Yes, a powerful PSU (Power Supply Unit) can potentially fry a motherboard if it delivers too much voltage or if there are faults in the PSU. Here are some ways this can happen and how to prevent it:
How a Powerful PSU Can Damage a Motherboard
- Overvoltage: If the PSU outputs a voltage higher than what the motherboard can handle, it can cause immediate damage to components.
- Faulty PSU: A malfunctioning PSU might deliver unstable or surging power, which can harm connected components.
- Incompatible Wattage: While a PSU that has a higher wattage rating than needed typically won't cause damage, if it is
Yes, a powerful PSU (Power Supply Unit) can potentially fry a motherboard if it delivers too much voltage or if there are faults in the PSU. Here are some ways this can happen and how to prevent it:
How a Powerful PSU Can Damage a Motherboard
- Overvoltage: If the PSU outputs a voltage higher than what the motherboard can handle, it can cause immediate damage to components.
- Faulty PSU: A malfunctioning PSU might deliver unstable or surging power, which can harm connected components.
- Incompatible Wattage: While a PSU that has a higher wattage rating than needed typically won't cause damage, if it is poorly designed, it might still pose risks.
How to Prevent Damage
- Choose a Quality PSU: Invest in a reputable brand that is known for reliability and stability. Look for units with good reviews and certifications (like 80 PLUS).
- Check Voltage Ratings: Ensure that the PSU provides the correct voltage outputs (e.g., 12V, 5V, 3.3V) as specified by the motherboard and components.
- Use Overvoltage Protection: Many modern PSUs come with built-in protections, such as overvoltage protection (OVP), overcurrent protection (OCP), and short circuit protection (SCP). Make sure the PSU has these features.
- Monitor Power Supply Health: Use software tools or hardware monitors to check the voltages coming from the PSU. If you notice any irregularities, consider replacing the unit.
- Proper Installation: Ensure all connections are secure and that the PSU is compatible with your system’s requirements. Avoid using adapters that could compromise power delivery.
- Surge Protectors: Utilize surge protectors or uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to safeguard against power surges from the electrical outlet.
- Regular Maintenance: Keep the PSU and case clean from dust and debris to ensure optimal cooling and performance.
By following these guidelines, you can help protect your motherboard and other components from damage caused by a powerful or faulty PSU.
Can it, technically yes, but the fact that it is powerful does not increase those odds in any way.
You see, watts = volts * amps. Volts will be constant for this example, amps is by demand; so you can have a power supply that has 50 amps, but if the device only needs 5 amps then the device will only draw 5 amps of power. A high power PSU basically has many more amps/watts to allocate to additional devices like GPUs.
A powerfull GOOD QUALITY PSU has many protections in it, and wont allow the motherboard to exceed its volts or amperage capacity on the 24 pin ATX or 4/8 pin CPU connectors.
A low q
Can it, technically yes, but the fact that it is powerful does not increase those odds in any way.
You see, watts = volts * amps. Volts will be constant for this example, amps is by demand; so you can have a power supply that has 50 amps, but if the device only needs 5 amps then the device will only draw 5 amps of power. A high power PSU basically has many more amps/watts to allocate to additional devices like GPUs.
A powerfull GOOD QUALITY PSU has many protections in it, and wont allow the motherboard to exceed its volts or amperage capacity on the 24 pin ATX or 4/8 pin CPU connectors.
A low quality PSU with a high power rating on the other hand, well that PSU cant actually handle that power level and has little to no safeguards. There was more money put into making it look “gaming” then there was making it a half-decent power supply. Just check hardwware forums (like Toms Hardware) to find the many posts with fried GPUs/MoBos due to these cheap power supplies, some have even caught on fire (first hand had one of these in a PC at work catch fire). These power supplies are made by brands like logisys, apevia, hec, etc. If you have a 500w PSU with no plugs for a GPU (or only 1 6 or 8 pin) that is a bad sign (or 2 plugs on a 700w+ model). Brands like Thermaltake, CoolerMaster, RaidMax, etc are marginally better but not equal to brands like EVGA, SeaSonic, or Corsair.
In short the $30 you save today is hundreds of dollars in destroyed parts tomorrow ….. never go cheap on the part who’s job it is to not FRY the other parts.
Where do I start?
I’m a huge financial nerd, and have spent an embarrassing amount of time talking to people about their money habits.
Here are the biggest mistakes people are making and how to fix them:
Not having a separate high interest savings account
Having a separate account allows you to see the results of all your hard work and keep your money separate so you're less tempted to spend it.
Plus with rates above 5.00%, the interest you can earn compared to most banks really adds up.
Here is a list of the top savings accounts available today. Deposit $5 before moving on because this is one of th
Where do I start?
I’m a huge financial nerd, and have spent an embarrassing amount of time talking to people about their money habits.
Here are the biggest mistakes people are making and how to fix them:
Not having a separate high interest savings account
Having a separate account allows you to see the results of all your hard work and keep your money separate so you're less tempted to spend it.
Plus with rates above 5.00%, the interest you can earn compared to most banks really adds up.
Here is a list of the top savings accounts available today. Deposit $5 before moving on because this is one of the biggest mistakes and easiest ones to fix.
Overpaying on car insurance
You’ve heard it a million times before, but the average American family still overspends by $417/year on car insurance.
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Consistently being in debt
If you’ve got $10K+ in debt (credit cards…medical bills…anything really) you could use a debt relief program and potentially reduce by over 20%.
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Missing out on free money to invest
It’s no secret that millionaires love investing, but for the rest of us, it can seem out of reach.
