PSU question

[Preau]

I made a much more in depth question forum about my pc i just got but i feel it's far to intimadating to get a proper response.
Basicly i got a new pc, the reviews say its PSU is a peice of trash. So i decided to buy an Antec 520 watt.

My question is because of the wiring (which is retarded) i decided to wait untill my PSU fails to change it.

So the question, can my waiting for my PSU to fail damage my pc? or should i take the time to change it now (first time dealing with pcs myself)

Also on the default psu it has an option for 230 volts and 130 volts, which one is better and whats the diffrence.
Thanks for reading guys.

Also im Canadian

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Change the PSU before it fails. When PSUs die, they tend to not want to go on their own and can take every component that is attached at the time with them.

The voltage should be set to whatever you get out of the wall. If you set it to 130V and you live in Europe, you will set fire to the PSU and possibly your house. If you set it to 230V and you live in the USA it probably won't let the computer boot up and could cause damage.

[Lilbruz]

First of all...the 230/130 volts thing. You obviously need to set it to what you use where you live. If its the US, you select 130v (as you run 110v in the US I think it is), and if you, like me, live in Denmark where we use 220v, you set it to 230v. BE CAREFUL with this...if you dont know what current you run, ask someone. Putting power to a PSU on the wrong current will blow it (like setting 130v in a 220v place), and it will smell horribly

If you bought a "piece of shit pc", getting a new PSU wont make it better. Post the specs here if you want to know if its really a piece of shit

[Kivana]

Change the PSU now as you have an upgrade/replacement. Before i built this PC my old PSU died on me and it took my motherboard with it. Somehow my RAM survived and is stored ready for the day i stuff together a backup PC.

[Lilbruz]

Just so the OP doesnt get too scared...setting the PSU to the wrong current wont set it on fire (unless you are extremely unlucky, and its filled with dust and shit). If you put too much into it, it WILL "blow up" (you will hear a sharp "CRACK" sound, and then it will smell burnt), but risking setting your house on fire is a little too far out if you ask me

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Just so the OP doesnt get too scared...setting the PSU to the wrong current wont set it on fire (unless you are extremely unlucky, and its filled with dust and shit). If you put too much into it, it WILL "blow up" (you will hear a sharp "CRACK" sound, and then it will smell burnt), but risking setting your house on fire is a little too far out if you ask me

A guy in school set his power supply to 110V and got a spray of sparks coming out the back of it when he turned it on. Of course, things have probably moved on since then (this was back in the late 90s/early 00s)

[Preau]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229285

Thats the link anyway

[Lilbruz]

A guy in school set his power supply to 110V and got a spray of sparks coming out the back of it when he turned it on. Of course, things have probably moved on since then (this was back in the late 90s/early 00s)

I have done it 3 times. One time a friend of mine, as a joke, set mine to 110v after a LAN party...so when I got home, it blew up. No sparks.

I did it to get someones attention in class once (i was working there, so could switch the PSU out right away). No sparks.

Turned my parents newly bought Dell PC on - defect PSU blew up too, and again no sparks.

Could it happen, yeah it could ofc. Will it most likely set your PC on fire, no, not likely

I just dont want to scare the guy

---------- Post added 2012-09-07 at 12:17 AM ----------

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229285

Thats the link anyway

As far as I can see, its not a piece of shit. Its not top of the line either, but its a decent machine. You said it had a 500W PSU, and you bought a 520W PSU ? That will make very very little difference. If you run the PC like its specced now, I would think that 500W is enough. What I think people in the reviews say is that if you want to upgrade it, the 500W is too low. Say you wanted a more powerful graphics card...a few drives and perhaps a sound card too, yes then 500W would be close to the max power consumption. But if you use it as it is and dont plan on upgrading it, the 500W will do just fine

[Dizey]

Since it's a prebuild CPPC, it has their cheap house power supply in it, and they have a bad record of being crappy. That's what I believe the OP is referring to.

The answer is yes. Change it out. It doesn't make sense to wait for catastrophe to happen while you have the preventative measure sitting in the closet collecting dust.

add: And remember to take the proper steps when changing components out. You don't want to end up being that catastrophe.