[Seanh]

So I'm running Windows XP sp2(updated as much as possible), was playing world of warcraft, 4 gigs ram, 500w power supply, not sure on the specs for the motherboard/harddrive, but the harddrive is still powering up and running.

My computer shut itself off. There was no output after that. I can get the case to power up, light up. The hard drive starts spinning, fans kick in. There is no video through either option of cable. The mouse and keyboard are getting no power through them.

I'm thinking it's my motherboard, but it's been less than a year since I got a new one(not saying it couldn't be all together seeing as I didn't buy a quality one last time; couple hundred bucks).

My main question is: Do you think the motherboard would be the obvious replacement?

If it is, I'll probably go ahead and upgrade the power supply/processor along with it. If there is anything else that could be part of the problem, please suggest it. Thank you.

[rfxcasey]

So what exactly happens when you power up the PC. Do you get see the video bios? Do you see the mobo bios? Do you hear a beep? Try unplugging the power supply for a second and then plug it back in again and try to start the machine. That might help. It could also well be that one of the power rails has gone a hokey on you. You say the mouse and keyboard are not powering up. Are they USB? Is your mouse optical? If you look under your mouse to you see the red led come on? The 5 volt rail may have died in your PSU. I would first do the unplugging thing and see what happens. If no good I would try another power supply. Borrow on from a friend unless you have one laying around. You can get a pretty good 630 watt HEC power supply for about 30 or 40 bucks on Newegg. If still no joy go ahead and upgrade.

[dustyjay]

Buying a HEC power supply is spending money on a very low quality Power Supply. It could well be that the power supply is toast, but instead of buying one that low in quality spend a little more on a quality unit, such as one made by Antec, Enermax, Seasonic, OCZ, Corsair, Thermaltake, PC Power and Cooling to name a few quality Manufacturers.

[Seanh]

When I press the power button, all that happens is the little blue led on the front I have comes on, the hard drive starts up, the fans kick in. I'm not seeing any bios, nor is the beep happening. The monitors I tried on it just show they aren't receiving a signal.

[rfxcasey]

Originally Posted by dustyjay

Buying a HEC power supply is spending money on a very low quality Power Supply. It could well be that the power supply is toast, but instead of buying one that low in quality spend a little more on a quality unit, such as one made by Antec, Enermax, Seasonic, OCZ, Corsair, Thermaltake, PC Power and Cooling to name a few quality Manufacturers.

Really? What do you base that on? Or do you think it is just common knowledge. Are you one of those people who believe something has more quality because it cost more? HEC is compucase and has been making power supplies since 1979. They also provide PSUs for OEM distributors. They are not some fly by night company. I have used them on several occasions and never had any issues with them at all. That is why I used a HEC 630 watt in my latest build and it is one of the most stable machine I have ever owned and I have and still do own many many computers.

[dustyjay]

No I am not of the mind that because something costs more it is Higher Quality. I base my statements on experience with different brands. ANd just because OEM use a poer supply does not mean it is a quality unit, Remember OEMs are in it for the money, and they will use parts of lower quality to increase there profit margin. HP/Compaq use a lot of Bestec power supplies and Bestec is a very low quality troublesome PSU. So that theory that OEMS use it so that means high quality is out the door. And because a company has been in business for 30 years doesn't automatically make their product high quality either. Not every Power supply made (even the lowest quality) is going to cause problems, But, if I am building a system I am not going to use a power supply that I know from experience can be problematic.

I base my recommendations on the number of systems I have seen with blown power supplies and the power supplies that were used. I have seen far fewer bad power supplies from Antec, Enermax, and PC Power and Cooling, than from Bestec, Rosewill, HEC, Kingwin to name a few. This is what I base my recommendations on. And actually HEC is not the Bottom of the barrel. But it is not really, in my opinion, high quality either.

I am glad that you have good experience with your PSU.

[rfxcasey]

Originally Posted by dustyjay

No I am not of the mind that because something costs more it is Higher Quality. I base my statements on experience with different brands. ANd just because OEM use a poer supply does not mean it is a quality unit, Remember OEMs are in it for the money, and they will use parts of lower quality to increase there profit margin. HP/Compaq use a lot of Bestec power supplies and Bestec is a very low quality troublesome PSU. So that theory that OEMS use it so that means high quality is out the door. And because a company has been in business for 30 years doesn't automatically make their product high quality either. Not every Power supply made (even the lowest quality) is going to cause problems, But, if I am building a system I am not going to use a power supply that I know from experience can be problematic.

