Face it, the vast majority of us always try to reduce material costs when building a new computer due to the crazy high prices of components and hardware, which are basically the result of differences in local currencies and high import taxes on goods compared to official component prices. So, in one way or another, we should examine our old computer to see if we can find some components that are suitable for use in the new computer. For example, there are many cables, sound cards, optical drives, or even power supplies that may help us reduce the high costs.
For some unknown reason, power supplies are specifically expensive components, perhaps due to intense market demand, especially for high-quality certified types. Fortunately, your old power supply may be sufficient for the new computer, but let’s first see what you need to know about the power supply before confirming its suitability for the new computer.
How to Remove the Old Power Supply
Before we delve too much into the subject, let’s talk to new users who have never dealt with hardware components before. The power supply, or as some call it the power box or PSU, is supposed to be located at the bottom of the computer case and secured with four screws in the back of the case.
If you have an OEM computer case from international devices, the power supply may be located at the top of the case. To remove the power supply, first, after completely isolating the electricity from the wall socket, you should disconnect all cables connected to the components, organize them, and organize them so that you can easily pull out the power supply in the end.
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You will find that the power cables provided for storage drives need to be removed, the 24-pin cable responsible for passing current to the motherboard needs to be carefully removed, and the 4-pin/8-pin cable responsible for passing current to the CPU is located exactly above the CPU and needs to be removed with extreme caution. Make sure in the end that all cables are isolated from the components. Then try to assemble all the cables and tie them in one strip and secure them well and leave them next to the power supply so that you can easily pull out the supply from the case after removing the screws.
Know everything about your power supply
All power supplies are supposed to have a side label indicating many values, including the output voltage or what you will find under the name Maximum Load/DC Output. However, you should know that these values are not real and effective with Chinese and Korean power supplies. This means that we are talking here about power supplies certified with a bronze certificate or power supplies that meet at least the 80Plus standard, or even those that come out of OEM factories for integrated and ready-made devices such as Dell, hp, Acer, Compac, Lenovo, and other specialized companies.
The reason for trusting computer manufacturing companies is that they often rely on large and widely renowned factories to produce high-quality and efficient power supplies capable of working with business servers 7/24 without interruption. Chinese power supplies are not safe even if they can run your next device, they do not produce wrong and unstable currents, they do not have the necessary protection and safety measures to protect the computer components.
These power supplies may not even be able to protect themselves, or they may have an amazing ability to protect themselves but do not protect other components. In that case, your only choice is to buy a certified power supply or at least buy a power supply from devices imported from outside because they are guaranteed and sufficient and can be trusted, but first make sure that the power amount will match your upcoming components. If you are unsure about the quality of your power supply, continue to follow.
Read also: Why you should not buy a cheap power supply
You will find on the sticker located on the side of the power supply a row of values in front of DC Output ratios, which show the voltage output for each of the 12v+, 5V+, and 3.3V+ circuits – note: these three circuits are the most important values that should not exceed 5% noise during computer operation in all stress and idle conditions. In other words, if you run the Aida64 program now, the 12V+ current value should be between 11.400v as a minimum and 12.600v as a maximum, and if you find that it is at 11.350v for example, or 12.650v then you are not safe, and all your components are at risk, especially those that draw power from the +12V circuit (specifically the graphics card.) –
Returning to our conversation, if you are planning to buy a graphics card for gaming, you should note in the lower row under the 12V+ circuit the current value of at least 30A. This means that this circuit is capable of supplying the graphics card with 360 watts, which is a reasonable percentage for economical and medium graphics cards. It is possible that you will find the 12V+ circuit divided into halves or more, and there is no problem, although it is always better to be inside a single rail or, as we call it, a Single Rail. But if you find that your supply is Multi Rails, collect the current amperage in all 12V+ slots, then multiply by 12, if you find that the wattage result is sufficient for the graphics card, you are completely safe.
As for the 3.3V+ and 5V+ circuits, the same logic applies to them exactly, they should not exceed the electrical noise ratio of 5% up or down, meaning that the 5V+ circuit may be at 4.750V as a minimum in Aida64 during heavy workload, or 5.250V as a maximum. And the same goes for the 3.3V+ circuit. The closer the results are to the voltage current value of the circuit in all workload situations and idle states, the more confident you will be that you have a stable power supply free from electrical problems.
Should you trust your power supply?
It all depends on one thing and one thing only, the manufacturer of the power supply. So look at the side label on the power supply to know the manufacturer, then search for their name online. If it turns out that they are not well-known and you do not find any prominent brand for them, then you are obliged to buy a new power supply. Unfortunately, Chinese power supplies, or more correctly low-quality supplies, are not reliable and cannot supply the power written on their label. Perhaps you will find on the label that the power supply is 800W or 1000W, but in reality it may not be able to pass a real current exceeding 350W or 400W, and sometimes much less.
Also, there is a good way to know if this supply is good or not, which is to hold it only in your hands, and if you find it light, then this means that it is of poor quality, but if you find it heavy, then this means that it has the necessary components to generate sufficient power for the computer components. Some hardware companies manufacture professional power supplies, or more accurately, they do not manufacture power supplies from scratch, but rely on large specialized power factories, and then hardware companies add their logo to the power supply in the end.
For example, companies like Corsair, EVGA, CoolerMaster, NZXT, Fractal Design, BeQueit, XFX, Antec, Thermaltake, Silverstone, and OCZ do not manufacture power supplies, but in partnership with the largest power factories, they produce professional power supplies under their logo. Seasonic, Super Flower, FSP, CWT, HEC, Enhance, High Power, to name a few.
If you are willing to sacrifice to buy a professional power supply that deserves every penny you will pay for it, make sure that your power supply is manufactured by Seasonic or Super Flower, but this does not diminish the importance of the other factories « at all » as the quality of each power unit depends on how it was manufactured under the hands of factory engineers and what is the cost of its production and the efficiency ratio and to what extent it contained all the necessary components to protect itself and protect the rest of the computer components from electrical risks and errors. Maybe this point specifically only matters to the overclocking amateurs.
As for the power supplies for OEM/Original devices, they are also good, but remember that the new motherboard, CPU, and graphics card will put it to a real test, so make sure first that it is efficient and capable of supplying these components with clean and stable power because the situation will be completely different from the old components.
Are the cables compatible with the upcoming components?
Some old power supplies that are installed inside complete devices may contain a 20-pin cable instead of the 24-pin cable responsible for passing current to the motherboard. Luckily, these power supplies are rare, and you may be able to install a 20-pin cable in a 24-pin motherboard and it will work without any problems, but the advice for you is to stay away from these power supplies as much as possible.
Also, some motherboards need two 4pin+4pin cables for the CPU, and your power supply may have only one 4-pin cable. In this case, you can run the CPU through one cable without any problems, but in some rare cases of use, you may face stability issues. Naturally, a single 4-pin cable is capable of passing 144 watts to the CPU, so, it is sufficient in most cases, and you can also buy a Molex ATX 4-pin to 8-pin conversion cable, but remember that you will not be able to overclock this CPU until you upgrade to a more powerful power supply.
After that, the graphics card will come, and you will definitely need 12V 6-pin/8-pin PCIe cables for it. Fortunately, most modern graphics cards do not consume high power ratios, especially medium and economical class graphics cards. If you have an original power supply that does not contain any 6-pin 12V cables, all you have to do is buy a 4-pin Molex to 6-pin PCie conversion cable.
We hope that you can use the old power supply with your upcoming device to save some money to buy the rest of the components. Just make sure of the stability of the voltage output from the volt circuits we talked about so that you can be sure that the power supply is capable of handling the new components properly.