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Having bad credit
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How to get started
Hope this helps! Here are the links to get started:
Have a separate savings account
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Finally get out of debt
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Fix your credit
The power supply will only output the power that's needed. Power supplies range from about 200 watts up to 1000 watts or so. You can always use a bigger one, as long as it is big enough. The motherboard itself does not use that much power, maybe 20-100 watts, depending on the size, number and type of CPU. It is the rest of the components that start to put a load on the power supply. If you have 2 hard drives, 2 DVD drives, and a high performance video card, you need a larger power supply. The wattage rating is just a measure of how much is the most it can put out without failing, the computer
The power supply will only output the power that's needed. Power supplies range from about 200 watts up to 1000 watts or so. You can always use a bigger one, as long as it is big enough. The motherboard itself does not use that much power, maybe 20-100 watts, depending on the size, number and type of CPU. It is the rest of the components that start to put a load on the power supply. If you have 2 hard drives, 2 DVD drives, and a high performance video card, you need a larger power supply. The wattage rating is just a measure of how much is the most it can put out without failing, the computer won't take more than it needs to operate. At the same time, you don't want one bigger than you need, as it will waste electricity, and generate more heat and noise.
No. It's not powerful. It is capable of delivering a lot of power, on demand, as the voltage starts to drop in the PC, in the 10 millionth of a second (10us) range.
Now as any electrical system can fail from poor components, unfortunately many PSU circuits fail short (as opposed to open circuit) and that will usually over-voltage everything downstream, including mono and GPU internal power supplies, which in turn, fry the silicon below them.
There are current sense and overvoltage sense circuits on good power supplies, including GPUs and mothboards. They should work all the time but they aren't
No. It's not powerful. It is capable of delivering a lot of power, on demand, as the voltage starts to drop in the PC, in the 10 millionth of a second (10us) range.
Now as any electrical system can fail from poor components, unfortunately many PSU circuits fail short (as opposed to open circuit) and that will usually over-voltage everything downstream, including mono and GPU internal power supplies, which in turn, fry the silicon below them.
There are current sense and overvoltage sense circuits on good power supplies, including GPUs and mothboards. They should work all the time but they aren't perfect. The nature of having 4000 cores instantly start to work or atop working makes large current swings that give false trips to the PSU circuits, so they have to be loosened up. This makes them take longer to respond to a serious condition.
In simple terms, power supply just provides the power that motherboard asks for. It does not push all its power output unto the motherboard. The output of the PSU is dynamic, and related to the power draw of the components its connected to. So, you may use a 1200 Watt PSU with a tiny miniITX mainboard, if you feel like doing so.
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What?
A 100w PSU could fry a board, but there are many FCC regulations that ensure there are fail safes in a PSU to prevent that. If you buy 2nd hand, or sketchy units you deserve it.
A psu has control over the power consumption,but can to big a psu fry a mobo,let's ask the factory!system hardware makes demand for power consuming what it needs,if it's to small,the system is starved for power and may not function correctly,that being said,most mobos and psus are set to a certain standard.Canadian standards association or American standards association.
Some systems require big psus to run multiple harddrives,so I'd guess it's OK to have that large 2000 watt psu in your system,but don't blame me if it goes pfzzt!siiilllently!
Watch linus tech tips,he built a storeinator server
A psu has control over the power consumption,but can to big a psu fry a mobo,let's ask the factory!system hardware makes demand for power consuming what it needs,if it's to small,the system is starved for power and may not function correctly,that being said,most mobos and psus are set to a certain standard.Canadian standards association or American standards association.
Some systems require big psus to run multiple harddrives,so I'd guess it's OK to have that large 2000 watt psu in your system,but don't blame me if it goes pfzzt!siiilllently!
Watch linus tech tips,he built a storeinator server with 48 drives in it all running off 1 supermicro server board!
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Yes it can fry your system if it is underpowered for the system requirements of power. Make sure to buy power supply from good brands like Corsair, thermaltake, seasonic and cooler master. Always check you systems power requirements online with pc partpicker so that you know how much power you need and what power supplies are compatible with your system
I would find it unlikely as powerful PSUs are normally more expensive. It is more likely that a cheaply built PSU would or could harm your motherboard.
The power supplied is dependent on the load required. Getting a 1000W power supply does not make much sense for a system that used 300W peak. Most PSU's are most efficient when providing around 80%-90% of it's rated power. By using a high power PSU on a low power system you ensure that you are using it exclusively outside of this efficiency band and probably closer to 40%.
So you would end up wasting money on the PSU and money on your electric bi
I would find it unlikely as powerful PSUs are normally more expensive. It is more likely that a cheaply built PSU would or could harm your motherboard.
The power supplied is dependent on the load required. Getting a 1000W power supply does not make much sense for a system that used 300W peak. Most PSU's are most efficient when providing around 80%-90% of it's rated power. By using a high power PSU on a low power system you ensure that you are using it exclusively outside of this efficiency band and probably closer to 40%.
So you would end up wasting money on the PSU and money on your electric bill.
Here's some links to PSU calc so you can get a good feel for what you need.
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Like many of you reading this, I’ve been looking for ways to earn money online in addition to my part-time job. But you know how it is – the internet is full of scams and shady-grady stuff, so I spent weeks trying to find something legit. And I finally did!
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No, a powerful PSU just means it can power higher demanding devices.
Now, if it’s a cheap 20$ PSU that claims it can handle a certain load and it really can’t then, yes it could fry something
yes but at some conditions but most of time it is not done with new ones because the fuses are so accurate at this point
Can a powerful PSU fry a motherboard? How do you prevent it?
They sure can, just as likely as a ‘weak’ psu can!
How do you prevent it?
Don’t buy garbage power supplies.
A properly made one won’t ‘fry’ your motherboard. A cheap, shitty one might.
