Old Power Supply Question

[BarackOBatman]

I bought this old beige steel ATX case new in box and it came with one of those old power supplies that provides the most AMPs on the 5V rail. I'm going to throw a Celeron J4005, 2x4 GB of 2133 DDR4 and a cheap DRAMless SSD into the case.The label on the power supply says 8 amps on the 12V rail. The TDP of the CPU is just 10 watts. That said i'm very concerned that using this stock power supply is a dangerous idea due to the fact that its not designed for +12V and also there was that whole capacitor plague thing. I have no idea how old this unit is (though it does have 20+4pin connector.) I have plenty of old +12V designed PSUs from prebuilts that I swapped the power supply out of, so I can just swap one of those in no problem. Would it be safe to use the old power supply though? I assume not but i just wanted a second opinion. I appreciate any advice!

 

CPU/Motherboard

https://www.newegg.com/p/1JW-001Z-00116?item=9SIAHN49KH8543&source=region&nm_mc=knc-googlemkp-pc&cm_mmc=knc-googlemkp-pc-_-pla-psai-_-motherboards+-+intel-_-9SIAHN49KH8543&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1baDqJuI5gIVicJkCh1oYwzLEAkYAyABEgLbGPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Case/Power Supply

 

[MadmanRB]

Yeah I would not do it, over time power supplies can get issues due to leaking capacitors and the like even without being used.

[Tristerin]

WHERE DID YOU GET THIS BEAUTY OF A RELIC (looking) NEW IN THE BOX?  The lack of airflow gets my tingly bits...tingling

[BarackOBatman]

1 minute ago, Tristerin said:

WHERE DID YOU GET THIS BEAUTY OF A RELIC (looking) NEW IN THE BOX?  The lack of airflow gets my tingly bits...tingling

I was about an hour away from home sitting in park scrolling though offerup while I was waiting for my girlfirend to get back in the car. I saw this thing I decided we needed to make a 20 minute detour. I paid $20. Something about the brand new, non yellow beige kinda "woo-ed" me.

[Tristerin]

Just now, BarackOBatman said:

I was about an hour away from home sitting in park scrolling though offerup while I was waiting for my girlfirend to get back in the car. I saw this thing I decided we needed to make a 20 minute detour. I paid $20. Something about the brand new, non yellow beige kinda "woo-ed" me.

She is a beaut - enjoy, I just ebay searched a few in my jealousy and at that price you shouldn't pass that up!

[BarackOBatman]

2 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

She is a beaut - enjoy, I just ebay searched a few in my jealousy and at that price you shouldn't pass that up!

Oh? Maybe i'll look into flipping it. Interesting.

[Tristerin]

1 minute ago, BarackOBatman said:

Oh? Maybe i'll look into flipping it. Interesting.

Yeah shipping is a bit on each one but paying $80 or more for this unit seems like what you could get for it based on my 3 minute ebay search.  

[BarackOBatman]

Just now, Tristerin said:

Yeah shipping is a bit on each one but paying $80 or more for this unit seems like what you could get for it based on my 3 minute ebay search.  

That's Crazy!! 

[mariushm]

The google link doesn't work, it's for a search results page not an actual product.

 

It would be best to just unplug power cable from mains and OPEN the power supply (careful not to touch the metal heatsinks inside or components which may still hold charge) and visually look at the capacitors inside to see if they're swollen or not.

 

At the same time, it may be a good option to replace the fan inside the psu.

If the psu sat for a very long unused, the oil inside the fan axle is probably long gone so the fan will be noisy.

The fan would be plain standard sleeve bearing 80x80x25 fan, so you could replace it with something more modern.

Even the cheapest on Newegg like this Deepcool would be fine: https://www.newegg.com/deepcool-xfan-80-case-fan/p/N82E16835856020?Item=N82E16835856020

 

If you didn't buy the motherboard/cpu already, have a look at cpu/mb combos on eBay

For example, you can get a i3-540 + motherboard for $34 and you get around 2x the performance: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-i3-540-3-07GHz-Intel-DH55PJ/264531081453

If you're worried about the cpu consuming too much power (it's a 74w TDP cpu) , you can buy a lower power cpu for a few dollars... for example G550T (dual core celeron 2.2 Ghz with 35w TDP) is 5$ : https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Celeron-Dual-Core-G530T-G540T-G550T-1155Pin-35W-2M-Sandy-Bridge-CPU/264471689389

 

A similar listing for 38$ but you also get 8GB ram: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-DH55TC-MB-w-i3-530-CPU-2-93GHz-8GB-RAM-face-plate/264546970694

 

You can get AM3 motherboards with cpu and cooler for 48$, here's an example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gigabyte-GA-M68MT-S2-Motherboard-AMD-AM3-DDR3-Used/143438217038

Low power processors are again a few dollars, if the one it comes with is too power hungry.

