Looking For Decent PSU Replacement or Info on How to Repair Mine

[Gerald kaulback]

Hello, for the past couple of months or so, I've noticed a ticking as I tried to fall asleep. I couldn't put my finger on the sound, and it only happened between 22:00-08:00ish. I'm never up that early so I never got the opportunity to check it out. This morning I woke up at 07:50 with a horrible headeche and I couldn't fall asleep because of this sound. I ended up just getting pissed off so I thought I'd check my computer. Of course, its my favorite part of my computer that's bad. My Enermax Liberty that my uncle had rebuilt for me. I looked inside the little vents cut in it only to see a blue spark and that annoying sound. (The sound of someone slowly dragging a slot screwdriver over a very coarse file) I shut my computer off and asked my uncle about it. He said disassemble it and check the solder connections etc. I've done that, and they seem fine, but I have no clue what I'm looking at with this thing. I'm considering just buying a new PSU (unless you guys can give me suggestions on things that could be wrong with mine) I'd like to get a 500w with sockets in it so I can plug in cables as I need them. Really at this point thats the only feature that keeps this 12 year old PSU in my computer. Anyone got suggestions? I have the ability to fix my existing one, but I don't know how to diagnose the issue. I have basic tools such as a multimeter and soldering iron, and my skills are half decent. For complex diagnosing that involves an oscilloscope, I'll have to go to my uncle. I am 14 so please no $1200 recommendations... Works a little hard to come by... I'd like to have my computer working very soon due to all school work being over google classroom and my extensive discussed at how praised these little pieces of cheaply made trash we all carry around and I dislike doing anything important on it because its such a pain.

For peope who are interested:
CPU: AMD 6300 Black clocked at 4.2 GHZ
CPU fan: 120mm cooler master with 200mm heatsink
GPU: Radeon R9 290 (4GB VRAM)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97R2.0
HDD0: 500GB St some crap you don't care about.
HDD1: 2TB WD some crap you don't care about
RAM: 10GB of which 8GB is good and 2GB is some crap you don't care about.
Case: Zondda B
Keyboard: Chroma black Widow V2

And remember, equipment doesn't make up for lack of skill

Thanks!
-Gerald

 

[volkgren]

SeaSonic seems to be hitting the sweet spot for high-quality, gold-rated modular power supplies at a decent price right now. Their FOCUS Plus line has received excellent professional reviews. http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=524

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/bkp323,WrNypg,64cMnQ/

 

[cryoburner]

...or Info on How to Repair Mine

Usually, it's not a great idea for someone to attempt to repair a PSU unless they really know what they are doing. They tend to contain things like large capacitors that might hold a charge even after the PSU is powered down, and those can potentially cause serious harm if they are accidentally shorted while working on the board. Buying a new PSU is probably the better option, especially when we're talking about one that is fairly old and has already had repairs performed on it.