The ratings are how much electricity they CAN let through, it’s not a rating of how much they ‘push’ at your computer.
If both your PSU and motherboard got fried, you got hit with a major power jolt.
Right now, you can treat this as an opportunity to do a complete upgrade on your PC.
Get a good quality, new PSU (use this to know how big a PSU you need: Power Supply Calculator - PSU Calculator | OuterVision ), a good mobo and CPU (you most likely got your CPU fried, too). Look for package deals like this: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 + GIGABYTE X470 AORUS Gaming 7 WIFI-50, or look for a complete PC (whatever is cheaper).
If your mains power is subject to spikes or sudden fluctuations a good investment is in a UPS (Uninterrupt
If both your PSU and motherboard got fried, you got hit with a major power jolt.
Right now, you can treat this as an opportunity to do a complete upgrade on your PC.
Get a good quality, new PSU (use this to know how big a PSU you need: Power Supply Calculator - PSU Calculator | OuterVision ), a good mobo and CPU (you most likely got your CPU fried, too). Look for package deals like this: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 + GIGABYTE X470 AORUS Gaming 7 WIFI-50, or look for a complete PC (whatever is cheaper).
If your mains power is subject to spikes or sudden fluctuations a good investment is in a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). But… get a good quality one, NOT a chinese knock-off.
Breadboard with just motherboard, CPU & HSF, case speaker, and PSU.
Make sure you plug the CPU power cable in. The system will not boot without it.
I always breadboard a new build. It takes only a few minutes, and you know you are putting good parts in the case once you are finished.
You can turn on the PC by momentarily shorting the two pins that the case power switch goes to. You should hear a seri
Breadboard with just motherboard, CPU & HSF, case speaker, and PSU.
Make sure you plug the CPU power cable in. The system will not boot without it.
I always breadboard a new build. It takes only a few minutes, and you know you are putting good parts in the case once you are finished.
You can turn on the PC by momentarily shorting the two pins that the case power switch goes to. You should hear a series of long, single beeps indicating memory problems. Silence indicates a problem with (in most likely order) the PSU, motherboard, or CPU. Remember, at this time, you do not have a graphics card installed so the load on your PSU will be reduced.
If no beeps:
Running fans and drives and motherboard LED's do not necessarily indicate a good PSU. In the absence of a single short beep, they also do not indicate that the system is booting.
At this point, you can sort of check the PSU. Try to borrow a known good PSU of around 550 - 600 watts. That will power just about any system with a single GPU. If you cannot do that, use a DMM to measure the voltages. Measure between the colored wires and either chassis ground or the black wires. Yellow wires should be 12 volts. Red wires: +5 volts, orange wires: +3.3 volts, blue wire : -12 volts, violet wire: 5 volts always on. Tolerances are +/- 5% except for the -12 volts which is +/- 10%.
The gray wire is really important. It should go from 0 to +5 volts when you turn the PSU on with the case switch. CPU needs this signal to boot.
You can turn on the PSU by completely disconnecting the PSU and using a paperclip or jumper wire to short the green wire to one of the neighboring black wires.
A way that might be easier is to use the main power plug. Working from the back of the plug where the wires come out, use a bare paperclip to short between the green wire and one of the neighboring black wires. That will do the same thing with an installed PSU. It is also an easy way to bypass a questionable case power switch.
This checks the PSU under no load conditions, so it is not completely reliable. But if it can not pass this, it is dead. Then repeat the checks with the PSU plugged into the computer to put a load on the PSU.
If the system beeps:
If it looks like the PSU is good, install a memory stick. Boot. Be...
A motherboard generally doesn't overheat but various components on it will without proper cooling, especially if overclocked. Good airflow and a lack of dust makes all the difference. Make sure your cpu cooler is working properly and free of dust. Also any other heatsinks and fans inside the box need to be regularly serviced to clean out dust and insure the fans are working properly. Aftermarket fans utilizing fluid bearings or magnetic bearings will last longer and make sure your parts are properly cooled. Also larger fans need to turn less to move the same amount of air, and as such will las
A motherboard generally doesn't overheat but various components on it will without proper cooling, especially if overclocked. Good airflow and a lack of dust makes all the difference. Make sure your cpu cooler is working properly and free of dust. Also any other heatsinks and fans inside the box need to be regularly serviced to clean out dust and insure the fans are working properly. Aftermarket fans utilizing fluid bearings or magnetic bearings will last longer and make sure your parts are properly cooled. Also larger fans need to turn less to move the same amount of air, and as such will last much longer.
Add fans to the parts that are getting too hot. I’ve used double-sided foam tape like this stuff to stick little fans onto the heatsinks of dozens of different motherboards, and it works just fine as long as you remember to clean the dust off of the fan & the heatsink before using the tape. If the components are dirty with dust, the tape won’t stick.
Also, remember to clean the dust out of all heatsinks on a regular basis. Dust buildup is the most common cause of overheating issues in older computers. Go to an office supply store (or Walmart, etc) and get one of those cans of compressed-gas com
Add fans to the parts that are getting too hot. I’ve used double-sided foam tape like this stuff to stick little fans onto the heatsinks of dozens of different motherboards, and it works just fine as long as you remember to clean the dust off of the fan & the heatsink before using the tape. If the components are dirty with dust, the tape won’t stick.
Also, remember to clean the dust out of all heatsinks on a regular basis. Dust buildup is the most common cause of overheating issues in older computers. Go to an office supply store (or Walmart, etc) and get one of those cans of compressed-gas computer dust remover and use it to blow out all heatsinks (particularly CPU heatsink and graphics card heatsink) and also the power supply.
