PSU failure -- should I be worried??

[Xylob the Destroyer]

the PSU on my office PC just took a dump.
I had just walked out of the room when I heard a weird noise (sounded like some dude talking?!) and when I walked back into the room there was a smell of something burning and the PC was off.
One attempt at a restart resulted in weird noises from the speakers....
I pulled it out and opened it up, the smell was definately from the PSU.
I removed it (holy SHIT it was HOT), but my back-up unit doesn't have an ATX 4-pin 12v connector, so no processor power = no boot.

Should I be worried that anything got fried?
None of the stores around here open for another 2 hours, so I'm stuck, as our P.O.S. Dell jukebox macine doesn't have a removable PSU and the HTPC PSU also doesn't have an ATX 4-pin 12v connector for the CPU.

[SLK001]

You won't know if anything got fried until you put a new one in. Sometimes the news is good, sometimes the news is bad.

[Barnabas]

Usually it's just the power supply that died and nothing else got hurt. Change it and cross your fingers. I lost 3 PS units until I starting going bigger. Try to keep the dust out of the PS. I like to blow them out 2x a year.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

wow, this one lasted me a long ass time, probably 6 years and it was a total cheap-ass p.o.s. POWERMAX brand.
I've learned better since then, I'm looking to replace it with an Antec.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

All is well.
New PSU works like a charm and no problems with any other components.
other than the fact that the inside of my PC now smells like an old hiking boot that got set on fire....

[Nelson37]

Isn't that a wonderful smell?

[redwudz]

I had a cheap failed PSU take out every component in the computer except for the floppy drive. At least it made a interesting arcing sound and blew out a nice column of smoke, along with a few flaming sparks. No doubting there was a problem.

New PS, ~$50 <> New computer, ~$600

An easy choice. I don't use cheap PS's anymore.

[rallynavvie]

I always tell people that their PSU is the most important part of their system and they only sometimes listen to me.

You got lucky. I'd say about 60% of catastrophic PSU failures end with hardware damage. One way to check without a new PSU, for future reference, is to pull all your connectors and look for unusual wear.

[buttzilla]

wow, this one lasted me a long ass time, probably 6 years and it was a total cheap-ass p.o.s. POWERMAX brand.
I've learned better since then, I'm looking to replace it with an Antec.

Antec makes very good power supplys. you won't go wrong there. i have a couple of machine running them with no problem. The thing that probably killed your power supply was a build up of dust in the unit. Over 6 years the thing was probably filthy. I open my computers every once and a while and blow them out with canned air.

[redwudz]

Heat is usually what kills PSUs. Either from poor design, overload or dust buildup. I try check the output air coming from the PSU when it's been under a load for a while, just by putting my hand behind it. If it's hot, like a blow dryer, there may be a problem.

[Nelson37]

As a general rule, I see no difference in lifetime between cheap PSU and expensive ones.

Get more than enough wattage.

Blow them out regularly, how often depends on general dust level. Pulled a dust Elk off a board in an embroidery shop, you could identify the entire motherboard from the large, square sheet.

Regular heat check is one of the most important safety checks to make. Fan failure most common problem.

Good surge protector and/or battery backup better investment than expensive PSU. APC is the only brand I buy or recommend.

Usually when I see catastrophic failure, it is associated with surge or lightning. Even then, usually the PSU takes the hit and most else is OK. Though I have seen nearly every possible exception to this rule. Modems and NICs the next most likely to die from surge, particularly if the net cables are in the attic next to a metal roof.

[Soopafresh]

I had one that melted right where the 20 pin connector attaches to the mobo. Fused.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

I took the old one apart to scavenge the fan.
There was a big ass burned spot on the circuit board. The fuse on the board was still good....
It wasn't dirty inside, because I open up my PC's fairly regularly and blow them out with compressed air.
I think it was just time for the cheapo to die.
Replaced it with an Antec EarthWatts 380.

[rallynavvie]

I had one that melted right where the 20 pin connector attaches to the mobo. Fused.

Was it a Tyan 2460?

I'm not at home otherwise I could post a pic of the aftermath of that on my old Tiger MP.