Okay, I'm kinda tired right now so I'm gonna try and explain what happened. I was playin some Garry's Mod on my good computer, and all of a sudden, there was a loud CRACK which scared that shit out of me, and all the power in my room went out and I smelled smoke, then I realized it was my computer's power supply. I was kind of panicking, but I was pretty pissed when I fully realized what happened.

Here is the background on my computer, I built it just over 2 years ago, in November 2006. At the time the specs were

AMD Athlon X2 4200+ Socket 939 2.2 GHz
ASUS A8N-SLI32 motherboard
2 nVidia GeForece 7600GT's in SLI
2 GB Patriot DDR 400 RAM
Creative SB Audigy 24 bit sound card

1 200 GB Seagate SATA HDD
1 Sony 16X DVD combo drive
1 Pionneer 32X shitty CD drive
1 ZiP Drive
1 Floppy Drive

500 Watt Power supply (Turbo Link brand)

Since then, I have added a

Linksys Wireless-G with speedbooster PCI card
160 GB Seagate SATA HDD
500 GB Western Digital SATA HDD
512 MB of DDR 333 I pulled from a Dell (Yes I know it downclocks my other RAM, I did it for the lulz and the extra RAM was nice to have)

So anyway, my power supply committed suicide. I took it apart and the underside of the pcb seemed pretty burnt in a few places. Is there any chance it damaged any other parts of my computer in the process? That would suck really bad. I am planning on replacing it with this in the next few days hopefully.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702007

It's quite likely that it took out other parts, especially the motherboard and CPU/memory.

Don't count on being able to salvage anything from that computer besides the case. It could all be expensive paper-weights now.

It's quite likely that it took out other parts, especially the motherboard and CPU/memory.

Don't count on being able to salvage anything from that computer besides the case. It could all be expensive paper-weights now.

Fuck. I was afraid of that. I trust you oddballz so I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

I wouldn't say everything unsalvagable. In my experience it's pretty random when it comes to hardware being blown by a power supply failer. I would suggest getting a new PSU and slowly testing out your hardware. Who knows, you might be able to slavage your HDD or a GPU, at least then you'll get your data back.

I'd also like to point out that i've also noticed that when it comes to hardware failier from a PSU death it seems to vary on the brand. Cheap PSU's tend to take out more things and the more expensive ones with fail safes seem to effect less hardware.

The brand was Turbo Link. I took it apart and some of the solder on the pcb was kind of browned, but that could easily been from resoldering. I don't know why it would have needed to be resoldered at the factory though, so I'm gonna say that the part above the burned solder on the pcb is what blew.

I wouldn't say everything unsalvagable. In my experience it's pretty random when it comes to hardware being blown by a power supply failer. I would suggest getting a new PSU and slowly testing out your hardware. Who knows, you might be able to slavage your HDD or a GPU, at least then you'll get your data back.

I'd also like to point out that i've also noticed that when it comes to hardware failier from a PSU death it seems to vary on the brand. Cheap PSU's tend to take out more things and the more expensive ones with fail safes seem to effect less hardware.

I didn't say that everything is unsalvageable; it's quite possible that there are still useful parts in it -- maybe even all the parts. However, it's also possible that everything is destroyed. Unfortunately, it's hard to know whether a circuit board with multiple layers has damage or not sometimes. The other thing to consider is that a short circuit in any of the components could damage the power supply, and if you hook a shorted part to a new supply it could blow that as well.

I agree completely with the assessment of good power supplies vs. cheap ones. The good ones also tend to have larger heatsinks, making them less likely to blow in the first place due to running cooler. Some have multiple fans also.

I think my computer is gonna be okay! I spent all afternoon testing the individual parts of my computer with another power supply (out of my dad's computer, haha).

It was pretty funny, I took ever expansion card off the motherboard, and disconnected every drive, then I plugged in a 1995 S3 Trident PCI video card that I found in the basement into my motherboard. Then I hooked up the donor power supply and attempted to boot my comp, and lo and behold, it booted!

From here, I individually tested all of my devices. First I did all my SATA hard drives, then I did my CD/DVD drives and the ZiP and floppy drive, then I tested each of my video cards and then both, and then the wireless card and sound card.

