Power Supply Problem

[dsd]

I have a Suntec 680W Switching PSU that I bought a little over half a year ago to replace my older PSU (480W) that burned out. The problem with the new one though, is that it keeps overheating for some reason, to extremely high temperatures. I've even tried letting it run outside the case and it still heats up. When it overheats, it shuts off my computer and I smell that burning smell that you get when a PSU messes up. Yesterday, I opened up my PSU after my computer refused to boot multiple times. When I pressed the power button, I see sparks inside the PSU. Inside the PSU, it turns out that it was one of the capacitors that kept sparking, and because of that, it seems burnt.

img113.imageshack.us/img113/8337/p1010060pe5.jpg (Sorry about bypassing the minimum post count for posting pictures, I'm really desperate)

What should I do? I don't know whether I should replace it or not because I'm on a tight budget. Is there any way I can fix it?

 

[mailpup]

I suppose you could try to replace the bad capacitor if that's the only thing wrong with it. How good are you with a soldering iron? It seems likely there is more damage than that, however.

I would just replace it with a quality unit, not the cheapest one you can find. If you go cheap, you may just find your self repeating this process in the near future and end up paying more in the end.

 

[dsd]

I can't solder at all. The thing is, if I constantly press the power switch to make it spark, my computer turns on after a few presses. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it works.

 

[mailpup]

I think you are playing with fire. A sparking power supply means only one thing. It's asking you to replace it. There is danger of a fire or taking out other components.

 

[raybay]

Power supplies are cheap, and that one is bad. i would drop it like a hot rock, and get something good. Power supplies should never generate a lot of heat.

Get one of 87 varieties. Expect to spend $80