. .. 

At the point bit stops powering on you either have found a faulty component or the power supply is being overloaded .. if at this point it is whilst adding extra drives .. remove one and replace it with the one that stoped you from starting .. if it starts it means that your power supply is being overloaded


----------



## chrisharris1981 (Feb 28, 2007)

The power supply is HPU-3S350 by Hiper High performance group. Can you recommened something suitable to replace it as I think I will get something more powerful just in case.

Thanks


----------



## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

I could be wrong but I don't think that your PSU is up to scratch .. it looks good in the review and my colleagues (with power supplies growing under their fingernails) will probably tell you more ...but it's only a 350 watt psu .. and I have a gut feeling that it's not got staying power for your system ..

read this article which also has advice on Power supply models

http://www.techsupportforum.com/f70...ormation-and-selection-107466.html#post569014


----------



## chrisharris1981 (Feb 28, 2007)

You're probably right, either way its no longer working. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a better power suppy that would definelty be compatible.


----------



## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

There are some types and models advised at the bottom of the article .. 

there was also a power supply calculator that helped you to check and see the best rating . unfortunately I don't have access to it right now .. I'll check around and paste a link if it's still available


----------



## chrisharris1981 (Feb 28, 2007)

Thanks, I will get something more powerful just to be safe, 500W more or less. But what I am concerned with is that I have never changed one of these before and I don't know if there are different standards, I want to make sure I get one that fits plugs into my current set up.


----------



## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
based on a quality psu and add 30% to the end result


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

what are the approximate measurements of your existing power supply


length / width / height dont have to be super accurate measurements >>>> nearest 1/4 inch is fine


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

actually ....... disregard


here is your yours 
http://www.hipergroup.com/products.php?lv=3&cate=1&type=23&pid=1&w=1024&h=563


look for the coolermaster Real Power Pro 550 watt

OCZ 600 watt power supply

Seasonic 500 watt

Corsair VX-550 watt


----------