Everything is working perfectly, except for some strange reason, whenever I plug in my old Logitech optical wheel mouse into the PS/2 port, I get a BSOD upon booting Windows. However, it works fine when it's plugged into USB, so that doesn't bug me so much. I'm hopefully gonna get a Logitech G5 for Christmas anyway.

So yeah, everything on my comp seems to be working just fine. I ordered an 800 Watt BFG Tech power supply from newegg.com. It should be here by the middle of the week.

First time I boot my computer up fully, I'm gonna do some major cleaning and defragging of my hard drives. I want that thing to run good as new!

I think my computer is gonna be okay! I spent all afternoon testing the individual parts of my computer with another power supply (out of my dad's computer, haha).

It was pretty funny, I took ever expansion card off the motherboard, and disconnected every drive, then I plugged in a 1995 S3 Trident PCI video card that I found in the basement into my motherboard. Then I hooked up the donor power supply and attempted to boot my comp, and lo and behold, it booted!

From here, I individually tested all of my devices. First I did all my SATA hard drives, then I did my CD/DVD drives and the ZiP and floppy drive, then I tested each of my video cards and then both, and then the wireless card and sound card.

Everything is working perfectly, except for some strange reason, whenever I plug in my old Logitech optical wheel mouse into the PS/2 port, I get a BSOD upon booting Windows. However, it works fine when it's plugged into USB, so that doesn't bug me so much. I'm hopefully gonna get a Logitech G5 for Christmas anyway.

So yeah, everything on my comp seems to be working just fine. I ordered an 800 Watt BFG Tech power supply from newegg.com. It should be here by the middle of the week.

First time I boot my computer up fully, I'm gonna do some major cleaning and defragging of my hard drives. I want that thing to run good as new!

Good to hear everything worked out fine.

Happy computing!

OP, srsly trust me me. Your motherboard might be damaged! I mean if you get a BSOD on PS/2 connection there is something wrong with it.

OP, srsly trust me me. Your motherboard might be damaged! I mean if you get a BSOD on PS/2 connection there is something wrong with it.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm fine with using USB, I mean, if the PS/2 is the only thing that is damaged I wouldn't really give a shit.

I'm just glad everything still works. Just gotta wait for the new power supply to come.

Oh... another thing happened, not as a result of the power supply blowing but of my carelessness. The little annoying PCI-E clip broke off on my primary PCI-E slot when I was testing video cards. I don't think this is a big deal, but is there any chance of this causing the card to come loose or anything? The same thing happened to my friend, and he has a much bigger video card than me, so I don't think it would be a problem

Even so... nothing a little super-glue won't fix right?

yeh I had a PSU let go and it took out literally everything bar the mouse keyboard and monitor.

if anything works count yourself very lucky.

yeh I had a PSU let go and it took out literally everything bar the mouse keyboard and monitor.

if anything works count yourself very lucky.

Heh. I'm thanking God for this man! My dad told me a power supply went up at work and it took out everything even the keyboard!

My power supply blew, and it's still working fine(after replacing the power supply of course)

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm fine with using USB, I mean, if the PS/2 is the only thing that is damaged I wouldn't really give a shit.

I'm just glad everything still works. Just gotta wait for the new power supply to come.

Oh... another thing happened, not as a result of the power supply blowing but of my carelessness. The little annoying PCI-E clip broke off on my primary PCI-E slot when I was testing video cards. I don't think this is a big deal, but is there any chance of this causing the card to come loose or anything? The same thing happened to my friend, and he has a much bigger video card than me, so I don't think it would be a problem

Even so... nothing a little super-glue won't fix right?

There is no chance of your video card creeping out so long as you tighten down the I/O plate with a mounting screw to your case. BTW you got really lucky with your PSU not taking some parts with it when it went down. I hope next time you spend a little extra more money and get a quality power supply. Believe me it is worth it in the end.

There is no chance of your video card creeping out so long as you tighten down the I/O plate with a mounting screw to your case. BTW you got really lucky with your PSU not taking some parts with it when it went down. I hope next time you spend a little extra more money and get a quality power supply. Believe me it is worth it in the end.

