Cheap ass manufacturers
I blew the power supply on my main system the other day. Fortunately, I have a near identical box I don't use much that I could swipe the power supply from.
I contacted a friend in the biz about getting a replacement supply. He doesn't build systems muchj anymore, but he offered me a deal on a used supply he had on hand. This is especially good since he let's me pay as I can.
I finally was feeling up to installing it today.
I discovered that the supply had apparently been from a min or mid tower built by own of the companies that tries to cut costs to the bone.
How could I tell? The spacing of the power connectors for the drives was such that I had to move the HD to a different bay so it'd reach. And even worse, the "secondary" power connector for the motherboard (a 4 pin connector on the far side of the CPU from the PS wouldn't reach.
I had to carefully unweave the wires from the ways they tangled around each other as they exited the power supply, then stretch the cable tightly across the CPU and fan and then it *just* plugged in.
Obvious the cables were sized for a case where the PS was right at the edge of the MB (a mid or mini-tower) rather than a full sized case were the wer a couple of inches between the PS and the MB. And where the lower drive bays were farther away.
I'm sure they most save a few dollars per thousand computers they build by using those shorter wires. But god help anybody who grabs the supply from a dead machine to use elsewhere.
I contacted a friend in the biz about getting a replacement supply. He doesn't build systems muchj anymore, but he offered me a deal on a used supply he had on hand. This is especially good since he let's me pay as I can.
I finally was feeling up to installing it today.
I discovered that the supply had apparently been from a min or mid tower built by own of the companies that tries to cut costs to the bone.
How could I tell? The spacing of the power connectors for the drives was such that I had to move the HD to a different bay so it'd reach. And even worse, the "secondary" power connector for the motherboard (a 4 pin connector on the far side of the CPU from the PS wouldn't reach.
I had to carefully unweave the wires from the ways they tangled around each other as they exited the power supply, then stretch the cable tightly across the CPU and fan and then it *just* plugged in.
Obvious the cables were sized for a case where the PS was right at the edge of the MB (a mid or mini-tower) rather than a full sized case were the wer a couple of inches between the PS and the MB. And where the lower drive bays were farther away.
I'm sure they most save a few dollars per thousand computers they build by using those shorter wires. But god help anybody who grabs the supply from a dead machine to use elsewhere.