I assume you are referring to a desktop PC with an internal PSU. If it has an external PSU, borrow a replacement PSU and see if that solves the problem. This will tell you whether the PSU is faulty. External PSUs should not be damaged if they are connected to a faulty device. Such a PSU should current limit rather than be damaged by a faulty device.
Remove external power, then carefully open the PC. Look for signs of burning, including the smell of burn. Look for damaged wiring, suspicious marks on any components or signs of burning dust.
If there is no evidence of burning or overheating, try po
I assume you are referring to a desktop PC with an internal PSU. If it has an external PSU, borrow a replacement PSU and see if that solves the problem. This will tell you whether the PSU is faulty. External PSUs should not be damaged if they are connected to a faulty device. Such a PSU should current limit rather than be damaged by a faulty device.
Remove external power, then carefully open the PC. Look for signs of burning, including the smell of burn. Look for damaged wiring, suspicious marks on any components or signs of burning dust.
If there is no evidence of burning or overheating, try powering up the PC. Keep away from any exposed metal work inside the PC. I there is a fault, and the PC is mains powered, there could be dangerous voltages around.
With an appropriate test meter, check out the power lines from the power supply. If necessary, seek experienced help to make sure you don’t expose yourself to dangerous voltages.
If the power lines are correct, then the motherboard is likely to be the problem. If the power lines are not correct, then you will need to examine the control from the motherboard to the PSU. A faulty control line could still be a motherboard problem.
- Plug the power supply into the wall.
- Find the big 24-ish pin connector that connects to the motherboard.
- Connect the GREEN wire with the adjacent BLACK wire.
- The power supply's fan should start up. If it doesn't then it's dead.
- If the fan starts up, then it could be the motherboard that's dead.
Wish Everything Okay!
Hard to tell what a motherboard would do.
But a broken PSU that does shut down or never starts would normally not spin any fans. Which is only an indication of a PSU issue because better PSU would never spin up any fan as long as the temperature is fine so lack of PSU fan spin need not tell the PSU is broken.
Just that a spinning PSU fan normally means the PSU is trying to emit power.
If you have a multimeter, then you should be able to measure +5V and +12V if you measure red/black and yellow/black on any Molex connector - i.e. power connector for a CD or older IDE disk.
Just that powering on the
Hard to tell what a motherboard would do.
But a broken PSU that does shut down or never starts would normally not spin any fans. Which is only an indication of a PSU issue because better PSU would never spin up any fan as long as the temperature is fine so lack of PSU fan spin need not tell the PSU is broken.
Just that a spinning PSU fan normally means the PSU is trying to emit power.
If you have a multimeter, then you should be able to measure +5V and +12V if you measure red/black and yellow/black on any Molex connector - i.e. power connector for a CD or older IDE disk.
Just that powering on the PSU power switch isn’t enough to turn on the PSU. It has a special signal that it listens to know if it should power up. This signal is normally activated by the power button on the computer case. But this signal is also affected by a BIOS setting relating to if a computer should return to previous power state after a power loss.
Yes, an underpowered PSU will absolutely damage not just the motherboard, but everything else in your system, including CPU, RAM, graphics card, and anything else that the power supply is directly connected to, like storage drives.
I suggest you upgrade your power supply immediately, because those blue screens you are getting are a clear sign of the power supply not being able to handle the load being put on it by your system. It might not be too late, and I suggest you keep you computer turned off until you don’t get a better power supply - you might have already done irreversible damage to th
Yes, an underpowered PSU will absolutely damage not just the motherboard, but everything else in your system, including CPU, RAM, graphics card, and anything else that the power supply is directly connected to, like storage drives.
I suggest you upgrade your power supply immediately, because those blue screens you are getting are a clear sign of the power supply not being able to handle the load being put on it by your system. It might not be too late, and I suggest you keep you computer turned off until you don’t get a better power supply - you might have already done irreversible damage to the components. It is recommended to use a power supply that has twice the maximum wattage than your computer’s requirement. So, if your system requires 150 W, use at least a 300 W power supply. For any modern system, a 500 W power supply is enough unless you have very high end components.
You can only hope that replacing the power supply will stop the blue screens - they might be caused due to the power supply failing, or due to damage to the components. If the components are damaged, replacing the power supply might not help, and you’ll have to get a whole new system.
Hope this helps. Cheers!
Don't use it in an over-warm area, and make sure the inside gets vacuumed occasionally, like every year.
If you’re talking about a generic PC, they aren’t designed for cooling airflow, so pay extra attention to the room temp. A power mac is very carefully designed for airflow, but still—avoid warmth.
PSUs can suffer catastrophic failures quite easily. I’ve had two of them do this over the years. Below is the photo of a PSU that suffered a violent explosion & a catastrophic failure.
Do you see the white stuff? That’s insulation that was boiled & blown out of the transformer (center screen w/bar code sticker). It’s all over the place & some actually passed between the heat sinks & shorted out another component. Also, not as visible, there are three blown capacitors. The PSU was toast! (Funny, though, it actually worked after the failure, just that it acted funny & failed to start some times.)
PSUs can suffer catastrophic failures quite easily. I’ve had two of them do this over the years. Below is the photo of a PSU that suffered a violent explosion & a catastrophic failure.
Do you see the white stuff? That’s insulation that was boiled & blown out of the transformer (center screen w/bar code sticker). It’s all over the place & some actually passed between the heat sinks & shorted out another component. Also, not as visible, there are three blown capacitors. The PSU was toast! (Funny, though, it actually worked after the failure, just that it acted funny & failed to start some times.)
A replacement was $40 off of eBay.
Cheers!