Yeah. I got this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702007&Tpk=bfg%20tech%20800

I almost got a 750W Corsair but it was 30 more bucks. I hope that wasn't a bad decision... BFG Tech is a decent company.

Yeah. I got this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702007&Tpk=bfg%20tech%20800

I almost got a 750W Corsair but it was 30 more bucks. I hope that wasn't a bad decision... BFG Tech is a decent company.

Rule of thumb is you need to spend 10% of the total cost of the PC on the PSU.

My PC cost me about 1500$ to build when i made it, i spent ~160$ on the PSU.

Heh, I guess it's a stretch. When I built the comp it costed about $1000, but I only spent about $50 on the PSU. The comp is now worth maybe $600, and I'm spending $70 on the PSU.

So... yeah. I'm sure the the Corsair is more sturdily built, but this one was cheaper. I hope I didn't screw myself over by getting the cheaper one.

I did find out though, that for the two years I had that PSU, it was probably underpowering my computer. Each 7600GT I bought has a 300W power requirement, and I had two, plus all my other components, and only a 500W power supply.

FULL REPORT!

Okay, the new power supply just came in the mail today, and I installed it. In the time I had no power supply, I did extensive cleaning and dusting out of my computer, and I rearranged cables for better airflow, so the new PSU was relatively easy to install.

Firstly, this thing looks sturdy as fuck. It's at least twice as heavy as my old one, and looks like it's made out of shiny cast iron. It has a BIGASS fan on the bottom to keep cool, and all the cables are encased in plastic mesh kinda like those Chinese finger trap puzzles. All the connectors are black plastic instead of an off-white color like on my old one, and it has an ample amount of PCI-E connectors for when I upgrade my video cards. Each PCI-E connector is on a separate 12-V rail.

Anyway, this monster looks like it could take a tank shell. It's really fucking sturdy looking. However, it looks like if it blew up on me it would probably put a hole in the wall/destroy my whole computer, so let's hope that doesn't happen.

Okay, so I got it set up, and I booted my computer. Firstly, this thing is dead quiet, like, I can't hear it at all. Secondly, my whole system seems to be running cooler. Most of my component temps seem to be at least 5˚ C cooler than with my old power supply, and the CPU seems to be at least 10˚C cooler, but that could also be because I am not overclocking anymore.

Anyway, it seems to me like this was a good buy. The actual PSU costs $110 but it has a $40 rebate, so it comes to $70. Hopefully this thing will last me forever! I would be very surprised if it went bad on me.

FULL REPORT!

Okay, the new power supply just came in the mail today, and I installed it. In the time I had no power supply, I did extensive cleaning and dusting out of my computer, and I rearranged cables for better airflow, so the new PSU was relatively easy to install.

Firstly, this thing looks sturdy as fuck. It's at least twice as heavy as my old one, and looks like it's made out of shiny cast iron. It has a BIGASS fan on the bottom to keep cool, and all the cables are encased in plastic mesh kinda like those Chinese finger trap puzzles. All the connectors are black plastic instead of an off-white color like on my old one, and it has an ample amount of PCI-E connectors for when I upgrade my video cards. Each PCI-E connector is on a separate 12-V rail.

Anyway, this monster looks like it could take a tank shell. It's really fucking sturdy looking. However, it looks like if it blew up on me it would probably put a hole in the wall/destroy my whole computer, so let's hope that doesn't happen.

Okay, so I got it set up, and I booted my computer. Firstly, this thing is dead quiet, like, I can't hear it at all. Secondly, my whole system seems to be running cooler. Most of my component temps seem to be at least 5˚ C cooler than with my old power supply, and the CPU seems to be at least 10˚C cooler, but that could also be because I am not overclocking anymore.

Anyway, it seems to me like this was a good buy. The actual PSU costs $110 but it has a $40 rebate, so it comes to $70. Hopefully this thing will last me forever! I would be very surprised if it went bad on me.


I'm glad not everthing blew up on you like it normally would've. You sound like a nice guy, and I'm pretty sure you'll be enjoying your pc more even though it's the same one as before.

Man, I hate when a PSU blows...

It took with it my whole PC...

Laptop!