 

Here's another option

 

[LukeSavenije]

7 minutes ago, mariushm said:

At the same time, it may be a good option to replace the fan inside the psu.

i think every psu designer will get at the very least get mad at you

 

with 8a on 12v, the poor thing is likely very old... especially when comparing it to the minor rails

 

a swap is highly recommended from my side

[BarackOBatman]

6 minutes ago, mariushm said:

The google link doesn't work, it's for a search results page not an actual product.

 

It would be best to just unplug power cable from mains and OPEN the power supply (careful not to touch the metal heatsinks inside or components which may still hold charge) and visually look at the capacitors inside to see if they're swollen or not.

 

At the same time, it may be a good option to replace the fan inside the psu.

If the psu sat for a very long unused, the oil inside the fan axle is probably long gone so the fan will be noisy.

The fan would be plain standard sleeve bearing 80x80x25 fan, so you could replace it with something more modern.

Even the cheapest on Newegg like this Deepcool would be fine: https://www.newegg.com/deepcool-xfan-80-case-fan/p/N82E16835856020?Item=N82E16835856020

 

If you didn't buy the motherboard/cpu already, have a look at cpu/mb combos on eBay

For example, you can get a i3-540 + motherboard for $34 and you get around 2x the performance: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-i3-540-3-07GHz-Intel-DH55PJ/264531081453

If you're worried about the cpu consuming too much power (it's a 74w TDP cpu) , you can buy a lower power cpu for a few dollars... for example G550T (dual core celeron 2.2 Ghz with 35w TDP) is 5$ : https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Celeron-Dual-Core-G530T-G540T-G550T-1155Pin-35W-2M-Sandy-Bridge-CPU/264471689389

 

A similar listing for 38$ but you also get 8GB ram: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-DH55TC-MB-w-i3-530-CPU-2-93GHz-8GB-RAM-face-plate/264546970694

 

You can get AM3 motherboards with cpu and cooler for 48$, here's an example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gigabyte-GA-M68MT-S2-Motherboard-AMD-AM3-DDR3-Used/143438217038

Low power processors are again a few dollars, if the one it comes with is too power hungry.

 

Here's another option

 

Hello, Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

The reason I'm using this cpu/board is because i already have it. Its been collecting dust for a year or so.

I found a working link, though I paid significantly less. I wanna say around $40 if my memory serves.

https://www.newegg.com/p/1JW-001Z-00116?item=9SIAHN49KH8543&source=region&nm_mc=knc-googlemkp-pc&cm_mmc=knc-googlemkp-pc-_-pla-psai-_-motherboards+-+intel-_-9SIAHN49KH8543&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1baDqJuI5gIVicJkCh1oYwzLEAkYAyABEgLbGPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Upon further inspection, the power supply actually doesnt even have the connectors I need! A huge oversight...

Looks like i will be swapping it after all.

[mariushm]

Your power supply has a 20pin ATX connector. It's perfectly fine to insert it in the 24pin header on the motherboard. It will work. The extra 4 pins are additional wires for 12v, 5v, and 3.3v - the motherboard and cpu don't consume enough power that those wires will be missed.

 

As for 4 pin CPU, you could buy a simple molex to cpu 4 pin adapter cable: https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16812423185?Description=molex to cpu 4 pin&cm_re=molex_to_cpu_4_pin-_-12-423-185-_-Product

As the cpu consumes less than 20 watts, a single molex connector can handle that perfectly fine (molex connectors are rated for 50 watts)

 

 

So if you're really trying to save money, you could use it.

 

If you want something cheap and good, the EVGA BR 450w for 30$ is good enough: https://www.newegg.com/evga-450-br-100-br-0450-k1-450w/p/N82E16817438144

 

[BarackOBatman]

5 minutes ago, mariushm said:

Your power supply has a 20pin ATX connector. It's perfectly fine to insert it in the 24pin header on the motherboard. It will work. The extra 4 pins are additional wires for 12v, 5v, and 3.3v - the motherboard and cpu don't consume enough power that those wires will be missed.

 

As for 4 pin CPU, you could buy a simple molex to cpu 4 pin adapter cable: https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16812423185?Description=molex to cpu 4 pin&cm_re=molex_to_cpu_4_pin-_-12-423-185-_-Product

As the cpu consumes less than 20 watts, a single molex connector can handle that perfectly fine (molex connectors are rated for 50 watts)

 

So if you're really trying to save money, you could use it.

 

If you want something cheap and good, the EVGA BR 450w for 30$ is good enough: https://www.newegg.com/evga-450-br-100-br-0450-k1-450w/p/N82E16817438144

 

I have a few Dell and Lenovo ATX power supplies laying around that came out of prebuilts which I could use.

That said, I am all about tinkering. Replacing the fan and making the old PSU work sounds like fun.

Perhaps I'll check for bloated capacitors first then. From what i can tell, the power supply has not been plugged in since it left the factory, but i also haven't actually cracked it open yet. I'm going play it safe during disassembly anyhow.

Thanks for the tips! I didn't know that about the 24-pin connector.

[Randarr]

Wow man, that thing is in some weird way beautiful. I wish I could get my hands on something like that, a brand new case and still a sleeper.