It’s possible - one reason people are urged to spend the same time and effort picking a PSU as they would either a CPU or a GPU. Your PSU is vital to the rest of your system. How could you check? First, check to see if all of the power cords are connected properly from the PSU to the motherboard - sometimes people forget that 4 or 8 pin connector up in the corner. Sometimes they “look” ok but aren’t all the way in. If it’s still not working, see if either you or someone else has one you can borrow (that works) and connect that one to your system. Try, then let the group know what you found.
Goo
It’s possible - one reason people are urged to spend the same time and effort picking a PSU as they would either a CPU or a GPU. Your PSU is vital to the rest of your system. How could you check? First, check to see if all of the power cords are connected properly from the PSU to the motherboard - sometimes people forget that 4 or 8 pin connector up in the corner. Sometimes they “look” ok but aren’t all the way in. If it’s still not working, see if either you or someone else has one you can borrow (that works) and connect that one to your system. Try, then let the group know what you found.
Good luck!
Yes, it's possible. The bad PSU (power supply) can cause an uneven power surge to the rest of the computer, including the motherboard and/or GPU. But I highly doubt that the PSU (power supply unit) damaged the motherboard.. when a PSU fails, it usually just dies itself and the motherboard isn't effected. The PSUs that fail are often very generic PSUs (the cheap ones that come included with the PC
Yes, it's possible. The bad PSU (power supply) can cause an uneven power surge to the rest of the computer, including the motherboard and/or GPU. But I highly doubt that the PSU (power supply unit) damaged the motherboard.. when a PSU fails, it usually just dies itself and the motherboard isn't effected. The PSUs that fail are often very generic PSUs (the cheap ones that come included with the PC case), the PSU just dies but it doesn't affect the other components. So if you had a cheap generic PSU, that may be the reason, but again, I highly doubt it.
If you had a lightning storm recently and you plugged your PC into a power outlet without a surge protector, then it's highly likely that the lighting caused a power surge and damaged your PC (the lightning hit the power lines, thus causing a powerful energy surge to your home power outlets). This is why people use a surge protected power strip, block power surges and protect your electronics. I've learned this the hard way, my TV got damaged the day after a lighting storm, I didn't use a surge protected power strip. There may be other things that can cause power surges too, not just lightning. Did you use a surge protected power strip? If no, then this might explain the reason why your PC is damaged.
Sometimes the PSU is not at fault, and the motherboard simply died due to poor workmanship of the motherboard build quality. Or sometimes the motherboard had too much wear and tear from a very demanding gaming PC, and so the motherboard chips fail over a period of time. If you have a gaming PC with a powerful graphics card and CPU, it's possible the motherboard just died from wear and tear.
GPUs (graphics card) can fail if there was improper cooling. For example, if you took out the fan or heatsink and powered on the PC, it will damage the GPU due to the heat. Sometimes, the GPU can get damaged from prolonged gaming sessions over a long period of time, the heat damaged the GPU chips. Did you remove the heatsink and fan...
PSU is most important part of every computer. It is one delivering power to very sensitive devices like CPU or GPU.
Even though CPU/GPU have their own voltage regulators they are quite sensitive to noisy input voltage or overvoltage. For example if capacitors in PSU are old, DC voltage will have a lot of high frequency ripple which might interfere with GPU/motherboard voltage regulators.
Then this, RTX 3090 is rated like 350W TDP but current spikes are in 500W range. They do not last long, few ms, but this is enough for high quality PSU to trigger overcurrent or for low quality PSU to start to o
PSU is most important part of every computer. It is one delivering power to very sensitive devices like CPU or GPU.
Even though CPU/GPU have their own voltage regulators they are quite sensitive to noisy input voltage or overvoltage. For example if capacitors in PSU are old, DC voltage will have a lot of high frequency ripple which might interfere with GPU/motherboard voltage regulators.
Then this, RTX 3090 is rated like 350W TDP but current spikes are in 500W range. They do not last long, few ms, but this is enough for high quality PSU to trigger overcurrent or for low quality PSU to start to oscillate what will lead to loss of regulation and then…
As said, PSU is most important part of PC and no money must be save on. Always buy brand name, eg Corsair or any other known brand. Do not save 20 Eur!
3 methods.
- Get mobos with good vrm
- Improve cooling performance of pc case and cpu. Better or more fans, better cpu coolers.
- Underclock your cpu or and ram.
PC fans are necessary for air circulation in any PC. Normally any PC has three types of fans. One fan is in the PC power supply, the Second is the CPU fan who cool down the CPU, and the system fan which maintains proper airflow in the PC. The power supply fan cools down the power supply and exhaust hot from the system. CPU fan cools down the CPU, if it fails your system will shut down immediately to save CPU from burning. System fans also maintain airflow in components and cool down them. If this fails, the system will not shut down because the power supply fan maintains airflow in the system.
A high quality power-supply with clean filtered power from a ups coming into it. Have a well ventilated case with dust filters in a fairly cool room. Power the computer on and off as little as possible. Don't allow the case to be physically disturbed. Don’t have the motherboard under constant physical stress by hanging very large/heavy coolers and daughter boards (extreme sized graphics cards with backplates are a common culprit) hanging off the motherboard. This should result in a quality motherboard that doesn't have flawed capacitors lasting at least 5 years and typically longer.
Are you sure only those two components were hit? I’d expect damage that serious to have taken out virtually everything connected.
Assuming nothing else is damaged, you can buy any PSU of sufficient power rating and expect it to work - new of course, you don’t need to be buying someone else’s problems.
If the system is 10 years old, toss it, you’ll be throwing good money after bad.
MB - that poses a different problem. If the MB is still being manufactured or you know of a source it can be replaced, provided all the stuff plugged into it is compatible. If no longer available, it may be time to toss
Are you sure only those two components were hit? I’d expect damage that serious to have taken out virtually everything connected.
