Question Worth it to fix PSU fan or just get a new PSU?

Genralkidd

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My current PSU is a somewhat older Thermaltake 600W PSU and recently the fan has started to make very loud grinding noises that actually shakes the PSU a little bit. I assume it's just the fan that's breaking and was wondering if it's worth replacing the fan somehow or if I should just get a new PSU?

If it's better to just get a new PSU, the current system I need to power is running a Core i7 8700T and nVidia Tesla M40 GPU. I used WhatPSU to estimate what kind of PSU I'd need and it'd probably need to be at least 500W to support that system.

I've been eyeing a few budget alternatives:
EVGA 610 BP 610W
Antec NeoEco NE550G 550W
AresGame AGQ550 550W
Thermaltake Smart 500W

Any of those good alternatives if replacing a PSU fan isn't a trivial task?
 
Like a lot of things, replacing it is trivial IF YOU KNOW HOW.

I'm guessing you don't and have never done it before.

You can find all sorts of stories about the danger involved in poking around inside a PSU.

It's older, it's Thermaltake.

What's it worth as it sits? 20 bucks? 25?

I'd get a new one unless you have a friendly repairman with experience. Can you get a repair guy to get off the couch for less than 50 bucks?

Or ignore the noise.

PSUs are more expensive than 3 years ago. You'll likely have to pay 75 and up for a decent replacement?
 

Genralkidd

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Like a lot of things, replacing it is trivial IF YOU KNOW HOW.

I'm guessing you don't and have never done it before.

You can find all sorts of stories about the danger involved in poking around inside a PSU.

It's older, it's Thermaltake.

What's it worth as it sits? 20 bucks? 25?

I'd get a new one unless you have a friendly repairman with experience. Can you get a repair guy to get off the couch for less than 50 bucks?

Or ignore the noise.

PSUs are more expensive than 3 years ago. You'll likely have to pay 75 and up for a decent replacement?

I can definitely ignore the noise since it's a remote PC that runs unattended most of the time. But are you saying the there's actually no risk/no danger to leaving the fan as is making grinding noises? Also I've done fan replacements before in other devices but never a PSU, I'm not sure how integrated the fan is into the PSU.

The PSUs I listed range in price from $30-40 though a few of them are only that cheap after a rebate on NewEgg which I don't mind doing. I'm just not sure if any of those PSUs are decent/reliable enough. Seems there's a lot I need to learn about PSU quality, at the time I got that Thermaltake PSU I had no idea they have such a bad reputation.
 
My current PSU is a somewhat older Thermaltake 600W PSU and recently the fan has started to make very loud grinding noises that actually shakes the PSU a little bit. I assume it's just the fan that's breaking and was wondering if it's worth replacing the fan somehow or if I should just get a new PSU?

If it's better to just get a new PSU, the current system I need to power is running a Core i7 8700T and nVidia Tesla M40 GPU. I used WhatPSU to estimate what kind of PSU I'd need and it'd probably need to be at least 500W to support that system.

I've been eyeing a few budget alternatives:
EVGA 610 BP 610W
Antec NeoEco NE550G 550W
AresGame AGQ550 550W
Thermaltake Smart 500W

Any of those good alternatives if replacing a PSU fan isn't a trivial task?
Don't go inside the psu.
Touch the wrong thing and you can get a heck of a wack.

I can't recco a psu but if you plug 'psu tier list' into google you can do some reading.
Opinion.....go with 600w or more.
 

Genralkidd

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Wouldn't spend money on an older Thermaltake psu like that. Would look at these if price is something you want ot keep as low as possible , but decent psu,


think the 450watt is already enough for the cpu+gpu used, but did include the 650watt if you want to be more sure.

As a rule of thumb, what would be the best way to judge what kind of wattage for a PSU I would need for a system?
 

Genralkidd

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Are you sure it is the PSU fan? Buy a new PSU. Something at the range of 750 - 850 Watt would be sufficient any system, and you can use it after an upgrade.

Yeah it's definitely the fan, pretty sure it's the only moving part inside the PSU so I don't think it could be anything else causing the grinding noise and making it shake a bit too.

Back of the envelope......tdp of cpu and gpu...x2...+50w.

Hmmm I don't think a 450W PSU would suffice then, the CPU is 35W TDP, the GPU is 250W TDP, x2 and +50 would equal 620W. Although the website WhatPSU only said 500W was needed based on the specs I provided. But so far the 600W Thermaltake PSU I have now has always worked fine with this system so I assume somewhere close to that would be fine still.
 
As a rule of thumb, what would be the best way to judge what kind of wattage for a PSU I would need for a system?
Here is a handy chart:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Nothing wrong with 20% stronger.

Buy only a quality power supply.
One way to tell is to look at the warranty.
If the unit has a 7 to 10 year warranty, it is likely a high quality unit.

Yes, I would replace that psu quickly.
It could easily fail and damage what it is connected to.
 

Genralkidd

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Here is a handy chart:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Nothing wrong with 20% stronger.

Buy only a quality power supply.
One way to tell is to look at the warranty.
If the unit has a 7 to 10 year warranty, it is likely a high quality unit.

Yes, I would replace that psu quickly.
It could easily fail and damage what it is connected to.

I've been eyeing a few PSUs in the $35 range but I can't really tell which one is good or not.

The EVGA and AresGame only have 3 year warranties but are both over 600W while the Antec has a 7 year warranty, is gold certified too but only has 550W and the reviews seem a bit iffy on that too. The website you linked says I only need like a 424W PSU so the 550W should suffice but idk if it's any good or not. Which of these would you recommend?
 
Yeah it's definitely the fan, pretty sure it's the only moving part inside the PSU so I don't think it could be anything else causing the grinding noise and making it shake a bit too.



Hmmm I don't think a 450W PSU would suffice then, the CPU is 35W TDP, the GPU is 250W TDP, x2 and +50 would equal 620W. Although the website WhatPSU only said 500W was needed based on the specs I provided. But so far the 600W Thermaltake PSU I have now has always worked fine with this system so I assume somewhere close to that would be fine still.
It's not an exact method of sizing a psu.
Better err on the side of too big than too small.
Some reading.
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/tesla-m40.c2771