What causes a Psu to fail?

[FuzzyRedFox]

when i was trying to pick out my psu, i noticed a lot of people complaining about them not working or causing other components to break. what should i look for in a psu and what causes them to fail? for gaming i heard on the 12v rail u need 45a+ I'm also curious if i have chose a sufficient psu for my build. its 12v with 100a. from what i understood its better to have close to 50% more wattage then what my pc requires. i'm wanting to be able to do more upgrades if i need it. will i be able to do more upgrades with this power supply? The wattage on the site is not accurate on pcpartpicker because i had to find some other parts on other sites, but they r written down in the build here https://pcpartpicker.com/user/FuzzyRedFox/saved/#view=CjyRsY

 

[ingtar33]

yikes. not sure where to start on this one. I'll start with the obvious~

1) poor build quality, cheap parts = bad psu
2) poor design = bad psu
3) age degradation = bad psu (you should NEVER use a psu older then 5 years)

Power supplies represent a "dangerous" part in the computer. A bad one can become a legitimate fire-hazard. In addition to obvious fire hazards, a power supply that fails can kill EVERY SINGLE part in your computer.

Now if you're asking how to tell if a power supply is good or bad, the answer is research. there is absolutely nothing on the box that will tell you it's a good power supply. Power supply manufacturers have been known to lie, furthermore there is no certifying or regulating body which verifies a power supply is quality or matches the numbers printed on the box. Due to the state of this market there has been a lot of community research into power supplies, and some serious reviewers who have done some significant testing on power supplies to help inform the public

here is a good list of power supplies. I don't suggest you buy any power supply lower then Tier II on this list. I also strongly advise you to be careful when selecting a power supply. the names of the power supplies on this list are VERY specific. only power supplies with the EXACT names listed are valid. For example, the EVGA Supernova is a solid power-supply, but all of the EVGA Supernova NEX power supplies are complete landfill quality junk.
https://community.newegg.com/eggxpert/computer_hardware/f/135081/t/45344.aspx?Redirected=true

A general rule of thumb to help you become more comfortable researching and selecting a power supply is to look for a power supply made by "seasonic" including all rebranded seasonic power supplies sold under the "XFX" "Corsair" and "Antec" name. Understand not all XFX/Corsair/Antec power supplies are made by seasonic, so it will take a little research. But generally you can trust anything made by seasonic.

 

[Saberus]

The main killer for a PSU is dirtiness.

Physical dirt can clog fans and coat heatsinks which will impair heat dispersal and can cause premature component failure.

Dirty mains power will damage components slowly over time or all at once, over and undervoltages can be ruinous to parts.

Dirty parts - cheaply made or constructed, often with impure materials can cause failures.

Dirty dealings - Even the best components assembled in a hurry or sloppy/shoddy construction and sloppy/shoddy design can cause failures with alarming frequency.

Of these four types of "dirt", you can control them all.

Keep the parts clean so they can properly cool

Get a UPS or line conditioner to supply clean and steady power

The last two are buying parts from from reputable suppliers with a history of good quality. Buying an unknown or cheap brand is asking for trouble.

 

[FuzzyRedFox]

what do you think of this power supply? http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139039&AID=10657534&PID=3938566&SID=&nm_mc=AFC-C8JunctionCA&cm_mmc=AFC-C8JunctionCA-_-na-_-na-_-na&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-%zn its an axi. also is it sufficient for my build? I want lots of room for upgrades if i need them. and i was thinking i might eventually overclock the cpu and the gpu, i know that takes more power and causes a lot more heat.

 

[FuzzyRedFox]

what is ups?

 

[thx1138v2]

Generally speaking, heat is the most prominent killer of PSU's. Drilling down into that give you airflow through the PSU to carry the heat away and cleanliness of the heat sinks and components. Heat will kill inferior components faster than better components so the components chosen by the manufacturer play a major role. The way the are laid out on the circuit board and how well those components work together as a package also plays a part.

I would say 50% headroom (excess power capacity) is not necessary. I usually go with 20% headroom but it is calculated from the startup power requirements of all of the components. For example, it's takes more power to start up an HDD than it does to keep it running once it is up to speed. Don't forget to include keyboards, mice, and, basically, anything that attaches to the computer that doesn't have its own power supply.

I don't usually try to include future upgrades because I don't know exactly what they will be. Any PSU doesn't last all that long so just get a new one when you do the upgrades. Keep in mind that everything in the box relies on that PSU so keep it up to date to get better longevity out of everything else.

Go to the following site, select Tutorials in the left frame, and scroll down to the Powder section. Very knowledgeable folks.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/

 

[ingtar33]

what do you think of this power supply? http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139039&AID=10657534&PID=3938566&SID=&nm_mc=AFC-C8JunctionCA&cm_mmc=AFC-C8JunctionCA-_-na-_-na-_-na&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-%zn its an axi. also is it sufficient for my build? I want lots of room for upgrades if i need them. and i was thinking i might eventually overclock the cpu and the gpu, i know that takes more power and causes a lot more heat.

The Corsair AXi is made by Flextronics, and is a very high quality PSU.

and a UPS = Uninterruptible Power Supply
think of it as a battery+ surge protector between your computer and the wall.

 

[thx1138v2]

what is ups?

UPS stand for Uninterruptible Power Supply, typically a battery backup that between your wall outlet and the power inlet to your computer. The UPS plugs into the wall outlet and the computer (and possibly other components) plugs into the UPS. It has circuitry to keep the battery charged and only switches to the battery for power when the wall outlet goes dead from a power outage. Most now also have some power surge protection also.

The UPS will give you a few minutes to do an orderly computer shutdown rather than the power to the box just dying from the power outage. They are particularly useful when the power goes off and then back on in just a few seconds which can cause power surges to damage electronic equipment.

 

[FuzzyRedFox]

where can i get an ups? what would you recommend for my build? itd be very good to have. can they be just as dangerous as a psu to my parts if i choose the wrong one? will my pc be able to tell if there is a power surge and turn off with ups automatically?

 

[Saberus]

Most electronics stores have them, and as long as you get something that works at typical mains(wall power) voltages, they can't hurt your system.

A good UPS will have a cable that connects to a USB port and will have software so the PC can talk to it. It will continue supplying power if the wall power stops, and if the data cable and software is installed, it can be setup to perform an orderly shut down either after so long or when the reserve power gets too low. Personally I would plan around something that can power the PC for half an hour minimum. Good UPS suppliers will often have a chart or interactive planner to let you realize your power needs.

I cannot tell you what to get, because the link you supplied does not work.

If you get a UPS, only connect the PC and at least one monitor to the protected outlets, and use that to factor your needs. Stuff like printers/scanners/other office equipment can severely reduce how long it can run.