Assuming nothing else is damaged, you can buy any PSU of sufficient power rating and expect it to work - new of course, you don’t need to be buying someone else’s problems.
If the system is 10 years old, toss it, you’ll be throwing good money after bad.
MB - that poses a different problem. If the MB is still being manufactured or you know of a source it can be replaced, provided all the stuff plugged into it is compatible. If no longer available, it may be time to toss it and start anew.
You don’t indicate how this happened, thus I will assume you were hit during an electrical storm. While shopping, invest in a good UPS, and use it on whatever you decide to do regarding rebuild or new.
You can't short out anything if you don't want to risk destroying your board, CPU, DRAM, PCIe cards, etc. You have components on both sides, which means many open electrical contacts. If you short out anything on the backside of your motherboard and don't fry it, you're damn lucky.
PC motherboards when live run 3.3V, 5.0V, and 12V power rails, but contain components that run the signaling at 2.5V, 1.8V, 1.35V, 1.2V, even under 1.0V and are absolutely not tolerant to higher voltages. A short will likely destroy all sorts of random things. Each board is different, and none are especially idiot pr
You can't short out anything if you don't want to risk destroying your board, CPU, DRAM, PCIe cards, etc. You have components on both sides, which means many open electrical contacts. If you short out anything on the backside of your motherboard and don't fry it, you're damn lucky.
PC motherboards when live run 3.3V, 5.0V, and 12V power rails, but contain components that run the signaling at 2.5V, 1.8V, 1.35V, 1.2V, even under 1.0V and are absolutely not tolerant to higher voltages. A short will likely destroy all sorts of random things. Each board is different, and none are especially idiot proof.
So don't be that idiot.
A 250watt PSU is rated to deliver *up to* 250watts of power.
If your previous PSU was rated to 240watts then a 250watt PSU will be fine. So would a 500w PSU, or even a 1600w PSU (assuming you can fit it in the case). That rating is the maximum power delivery. Drawing less than that is fine, though usually for efficiency you don’t want to drop below half of what the PSU is rated to.
Similarly…. almost all Dell laptops that came with barrel plugs needed 19.4volts, but depending on the laptop might have drawn 45, 65, 90, 120 or 240watts. You could run a lower-rated laptop off of a higher-rated powe
A 250watt PSU is rated to deliver *up to* 250watts of power.
If your previous PSU was rated to 240watts then a 250watt PSU will be fine. So would a 500w PSU, or even a 1600w PSU (assuming you can fit it in the case). That rating is the maximum power delivery. Drawing less than that is fine, though usually for efficiency you don’t want to drop below half of what the PSU is rated to.
Similarly…. almost all Dell laptops that came with barrel plugs needed 19.4volts, but depending on the laptop might have drawn 45, 65, 90, 120 or 240watts. You could run a lower-rated laptop off of a higher-rated power adapter without any issues.
In my experience USB-C power delivery is 20v but might be rated to 45, 60 or 100watts. As long as what you need is equal to or less than the maximum rated delivery you will be fine.
Let you define “240W motherboard”. Does it mean the maximum power that the motherboard itself can provide to all its devices?
If yes, consider you add a 100W video adapter, like an average-level NVidia. Oops… It doesn’t matter do you feed it through MB (unlikely) or a separate power line (typically provided for such video) - PSU is overloaded.
I think it should be obvious. Calculate a needed power as sum of all consumption over the devices… and don’t forget to add ~30% reserve for cases like 1) MB manufacturer lied, 2) a device needs more startup power than regular one, 3) PSU manufacturer lied,
Let you define “240W motherboard”. Does it mean the maximum power that the motherboard itself can provide to all its devices?
If yes, consider you add a 100W video adapter, like an average-level NVidia. Oops… It doesn’t matter do you feed it through MB (unlikely) or a separate power line (typically provided for such video) - PSU is overloaded.
I think it should be obvious. Calculate a needed power as sum of all consumption over the devices… and don’t forget to add ~30% reserve for cases like 1) MB manufacturer lied, 2) a device needs more startup power than regular one, 3) PSU manufacturer lied, 4) etc. etc. etc.
A few things happen when a motherboard VRM overheats, you lose efficiency (which generates more heat) and you decrease the lifespan of the components a lot quicker. Generally the lifespan of the capacitors used in good VRMs is around 5000 hours at 105C. With a lower temperature this lifespan increases and at higher temperatures the lifespan decreases. The usual failure mode of a capacitor depends on the type of capacitor, the aluminium electrolyte type will generally fail open which means that the particular phase that the capacitor is part of will no longer work. If this does not stop the ent
A few things happen when a motherboard VRM overheats, you lose efficiency (which generates more heat) and you decrease the lifespan of the components a lot quicker. Generally the lifespan of the capacitors used in good VRMs is around 5000 hours at 105C. With a lower temperature this lifespan increases and at higher temperatures the lifespan decreases. The usual failure mode of a capacitor depends on the type of capacitor, the aluminium electrolyte type will generally fail open which means that the particular phase that the capacitor is part of will no longer work. If this does not stop the entire VRM from working then it puts a higher load on the other phases of the VRM which increases the heat generation of the other phases which leads to more failed components.
Luckily, motherboard manufacturers are generally pretty good at designing VRMs so the likelihood of a VRM failure is pretty low. The main methods used to prevent overheating include both overspecced VRM (the VRM on my motherboard is classed as a “ok” VRM yet it still has a 400 amp capacity and the firmware limits it to around 100A maximum load) and VRM cooling using heatsinks and possible active cooling (i.e. fans) are used to prevent the VRM from overheating. Other methods include using Smart Power Stages which contain their own overcurrent protection and temperature monitoring, current balancing which tries to spread the load as evenly as possible over all MOSFETs in the VRM and overall current monitoring.
