Hi all,

My old graphics card recently broke, so yesterday I tried to replace it with a new one, and I also added a new network card while I had the case open. However, once I plugged it all back in again, it wouldn't turn on, and I noticed a burning smell.

Some testing reveals that it's the PSU that smells, and it continues to smell whenever I switch the button on the PSU itself on, even without my pressing the main power button on the case.

So I'm now buying a replacement PSU. However, could it be that the new graphics card broke the PSU? If so, should I be worried that I'll just break the new one as soon as I put it in? In some ways I don't have much choice, but I don't know whether to replace the PSU with a replacement cheap one, or a better quality branded one?

Or it is unlikely that the old one blew up because of a fault elsewhere? If the only problem was the PSU itself, it seems coincidental that it should die just as I installed new hardware.

(Other potentially less important details: The old graphics card was a radeonx800 which needed its own power supply, the new card is a GEForce8600, and doesn't. I did, however, accidentally leave the radeon power cable in the power cable chain inside when it broke. The old PSU was 500W, so should have been sufficient.)

Many thanks for any help,
Alex

Hello Alex,no do not go for cheap PSU.

Hi, thanks for the reply. What about my worry that an expensive one will just blow up as soon as I plug it in anyway?

Could you fully make sure it is the PSU.Are all the fans spinning?

Possibly the power supply was due to fail are you sure it was the GPU that was the problem and not the failing power supply?

Are you able to test the old GPU in another machine?

Have you got or can borrow a PSU from a frind to test?

The fans don't seem to spin, but I'd never noticed that they did before you turned the machine on at the front anyway.

The PSU is definately where the burning smell is coming from, though that doesn't rule out that the graphics card is broken too. My only thought is that it seems coincidental that the PSU should fail just as I replaced the graphics card. It was cheap though, so it's possible that it really was time for it to go anyway.

As far as I am aware, I figure there are two possibilities: (a) my fiddling inside the machine pushed the PSU over the edge, so that it finally broke by itself. (b) the new graphics card is faulty, and blew the PSU as soon as I tried to turn everything on.

If (a) is true, then I should buy a decent PSU, since that will be the end of the matter. But in case (b) is true, perhaps I should buy a cheap PSU, so that if it does blow up, I'll know what the problem is and have wasted only £20 on a cheap PSU rather than £40 on a nice one. But I have no idea whether (b) is even possible, let alone likely!

And no chance of testing in another machine unfortunately.

Or a combination of a/b.It could I suppose be either.

Well buy a cheap one however it may not last to long.Cheap is never an option and if you keep your receipt then you could always take it back.