PSU replacement

[CETD85]

I need a new PSU when I U/G the CPU. I
I'm currently with a 300w, and have been advised a 400W. How do you know what rating to go for, and which makes come recommended?

 

[tweebel]

You have to be very careful with wattage ratings. A cheap PSU might say its 500w but be less powerfull than an expensive 300w PSU.
Any Forton Source is good (FSP somewhere in the name). Enermax is also popular is are the higher powered Thermaltake PSU's. Antec will also be all right.

 

[RichPLS]

Fortrons great economy, and Any Antec with the True series only...Antec does have a lower line without the True designation...

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[CETD85]

How do i know which is the best rating to go for?
Is it a case of going off what I have installed?
Are those the better makes?
any others?
And is it only a case of getting one with a suitable wattage rating, or is there other compatibilities to bear in mind?

 

[_WW_]

Which CPU are you upgrading to? Are you changing out your mobo? What will be your system specs after the upgrade?

Vantec Ion is a great 400w psu.

....WW (5.0)

 

[CETD85]

I'm thinking of a A64 3200+ or 3500+ or P4 540/50- I'm not sure which yet though, and yes, I will be getting a new MoBO.
So as well as these, I'll have 512-1GB 3200 RAM depending on budget, 2 x 80 GB HD, g-Force 2 Graphics, CD-RW and DVD burner.

 

[tweebel]

The P4 needs a lot more power than the A64. Especially with the P4 you should be careful which PSU you choose.

 

[WingDing]

Crashman often recommends Forton too, so that's a good bet. Antec or Enermax are usually very good, if a little more expensive. I have an Enermax 480W with fan control, works beautifully.

I don't only break your heart, I also break your pelvis

 

[CETD85]

For a system with A64 3500+, 2x 80Gb HD, 1GB PC3200, 2 disk drives, GForce 2 card, sound card, is a 400 W with about 18A on the +12V sufficient?

 

[tweebel]

It's sufficient, if you intend to ever use a new graphics card you'd like some more amps.

 

[CETD85]

If that was the case how much more would be suitable.
500w max.?

 

[mozzartusm]

(1) Only get a P4 socket 775 if you plan on spending around $230.00 or more on one of the only 2 MOBOs that are really a good match for this particular CPU.
(2) Dont get a P4 775 unless you are planning on cooling with liquid or at the bare minimum the Zalman heatsink that goes for around $50.00
(3) On the PSU issue, the bottom line is you need to buy one of the quality brands such as some that have already been mentioned. As for the Wattage, since you are getting a new one anyway it makes more sense to me to go ahead and at least get 450W for future expandibility. Fortron or Sparkle "Basically the same PSU' is going to be a high quality PSU at very good prices. Fortron has one of the new split 12V rail PSU's that pushes 500W

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-934&depa=0" target="_new">http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-934&depa=0</A>
<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-935&depa=0" target="_new">http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-935&depa=0</A>
<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-962&depa=0" target="_new">http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-962&depa=0</A>

The first two are the new split rail PSU's and they come with a 24 pin power connector but also have the 20 pin adapter so that it will work with either type MOBO. The last one is just a plain 400W, but it is a good one also.

READ THE STICKY AND WIN A PRIZE! ALL PRIZES CAN BE CLAIMED IN THE SECTION TITLED "THE OTHER"

 

[apesoccer]

Hrm...For what its worth...

400w true power Antec atx
3500+
6800gt
asus a8n-sli
1 burner...my second one (dvd player) wouldn't run...pwr issues
1 10k wd 36gb
1 sb aud 2

I get an error on boot up from nvidia that my 6800gt isn't getting enough power, and that it's clocking it down. This might just be because i'm using a 20 pin connector instead of the new 24...but...in combination with the dvd issues, which works fine in my other system... So, while that 400w might do the job...i'd shoot higher if i were you. I'm going to have to go find a bigger one myself.

good luck

Current machines running F@H:
Athlons: [2000+][64 3500+][64 3000+][366][1.3x2]
Pentiums: [P4 1.4][P3 933][X 3.0][P4 2.4x5]

 

[CETD85]

OK- so to give me a bit of help, can you give me, say 3 PSU's, make + model (eg. Antec True ect) that you recommend: 400-500w with <b> at least </b> 17A on the +12v rail?

 

[tweebel]

Every Antec with "True" in the name has well above 17 amps. Same goes for the Fortron Source. Thermaltake just makes it. I think Enermax is also well above 17 amps especially the ATX 2.0 versions.

 

[apesoccer]

Well...i ended up going with a a psu from enermax. I believe it was a 535w btx style. Here we go:

Enermax 535W Whisper II EG565P-VE FMA V2.0

It cost more than i wanted to spend ($105 including shipping), however, it'll carry me into my next 6800 GT when i decided to go there. I ordered it from www.xoxide.com. They had the best price, compared to newegg, outpost and zipzoomfly on that psu. The shipping didn't take terribly long, it was 5 days on ground, which isn't bad at all. It's pretty heavy, which is good as well, since that's a lot of times a good way to tell how good a psu is...Now if i could only remember why that is...I'm sure someone else can pipe in on why that's a good thing. I'm sure there are a lot of good psu's out there in addition to this one...but at the moment i don't have time to go look for them. Good luck!

Current machines running F@H:
Athlons: [64 3500+][64 3000+][2500+][2000+][1.3x1][366]
Pentiums: [X 3.0][P4 2.4x5][P4 1.4]

It's not worth saying unless it takes a really long time to say!

 

[jihiggs]

who let you out of the other section?

this is my boomstick!

 

[Guest]

THG just put out a good review <A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20050228/index.html" target="_new"> here </A> on PSU's. Check it out. Note the nice price on the FSP Blue Storm...

<font color=green> Woohoo!! I am officially an <b> Enthusiast </b>!! </font color=green>

 

[mozzartusm]

It was a good review as far as the PSU's that they used, but I was really hacked off at all the ones that they didnt include. Maybe its just me, but I am losing interest more and more in the reviews here.

READ THE STICKY AND WIN A PRIZE! ALL PRIZES CAN BE CLAIMED IN THE SECTION TITLED "THE OTHER"

 

[RichPLS]

I was disappointed they did not include some myself.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>