Replace the psu as that machine has a few useful years left in it. I go with Antec and Enermax instead of some of the usual brands.

I noticed Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 10 550W looks to be the silentest PSU.

11.7 dB(A) at 20% load
11.7 dB(A) at 50% load
12.9 dB(A) at 100% load

Weight incl. fixed cables 3.51 kg

btw fanless ones are 500W max and i don't see any reason for funless if you can just have a silent fan (way better cooling with same silent effect)

Try to be looking inside your PSU next time you hear clicking coming from it. If you see sparks, you should probably shut the thing down until you get that thing replaced. Either way though, clicking noises usually mean the thing's on its last legs. :P

As for if it would be dangerous for your computer to continue using it with a dying PSU, I would have to say yes, simply because the purpose of the PSU is to down-convert the 120/240 volt AC power coming in to a variety of much lower DC voltages. If any 120/240 volt power arced in such a way that it sent power into one of the DC lines, it would fry everything on that line. TBH though, that's just a guess. I don't know enough about the transformer process to know if that could actually happen or not. (Perhaps someone else here has a better idea.)

Either way, it sounds like you're gonna have to replace the thing no matter what, so you might as well get it done ASAP and just live with your laptop for a couple or three days while you figure out what you want to replace it with.

I have a spare PSU that I know works just fine that I could probably slap in. I was going to use it for this other LGA 775 board I have, but that project's on hold for now because I need to find a case and a better CPU for it. The only thing iffy about it is that it's only a 350watt, but considering that I'm currently running a dying 400watt that's not that much of a jump. 😜

BTW, along with the parts I've listed before, my rig also has two 500gb hard drives, a DVD burner, and 3 case fans. Will 350 watts be able to handle all of that?

main wattage eater usualy the graphics card, i remember i need to replaces the 350 watts PSU to more larger one because i upgrading exisiting graphics card into more powerful one.

I just used this tool to determine my system's power needs, and with CPU TDP and system load set to 90%, with a capacitor aging factor of 25% (to be on the safe side) and 4 usb devices, it recommends a power supply of 330w. With the CPU TDP and system load set to 100%, it recommends 369w. 😜

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

For a temporary fix I think I should be able to get away with the spare power supply I have. Maybe to save a few watts I'll relegate DVD burning duties to another machine.

Joey_sw wrote:

main wattage eater usualy the graphics card, i remember i need to replaces the 350 watts PSU to more larger one because i upgrading exisiting graphics card into more powerful one.

It's a good thing I only went with a 4650 then. Unlike many GPUs, it draws all of the power it needs from the PCI express slot. It has no connectors for auxiliary power whatsoever.

My new PSU died on me a few days ago. It was only three months old. I think it was Enermax. I had it replaced with no charge but I have bought a Corsair one with more watts. So far, so good.

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

... BTW, along with the parts I've listed before, my rig also has two 500gb hard drives, a DVD burner, and 3 case fans. Will 350 watts be able to handle all of that?

Here they tested a system with a 4650 and an Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (89W TDP vs your E6300's 65W) and the power draw didn't even reach 200W.

You should be fine with a 350W PSU, provided it is a decent and true 350W PSU.

Well, I've been running this system for almost a day with the 350watt, and so far things are working well. 😁 One thing I noticed though is that the power supply I'm using right now actually has better max power ratings (especially for the 12 volt rail) than the 400watt I was using before. The only minor annoyance is that the 12v aux P4 cable isn't quite long enough to reach the socket when it's installed in my case, so I have it sitting just outside my case with the cables going in. 🤣

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

... The only minor annoyance is that the 12v aux P4 cable isn't quite long enough to reach the socket ...

You can cut the P4 cable from the 400W or other junk PSU and solder as an extension in the 350W.

Or buy a P4 extension.

TELVM wrote:

You can cut the P4 cable from the 400W or other junk PSU and solder as an extension in the 350W. […]
Show full quote

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

... The only minor annoyance is that the 12v aux P4 cable isn't quite long enough to reach the socket ...

You can cut the P4 cable from the 400W or other junk PSU and solder as an extension in the 350W.

Or buy a P4 extension.

Is it actually safe to do that? My soldering skills aren't the best and I'm not sure how I would fare with such an important high-power connection. 🤣

no soldering skills needed, just plug it up, and its done.
i use such cable myself.

Joey_sw wrote:

no soldering skills needed, just plug it up, and its done.
i use such cable myself.

I'm not talking about using the cable, I'm talking about splicing in the P4 cable from my old PSU.

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

TELVM wrote:

...You can cut the P4 cable from the 400W or other junk PSU and solder as an extension in the 350W ...

Is it actually safe to do that? My soldering skills aren't the best and I'm not sure how I would fare with such an important high-power connection. 🤣

Perfectly safe if done right. However if you ain't confident in your skills better go the easy way and buy an extension, for a screwed up wiring can and will fry the system.