high ambient temps

[mmeyerssr]

I have a fiend living in assisted living. He's 75 years old and likes his room hot. the ambient temp is always around 85F or maybe more. He keeps blowing PSU's. He had a really old pc that quit. Then I gave him an old computer i had with an AMD Phenom II in it. Lasted 3 days and now the box won't come on. no lights or effort of any kind so can't be the board that would just stop it posting but would at least come on. Anyone have any idea's how to help this guy? I've thought about getting a much larger PSU like 750 watt or more that way he's not taxing it and it would run cooler. The CPU is fine. It;s a black addition that i used to OC so it has a huge heat sink and fan. If that's a problem for no more than what he does with it I can underclock it I guess.
Thoughts? Maybe a laptop would work better?













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[Mandrake4565]

Just a quick check of some high quality Psu's they are rated up to around 50 C or 120+ F. A quality unit should be fine at 85 f. As far as the Pc you gave him, it is possible that due to age, the Caps on the Board have given up the ghost and it's dead.

I do not think a laptop will be a better option.

 

[Blaylock]

I agree. Although ambient does directly affect the temp of PSU's(and everything else) they are rated for warm environments like that. Have you tried replacing the PSU in that Phenom II build? You should not need to underclock it, especially if stock is adequate for his uses. In my experiences laptops will almost always overheat before desktops.

 

[mmeyerssr]

Just a quick check of some high quality Psu's they are rated up to around 50 C or 120+ F. A quality unit should be fine at 85 f. As far as the Pc you gave him, it is possible that due to age, the Caps on the Board have given up the ghost and it's dead.

I do not think a laptop will be a better option.

It will start after the power switch on PSU is turned off then on after a couple minutes. Forgot to mention that. i have a can of air now and i'll blow it out tomorrow when i go there again. It will likely start and run for a time about 3 hours or so before doing it again. I did notice not much air coming from PSU fan. I'll look into a better PSU. This one may just be dieing of oldage.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Since you didn't mention any brand name on the PSU's, I'll assume they were all crap units.
Buy a good one this time.
High ambient temp will affect CPU temps and shut down long before PSU temp will kill a PSU.

 

[trents]

I would not assume the PSU is the issue and not the motherboard, especially if you used to overclock the system. Test the PSU first. It's easy to do. Disconnect the PSU power leads from the motherboard but have something like a fan or a hard drive connected directly to the PSU. Something to complete a 12 volt circuit. Straighten out a paperclip and use it to jump between any green and any black wire on the main 20/24 pin power connector from the PSU. Be careful not to let the paper clip touch the motherboard or the case. If the attached fan or drive spin up the PSU is not completely dead.

Also keep in mind that when a cheap PSU (one that doesn't have overload protection) goes out it can take out other components such as motherboards and RAM with it.

 

[EarthDog]

Can't help as best we can without more information...list the specs of the Phenom II rig (which, it is funny you say really old,. then Phenom II... ).

If it is in fact the PSU causing the issue, you would want one that has a lot more power than you need... If the system can draw 300W, go 650W. You would also want Gold or great 80 Plus ratings so it is efficient. But like everyone said, it was likely junk PSUs going in there (as quality ones are rated/tested @ to 40C IIRC) in the first place...that or dirty power + cheapo PSUs. That said, that is IF it is the PSU.

I made a joke above about the age of the Phenom II, but, really, those are several years old and more prone to failure than anything new, so I wouldn't automatically assume it is the PSU either. Troubleshoot the PhII rig.............check temps on the CPU once its running again... etc.

 

[mmeyerssr]

Since you didn't mention any brand name on the PSU's, I'll assume they were all crap units.
Buy a good one this time.
High ambient temp will affect CPU temps and shut down long before PSU temp will kill a PSU.

The first one to go was likely junk as it was in another box he bought himself. Very outdated P4 box. While I don't recall the brand I installed in the PII box off hand it WAS NOT crap. I always put 80+ gold supplies in especially when it's an OC rig. I'm not into Coolermaster here. I'll get a new one with a 120mm fan. I'm looking at a Corsair 80+ bronze. Should work well. This is a 75 year old veteran watching youtube. The CPU has a HUGE heat sink and fan on the stock setting. Temps were 34C which isn't bad with 85F air. That's idling temp of course but the thing won't notice youtube.

 

[EarthDog]

Well... the 80 plus cert doesnt mean much in the way of quality. Coolermaster has some decent psus. 80 plus bronze probably isnt a good idea considering his 85F temps...again you want something efficient.

Anyway, I'd look at the system...again ph ii is old...so are all the parts for it...could be a short or an actual product failing.. difficult to tell without troubleshooting.

 

[DaPoets]

Well... the 80 plus cert doesnt mean much in the way of quality. Coolermaster has some decent psus. 80 plus bronze probably isnt a good idea considering his 85F temps...again you want something efficient.

Anyway, I'd look at the system...again ph ii is old...so are all the parts for it...could be a short or an actual product failing.. difficult to tell without troubleshooting.

Earthdog I sent you an inbox.


Also for the OP I would say yes to a 750w PSU but also perhaps adding in a higher speed intake fan to at least help w/ getting the above normal ambient air through the case.

 

[mmeyerssr]

OK so I went and had another look at the psu and noticed the fan was running internittenly. This will not do. I replaced the psu with a corsair 650W 80 plus gold I found on sale at Best Buy of all places. Installed it and the thing worked fine. He calls me back and says it shut down again. This is a solid box. So I got a thought. I asked if he was using it when it shut down. He said no he was asleep. Windows did too. I asked if he pushed the power button and he said no because it shut down. So I said move your mouse or push the power button. he did and windows is back. Calls back again today saying the same thing but adds he pushed the power button. This can't be happening so I made sure he was pushing the right button. He was not. Pushed the right one now windows is back. Not toself: NEVER give a computer to a 75 year old computer illtiterate man. Just shoot me.

 

[Blaylock]

LOL Well, he has a good PSU now.

 

[DaPoets]

Consider it volunteering your time...

 

[trents]

OK so I went and had another look at the psu and noticed the fan was running internittenly. This will not do. I replaced the psu with a corsair 650W 80 plus gold I found on sale at Best Buy of all places. Installed it and the thing worked fine. He calls me back and says it shut down again. This is a solid box. So I got a thought. I asked if he was using it when it shut down. He said no he was asleep. Windows did too. I asked if he pushed the power button and he said no because it shut down. So I said move your mouse or push the power button. he did and windows is back. Calls back again today saying the same thing but adds he pushed the power button. This can't be happening so I made sure he was pushing the right button. He was not. Pushed the right one now windows is back. Not toself: NEVER give a computer to a 75 year old computer illtiterate man. Just shoot me.

Or explain it to him as the computer will take a nap when not active for a few minutes but it can be awakened simply by jostling the mouse or pushing the power button. Old people understand naps. I'm one of them. And take some whiteout and paint the power button white to give him a visual cue.

 

[Blaylock]

I love how we're all being nice and friendly and glossing over the fact that the OP calls out the elderly man for being computer illiterate, yet did not check if the PC was taking a nap either.

LOL