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So yea, my server has been down effectively since Saturday.  This means that my blog/website has been offline.
Well, last weekend the power supply in my server decided to get really hot and die.  On Sunday, I replaced it with one from another computer, and it met an untimely hot death also.  So Monday I ordered a new expensive (better?) power supply, an Antec TPII-550, which got here today.  The ones I had been using before were el cheapo Chiefmax 650 watt, of which I have gone through about 4 of them in the last year, 3 in just my server.  I know the load can’t be that much in my server, and yet it eats power supplies like candy.  Each one of the dead power supplies I have taken apart, and looked at them closely to see what’s going on.  Wow, they are just burning up with heat, rosin is just all over, and solder seems to have bridged some parts of the breadboard.  One of the big capacitors in the supply was completely de-soldered and rattling around inside the case upon remove from the computer.  Good thing I didn’t try to turn it on for shits and giggles before I installed the Antec.
  Things seem fine so far.  Oh yea, and when I got the new Antec P/S there is just a huge ugly rats nest of cables that come out of the thing, it took me 20 minutes just to get them somewhat untangeled.  Also not to mention I don’t even need half of the wires that come out of the thing, so they are cable tied and tucked away, hopefuly not restricting too much airflow.  I need a modular power supply.
EDIT: Oh yea, the Antec has an 80,000 hour MTBF.  The Chiefmax has none.
[tags]power, downtime, power_supply, ranting[/tags]