I base my recommendations on the number of systems I have seen with blown power supplies and the power supplies that were used. I have seen far fewer bad power supplies from Antec, Enermax, and PC Power and Cooling, than from Bestec, Rosewill, HEC, Kingwin to name a few. This is what I base my recommendations on. And actually HEC is not the Bottom of the barrel. But it is not really, in my opinion, high quality either.

I am glad that you have good experience with your PSU.

OEMs go through and support vastly larger numbers of power supplies then you or I have ever seen. If it was a total piece of crap they would not use it as the warrenty claims would cut into their bottom line. To say that OEMs are in it for the money is a rediculously redundant statement. Are you saying that Antec or Enermax isn't in it for the money? You may have seen more failures on particular brands of supply because of a larger number of them being used out in the real world. Unless you have done a statistical study of the volume per failure in the marketplace you can't back up that one brand fails more then another execpt for a limited number of models with design flaws. OEMs however do statistical studies. If a supply did have a design flaw an OEM would become aware of it very quickly and pull it from distrabution especially if the supplies where taking out expensive components like CPUs and motherboards that they would have to replace under warranty. Usually an OEM will go with another vendor all together. The fact that an OEM like Dell or HP uses a supply is a good baseline to follow to weed out those problematic supplies you mentioned. If you look online you will see HEC has a very good reputaion and the fact that they have been around for 30 years and still have a good rep is a testament to them. I'm not saying they are the best of the best but the last HEC I bought I got an excellent 650watt SLI/Crossfire ready supply for 50 bucks. I can't speak for the other brands you lumped them in with but I have always just as good result with HEC as with Antec or Enermax. I currently work as a robotics consultant at a major OEM so I do know a bit about their mindset on these things. I have working in technology and been involved in PC support for 25 years. That is not to boast, simplly to say that I am not new at this. Enermax is good and so is Antec, but if you wanna save some coin and get an equally good supply check out HEC they have done me well over the years and have a good reputation even if they are underated in the "scene" or whatever. The same thing goes for Foxconn motherboards, another underated brand.

[Seanh]

So...power supplies don't have to be expensive. OEMs don't usually pick things that break.

Does it sound like my motherboard fried?

[rfxcasey]

When you power it up does the CPU fan stay on or does it come on and then shut off after a few seconds? If it shuts off then most likely the motherboard is toast.

[replay]

Originally Posted by Seanh

So...power supplies don't have to be expensive. OEMs don't usually pick things that break.

Does it sound like my motherboard fried?

so did u try another power supply? and for the record, i wouldn't purchase a hec psu either

[dustyjay]

Actually OEMs frequently use inferior components. HP/Compaq uses Bestec power supplies, Clearly an inferior product. So that argument doesn't fly too well. There is a term that is used in many things "you get what you pay for." And that includes in the computer industry. Cheap Inferior power supplies can last for years, or they can blow outin a matter of days. It can be the same for Quality brands, the difference is that the cheap brands usually end up taking more components with them because of the inferior power regulation they provide as compared to the Quality units. You can get some very good deals on better quality power supplies if you shop wisely, the question is how much value do you place on your computer and the data it houses.

[rfxcasey]

How much value do you place on the data it houses? When was the last time you saw a power supply take out a hard drive? Be honest it is an extremely EXTREMELY rare occurrence. Not that it's impossible but I don't believe I have ever seen that happen. Maybe once in 25 years.

[dustyjay]

Actually when a power supply blows it is a frequent occurance. I have helped les experienced friends replace power supplies and blown hard drives from the blown power supplie at least 2 dozen times in the last 5 years. ANd there have been times when the motherboard has been gone as well as the hard drive. I have lost three hard drives myself due to a blown power supply.

I am all for saving money on computer components but I am not for accepting a low quality unit just because it will up front save me some money.

You asked me to be honest and that is what you get from me. If you want to risk your components then by all means you may do so. I made a recommendation from my experience.

[rfxcasey]

Wow, sounds like your the one either using or recommending crappy power supplies. I have had countless machines running hours upon hours a day for years. I worked at a PC specialty shop for several years building and repairing machines while I went to collage for electronic engineering and have hardly ever seen a hard drive blow dude to a supply. An let me tell you I have worked on plenty of them. I've seen many of them fail, but they weren't taken out by the power supply. You said you made the recommendation from your experience but you have obviously seen way more blow stuff then I have in my 25 years of experience especially with my personal machines of which it has never happened. Hum maybe you should be taking my advice too. And for the record I don't subscribe to the whole leave your machine on 24/7 philosophy unless you absolutely have to have it always on. I run my stuff for hours and hours a day but always shut it off when I am done with it. I don't give me your whole explanation on how it is harder on the equipment then leaving it on. As I said with all your fried supplies, the evidence would present itself. I rest my case.