A youtuber called Buildzoid works with Gamers Nexus to examine the VRM designs of various motherboards and videocards and gives his opinions on the various VRM designs and I would recommend watching some of his videos if you want to know more about VRMs.
Most definitely you can damage a PCB in this way. I was recently diagnosing a fault on a old DECServer 700. The inside of the plastic case was metalised , presumably for EMC reasons and the PCB was held off the metalised surfaces by insulating plastic standoffs. Unfortunately with age the Metalised plastic was very fragile and kept disintegrating and a small piece of metalised plastic bridged the power rails on the rear of the PCB. Although the plastic did not catch fire it glowed and emitted some smoke. Because the power rails were relatively thick the PCB survived but had the 10V rail shorte
Most definitely you can damage a PCB in this way. I was recently diagnosing a fault on a old DECServer 700. The inside of the plastic case was metalised , presumably for EMC reasons and the PCB was held off the metalised surfaces by insulating plastic standoffs. Unfortunately with age the Metalised plastic was very fragile and kept disintegrating and a small piece of metalised plastic bridged the power rails on the rear of the PCB. Although the plastic did not catch fire it glowed and emitted some smoke. Because the power rails were relatively thick the PCB survived but had the 10V rail shorted to a TTL output the associated chip would have been destroyed.
So the moral of my story is always to ensure your that the solder side of your PCB is not resting on a conductive surface and do not rely on solder resist for insulation as it is easily damaged.
Usually, the video card is connected straight to the motherboard, and some cards need external power from the PSU since the motherboard can’t supply enough on its own.
If you fry the video card, your PSU is definitely defective, or you had a power surge and you didn't have a surge protector (or your surge protector is defective), and if the video card has external power via a 2–4 pin or a 6 pin cab
Usually, the video card is connected straight to the motherboard, and some cards need external power from the PSU since the motherboard can’t supply enough on its own.
If you fry the video card, your PSU is definitely defective, or you had a power surge and you didn't have a surge protector (or your surge protector is defective), and if the video card has external power via a 2–4 pin or a 6 pin cable, then it might be possible that only the card was fried, but the motherboard could also have been screwed. I would check to see if it was only the card by removing the video card and plugging in the monitor cables directly to the motherboard, since most modern motherboards have video outputs. Boot up the computer as usual and if things are running normally (except GPU-dependa...
Well first of all check for the CPU brand that you wanna buy that is if it is intel or AMD.
- Intel:
Check for the socket that your processor uses. For example if the name of the processor that you wanna buy is Intel Core i5 7600k. Then that means it is a 7th gen CPU (notice the number following “i5” starts with 7) and hence uses the LGA 1151 socket (you can also find this by google searching the name of your processor followed buy “socket”..usually you will find a site called ark.intel on top, that is where you wanna go).
So if the socket that it requires is LGA 1151 then the motherboard where it
Well first of all check for the CPU brand that you wanna buy that is if it is intel or AMD.
- Intel:
Check for the socket that your processor uses. For example if the name of the processor that you wanna buy is Intel Core i5 7600k. Then that means it is a 7th gen CPU (notice the number following “i5” starts with 7) and hence uses the LGA 1151 socket (you can also find this by google searching the name of your processor followed buy “socket”..usually you will find a site called ark.intel on top, that is where you wanna go).
So if the socket that it requires is LGA 1151 then the motherboard where it goes in obviously has to have that socket. So when purchasing motherboards, search for a motherboard with that socket. Now there are different series of motherboards (talking with respect to modern processors). For example you may find a motherboard with “Z270” in its name. You may also find one with “B250” in its name, etc etc, having the same socket, that is LGA 1151. What these means is that these are different series which can accept the same CPU but are targeted for different classes of people. For example the Z270 is for people who have an overclockable CPU (that is the CPU name has a “k” after the 4-digit number), so those are for gamers while all other motherboards, that is motherboards which are not Z-series do not support overclocking.
So once you have decided on the processor and the motherboard…check the motherboard if it has the different things you want in your computer for eg 64GB RAM support or USB 3.1 gen 2 etc etc. Hence you have understood how to choose a motherboard that you want for an Intel based system. Moving on.
2. AMD :
Buying AMD systems are a bit simpler.. Choose the CPU that you wanna buy. Check its socket. For example if it is AM4 then you wanna buy a motherboard that has that socket. So search for the same and check what are the specs you wanna keep in your computer. Though AMD has different series, the difference is not really that much and as an average consumer, not very relevant too. except the A-series boards, all other boards support overclocking. So buy anyone you think suits your needs. Now you know how to choose the right motherboard for your CPU.
Now moving further to PSU or power supply that you need.. To decide that, first decide if you wanna buy a graphics card or not. If yes, then head over to the manufacturers website, nvidia or AMD, search for specs regarding the model of GPU that you wanna buy…When you find it, open its spec sheet and check for the “recommended power supply” value. Just get a decent power supply, like an 80+ bronze rated power supply with that wattage and you are good to go. If you are not buying a GPU then get a decent power supply, 80+ bronze atleast is recommended with 400–450 watts and that will usually be enough.
The easiest way - go to PCPartpicker and add all the parts and the site will tell you automatically if it is compatible. But the downside is you may not be told the quality of the parts you wanna buy. Hope this helps and feel free to ask incase of any problem :)
Definitely. In the past, I've used to PSUs to save on buying a more expensive PSU for my graphics card. However, the GPU must be powered on at the same time that the motherboard is, or your OS will probably not recognize it as the PC boots up. This means you need to get both PSUs to turn on at about the same time, or always keep the PSU that runs the GPU running.
