So i am not too familiar with power supplies but when i see people troubleshooting their PCs and finding out it was the power supply (and apparently 90% of the time it is the PSU) So what im trying to get across here is how do you know it is the power supply? Flickering lights or your computer shutting off randomly or what?
(Keep in mind this is just a random thing that came up in my mind and I think i just need this info for future use xD)
If the system powers on, then lots of testing. Really helpful to have equipment, but often swapping out with spare parts, or putting suspect parts in a known working system narrow things down. However, in my experience, if the power supply is the issue, the system usually doesn't power on. Just saying...
So say I put like too many extra parts im my system and the power supply couldnt handle it would it just not turn on? And would this be bad for the power supply?
There can be a variety of different issues that could cause a computer's lights to flicker or randomly shut down. The flickering lights would depend on what type of lights they are; flickering lights I wouldn't worry about to much.
The main thing that people should take note with is the computer becoming unstable or randomly shutting off. It could be a variety of issues. Such as:
- Faulty/overheating power supply
- CPU Overheating or too high of clock
- Loose power connection (both power cord and 20/24pin)
- Accidentally unplugging the computer from the wall
- Leaking or bad capacitors
- ESD/Short in the system
- Bad motherboard
There can be a lot of different causes. Best way to solve it is is to test each piece of hardware. I've had a lot of cases and most of the time it was either bad capacitors or bad power supply.
If the power supply couldn't handle the load, the power supply would overheat and shut the entire system down to prevent damage. Constantly overloading the power supply could cause the capacitors to leak or blow completely. When that happens, don't use that PSU anymore. When you get a power supply make sure you get a quality power supply that has good reviews and is a good brand like Corsair and Seasonic