If I exceed maximum power will my computer blow up?

[10ftcoke]

My power supply is says it supports 300W but its been 5 years old so there's some significant capacitor aging

If I upgrade my computer to the point where it may need up to 400W at one time, will the consequences of going over the maximum supported power supply result in my computer blowing up, shutting down, not working, simply not letting the GPU to function properly or some combination of the preceding items?

system specs
Operating System
MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 44 °C
Toledo 90nm Technology
RAM
3.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR @ 200MHz (3-4-4-8)
Motherboard
ASUSTek Computer INC. NAGAMI2 (Socket 939) 40 °C
Graphics
HP w19 (1440x900@60Hz)
ATI Radeon HD 5570 (XFX Pine Group) 31 °C
Hard Drives
9.96GB QUANTUM FIREBALLP LM10.2 ATA Device (PATA)
244GB Western Digital WDC WD25 00JS-60NCB1 SCSI Disk Device (ATA)
Optical Drives
NEC DVD_RW ND-2510A ATA Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

I wish I could give a link to my power supply but my computer model no longer appears on HP's website =P

 

[esrever]

probably not but theres the chance there could be some serious damage if the power supply is very bad quality

 

[10ftcoke]

probably not but theres the chance there could be some serious damage if the power supply is very bad quality

I will certainly keep that in mind.

 

[digdog]

short answer: YES.

long answer: buy a new comp, that one needs to be shipped to the care home.

very long answer: you risk BSODs, shutoffs, and yes you risk the PSU blowing up, which *might* have drastic consequences on your system, depending on the build quality. since ur PC is from probably 2005, and ur PSU might be from 2003, that is a risk and i would not take it.

 

[10ftcoke]

Acknowledged. I guess I won't bother upgrading my comp then.

I finally took it upon myself to take my case off to see the PSU model. It's an ATX-300-12Z. It appears that this is one of those models that blows up when it goes over power, made by the infamous bestec.

 

[HEXiT]

as its an hp build by the sounds of it. i wouldn't trust it not to pop if i went over 301w never mind 400w...
you would have to throw a serious upgrade at it to go over 300 though.. your cpu is what 95-130w. gfx 75w max currently your probably just touching 250 maxed with everything running top tit...
do yourself a favor though and dump the 10gig hdd. it will be hurting your performance as i think the max transfer rate on that drive is about 10mbps. compare that with your bigger drive which at the lest will be 5 times faster...
as for upgrading its a pretty pointless exercise for that system. its unlikely that you will find a working 939 cpu thats faster although there are a few 4800x2 floating about but what you pay would hardly be worth it...

to be honest the whole system is worth maybe 30 pounds second hand which is actually less than what 1 stick of ddr 333 costs. so no m8 its defiantly not worth even thinking about upgrades...
best either pass it on to a charity shop or give it to a family member to do homework on...

in all seriousness my there are mobile phones out there with more horsepower than that system and even if you spent 200 on upgrades you would still fall short of an iphone...

btw what will happen if you do go over? well as its hp it should go in spectacular fashion. lots of pops whistles and crackles followed by copious amounts of blue smoke...
reason? the psu will be so subpar that its unlikely to have any real form of over volt protection (its actually a fuse) so when it goes it will take other parts with it... you notice i say will... as its guarenteed...

 

[kitsunestarwind]

Any PSU supporting OCP (over current protection) will just shut off.
Any PSU not supporting OCP will get hot then probably go Bang.