Killed a 525W PSU, throwing a 850W at SETI@home

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Profile Ryan Helfter
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Message 1166794 - Posted: 31 Oct 2011, 21:10:24 UTC
Last modified: 31 Oct 2011, 21:11:24 UTC

I know the answer is not I, but I do wonder how many PSUs an average SETI user has gone through?
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Profile Ryan Helfter
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Message 1166795 - Posted: 31 Oct 2011, 21:11:12 UTC - in response to Message 1166794.  
Last modified: 31 Oct 2011, 21:11:51 UTC

I am at 5 for my SETI career.
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Profile Fred J. Verster
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Message 1166806 - Posted: 31 Oct 2011, 22:04:25 UTC - in response to Message 1166794.  
Last modified: 31 Oct 2011, 22:07:55 UTC

I know the answer is not I, but I do wonder how many PSUs an average SETI user has gone through?


(But why do want to throw 850 at SETI, don't know Watt or what, but a CO2 LASER
will certainly do the job?!)

Just choose the right PSU for the rig, having 25% overhead is OK.
CPU =~ 85 -120W, GTX480 = 220W, Mobo, HDD, fans, 35 -75W = 120+220+75= 415Watt. PSU = 650Watt, doesn't even get warm, 28C.
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Profile Mike Special Project $75 donor
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Message 1166822 - Posted: 31 Oct 2011, 22:49:54 UTC
Last modified: 31 Oct 2011, 22:50:19 UTC

I haven´t killed one by now.
After 9 years just upgraded but the old one is still running in another computer.


With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.
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Message 1166839 - Posted: 31 Oct 2011, 23:16:40 UTC - in response to Message 1166822.  

I havn't killed any either but as hardware here is upgraded so is the PSU and the old stuff just get handed down through the family then out the door.

Cheers.
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Message 1166846 - Posted: 31 Oct 2011, 23:44:25 UTC

I have blown up 1 PSU so far, but have a couple of extra's lying around just in case.

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Message 1166862 - Posted: 1 Nov 2011, 0:57:22 UTC - in response to Message 1166806.  

I have a quad core + GTX570 SOC, 2 SATA drives, 1 CDROM, 2 fans and crunching 24/7 . Besides, it was onsale at Best Buy for $149 for a Thermaltake 850. Can't beat that :)
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Message 1166863 - Posted: 1 Nov 2011, 1:00:09 UTC

I've replaced three supplies in somewhat over ten years of running SETI/Einstein. One was a hard failure that actually blew a puff of smoke out the power supply vent, then made a bit of a flash when the offending component finished the death dance, which I could see as the flash reflected off the smoke. One was a hard failure, but nothing so spectacular, though I think I recall some bulging capacitors. One was disliked enough by my system that it declined to boot, though a simple voltage check suggested it was largely alive. I'll call that a parametric drift, and not entirely sure whether to blame the supply or the motherboard for them not liking each other.

I don't know how much the extra load of running SETI/Einstein contributed to the failures. Over that period I probably averaged having four systems running--so my failure rate seems to be roughly one for every 140,000 hours of operation, and I only started spending extra for supplies I hoped to be good in about the last five years. I don't, by the way, define "good" as "having an output rating far over double the input power consumption of my rig" despite that being popular advice here.
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Message 1166867 - Posted: 1 Nov 2011, 1:44:30 UTC

Oddly enough I just smoked one on Saturday. I had not realized the 3.5" to 2.5" PATA adapters I was using had exposed solder joints where the power connector was located.
"I'll just set this drive down here on the case where it will be safe & turn it on."
Everything was fine at first. Then I heard the drive spinning down and up a few times. Then lots of smoke from everywhere. It still smells of burnt melted plastic & exploded silicone in here.
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Message 1167003 - Posted: 1 Nov 2011, 15:13:42 UTC

I went through about 6 550w Coolermaster supplies...
They were all about the same vintage, and one by one, gave up the magic smoke in one fashion or another. They seemed to have a finite lifespan.

Knock on wood, I have not lost any since changing over to premium PC Power and Cooling Silencers....(at least some of the current versions are contract manufactured for them by Seasonics).
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Message 1167097 - Posted: 2 Nov 2011, 4:34:47 UTC

I am thinking the other way, that is to use a smaller power supply(but high efficiency one) to reduce the power consumption
A desktop with a pentium I5 (less than 100W), motherboard+onboard graphics card+harddisk will not consume more than 150W, take out the DVD drive.
So a 250W will be enough.

I also running setiathome on a laptop, this laptop's power supply is only 180Watt.
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Message 1167147 - Posted: 2 Nov 2011, 12:40:52 UTC - in response to Message 1167097.  

I am thinking the other way, that is to use a smaller power supply(but high efficiency one) to reduce the power consumption
A desktop with a pentium I5 (less than 100W), motherboard+onboard graphics card+harddisk will not consume more than 150W, take out the DVD drive.
So a 250W will be enough.

I also running setiathome on a laptop, this laptop's power supply is only 180Watt.

Most computer power supplies have their peek efficiency around 50%. So you may want closer to a 200w for maximum efficiency.

One of my systems that used a mobile processor and chipset only pulls 40-50w. So the 350w PSU in that case is running only being loaded about 15%. This is below the 20% load rating for 80Plus. So my efficiency could be awful.

Honestly I am surprised the PSU has lived all these years with that low of a load. Switching PSUs don't care to be underloaded just as much as they don't like being overloaded.
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Message 1169054 - Posted: 8 Nov 2011, 1:27:55 UTC

I smoked two so far. Yep the last one smelled a little bit, but didn't kill anything else.
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Profile Paul D Harris
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Message 1169090 - Posted: 8 Nov 2011, 6:40:51 UTC

I have wasted 2 psu the first was a 650 and it bit the dust when I put in my 2nd 460 vc. The second last month a 750 cooler master that I have got a rma on it but waiting for postage money to send it back 5 year warrenty
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Message 1169276 - Posted: 9 Nov 2011, 0:14:51 UTC - in response to Message 1166862.  
Last modified: 9 Nov 2011, 0:17:50 UTC

Besides, it was onsale at Best Buy for $149 for a Thermaltake 850. Can't beat that :)


Just maybe, NewEgg has their Rosewill 1000watt, 80 plus cert, with 3 year warr.
On sale normally $149.99, and now $59.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182188&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL110111&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL110111-_-EMC-110111-Index-_-PowerSupplies-_-17182188-L01D
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Message 1169648 - Posted: 10 Nov 2011, 2:55:12 UTC

I've only killed one, and it was an Enermax Revo 850. Not sure I actually killed it should have been only around 600 Watts, but it did die.
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Message boards : Number crunching : Killed a 525W PSU, throwing a 850W at SETI@home


 
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