Although your primary PSU (the one you use to run your motherboard/processor maybe connected to AC at all time), it starts providing power only once you hit the power button on your PC. It gets this ON signal from a cable that origina
Definitely. In the past, I've used to PSUs to save on buying a more expensive PSU for my graphics card. However, the GPU must be powered on at the same time that the motherboard is, or your OS will probably not recognize it as the PC boots up. This means you need to get both PSUs to turn on at about the same time, or always keep the PSU that runs the GPU running.
Although your primary PSU (the one you use to run your motherboard/processor maybe connected to AC at all time), it starts providing power only once you hit the power button on your PC. It gets this ON signal from a cable that originates in your cabinet. You need to simulate the action of that ON signal to your GPU's PSU as well. One way of doing this is by shorting your GPUs PSU such that its always running when connected to AC. You can figure out how to do this by looking at the manual that comes with your PSU or looking it up online.
It's totally safe. Just make sure to take the standard precautions such as using a voltage stabilizer and working in a non-humid environment.
Other then water/liquid :
Electronics in general : hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - …
Metal that heats up : expands
Metal that cools off : shrinks
Imagine what that does on a motherboard with tiny solder contacts, eventually a contact breaks, rendering the device broken.
What can also happen is a piece of a contact breaking off and making contact with another ‘line’ or ‘wire’, same resu
Other then water/liquid :
Electronics in general : hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - hot - cold - …
Metal that heats up : expands
Metal that cools off : shrinks
Imagine what that does on a motherboard with tiny solder contacts, eventually a contact breaks, rendering the device broken.
What can also happen is a piece of a contact breaking off and making contact with another ‘line’ or ‘wire’, same result.
PSUs are made for different needs. A business computer that runs Office products would be OK with a small PSU, but a gaming computer with an i9 processor and a powerful graphic card (GTX 2080) would need a way bigger PSU.
You can calculate the size of your PSU using some Internet tools:
Power Supply Calculator - PSU Calculator | OuterVision
Please calculate your PSU need, probably your current PSU is less powerful than recommended. By the way don’t buy the cheapest PSU. You are not that rich.
Depends on what you mean by fried. If you simply mean it’s not working, then in many cases they can be repaired. Though most repair shops and warranty repair depots will just replace a motherboard that isn’t working, there are some talented technicians that will do board level repairs. I’m thinking of one guy in particular who has a shop in New York that does MacBook board level repairs. He has a YouTube channel where he shows the process as a learning tool for others looking to get into it. It’s fascinating watching him diagnose and then repair the systems he gets in.
Do a YouTube search for L
Depends on what you mean by fried. If you simply mean it’s not working, then in many cases they can be repaired. Though most repair shops and warranty repair depots will just replace a motherboard that isn’t working, there are some talented technicians that will do board level repairs. I’m thinking of one guy in particular who has a shop in New York that does MacBook board level repairs. He has a YouTube channel where he shows the process as a learning tool for others looking to get into it. It’s fascinating watching him diagnose and then repair the systems he gets in.
Do a YouTube search for Louis Rossmann if you’re interested.
It all depends on what components you’re going to use in your rig. While motherboard has its own requirement of power, CPU, GPU and additional extension components also require their own share of power. Be sure to include this in your calculations, when you decide on building a new rig or remaking an old one.
Because you didn’t specify your old PSU’s specification, I can only tell you the range you can take as a base. Let’s say we include gaming/heavy work with graphics. Taking also the AMD policy of “price discount at the cost of consuming more power”, the optimal wattage of your PSU should be
It all depends on what components you’re going to use in your rig. While motherboard has its own requirement of power, CPU, GPU and additional extension components also require their own share of power. Be sure to include this in your calculations, when you decide on building a new rig or remaking an old one.
Because you didn’t specify your old PSU’s specification, I can only tell you the range you can take as a base. Let’s say we include gaming/heavy work with graphics. Taking also the AMD policy of “price discount at the cost of consuming more power”, the optimal wattage of your PSU should be from 600W to 800W. This is to be on the safe side and exclude malfunctions due to insufficient power.
As upcoming AM4 Ryzen CPUs come with NVidia SLI/Crossfire technology, the requirement may rise with another graphics card added, so when considering adding another graphics card to your rig, you should include its power requirements into the sum of power requirements of all your components. BIOS and counters can help you with determining the average wattage of some components that are in use.
It is not easy to do, and generally the answer is no.
But that’s a qualified “no.”
It depends a lot on the particulars of the hardware in question. There has been malware that overwrites UEFI, essentially bricking the computer. You can argue that’s not hardware, it’s still software, it’s just software the computer has to have to boot.
It also depends on what you mean by “damage the motherboard.” Mali
It is not easy to do, and generally the answer is no.
But that’s a qualified “no.”
It depends a lot on the particulars of the hardware in question. There has been malware that overwrites UEFI, essentially bricking the computer. You can argue that’s not hardware, it’s still software, it’s just software the computer has to have to boot.
It also depends on what you mean by “damage the motherboard.” Malicious software can damage a laptop battery by overwriting the battery’s charge monitoring firmware. (Modern laptop batteries contain a tiny computer embedded inside the battery that prevents the battery from overcharging or undercharging, both of which will destroy the battery.) But you specified ‘motherboard,’ and a battery is not a motherboard.
Malware might attempt to damage a motherboard by running the CPU or other components out of spec, but this (a) only works on some motherboards and (b) should not cause damage on modern systems if the manufacturer did their job right. The motherboard should shut down before damage occurs.
So, in principle, it might be possible on some motherboards, if you either count bricking the computer by des...