Bang!

[Zootoxin]

Modern PSUs try not to take other stuff with them. I've had one go and take nothing with it.
Previously I've had one take out Mobo, CPU and Ram but nothing else. Not had anything more spectacular.

Is it possible to get an external PSU like you used to get in the old days? surely that would benefit coolers and of course weight lol.

[Blunt]

Update:
I've had a look inside and can't see any obvious problems. I've taken the cover off the PSU and found a 250v 10A fuse that looks like it has blown.

my plan is to try a working psu to see if I can get it going again, that should be Wednesday if all goes to plan.

meanwhile, can any of you recommend a combo to get me going again, should plan A fail?

Bang for Buck is the rule
I'll need:
Mobo
CPU + cooling
GPU
PSU

hopefully my dvd drive and other stuff hasn't fried:blink:

bumpage

[kregoron]

bumpage

prefered shop and preferences regarding brands, and budget

[b00n]

Bang for buck combos you say? I built my 'bang for buck' PC back in March so the 'sweet spot' may have moved on slightly since then, but I'll give a run down of my choices and how they panned out:

CPU: E8400 Core 2 Duo - this was a toss up with a slightly lower clocked quad core, personally I think that today's games still benefit more from higher clock speeds than more cores, YMMV and price points may have changed since then.  I run it with a modest overclock on the stock cooler, no issues. Core 2 Duos are now extremely cheap and extremely overclockable.

GFX: ASUS ATI 4850 - in hindsight I'd go with an nvidia card now as these particular ATI cards are pretty power hungry and not very tolerant of power fluctuations (more on that below).  Also, avoid ASUS like the plague, their support is non-existant.

Mobo: ASUS P5Q SE - decent spec mobo for the price but a bit flaky and, as stated previously, ASUS support is appalling.  I would definitely rethink this choice.

PSU: Winpower 750W - ok so here is really where 'bang for buck' doesn't pay off. This seemingly highly rated PSU started flaking after a few months and the combination of this and a very demanding GFX card meant the GFX card would regularly power down in protest while gaming. A tough problem to diagnose (and here is where I discovered that ASUS support are of no help to anybody), fortunately I tried a shiny new Corsair PSU before replacing anything else - problem solved.  You want a PSU with a nice beefy amp rating on the 12V rail - SINGLE 12V rail, avoid PSUs with multiple 12V rails as they typically don't provide enough juice on either rail.  I can recommend Corsair for this.

[Gone_Away]

boon.. why would you recommend ASUS when their support is so shite? Don't you like blunt?

[Blunt]

boon.. why would you recommend ASUS when their support is so shite? Don't you like blunt?

GFX: ASUS ATI 4850 - in hindsight I'd go with an nvidia card now as these particular ATI cards are pretty power hungry and not very tolerant of power fluctuations (more on that below).  Also, avoid ASUS like the plague, their support is non-existant.

Mobo: ASUS P5Q SE - decent spec mobo for the price but a bit flaky and, as stated previously, ASUS support is appalling.  I would definitely rethink this choice.

He likes me:D

[Tutonic]

Downloading anything from the Asus website is a really miserable experience.

A shame really, considering the high quality of their motherboards.