Good PSU for Phenom, HD 4870

[stewartfan]

I am probably going to get a new PSU along with an HD 4870, because my current PSU only has 1X6-pin, and its only 300W. What I want to do is get one that is <$50, probably a 500W, or 450. The dimensions of my current PSU are (Inches) 6x3.5x5.5, is that an ATX PSU or what? Also, it has one fan going out the back, and that's it. What brand is a good price, and still a strong PSU? I prefer Newegg, and I found this one:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817154026
Should i trust it? I know that a more expensive PSU is probably stronger, but I don't have more than $50 to spend. Also, my GPU will require 2x6-Pin.

 

[flaminggerbil]

It really isnt worth trying to go cheap on a PSU, wait your time and buy a good quality brand such as Corsair.
Although a cheap one may work perfectly for several years there's a greatly increased chance of it going up in smoke one day, possibly taking the rest of your setup with it.

 

[stewartfan]

is Corsair the only good brand out there? I know that the ones that are put into computers like mine are probably not the best ones out there, and they work for years without problems, for the most part

 

[mindless728]

seasonic, antec (not the basiq), ocz (decent), PC Power & Cooling are some others

 

[flaminggerbil]

Antec, OCZ and Enermax are good, amongst others.
Like I said, they might work perfectly well, but that chance of them blowing up is much higher. Spending 20$ extra on a psu could potentially save you several hundred etc.

 

[stewartfan]

ok, and what type of PSU is described by the dimensions I specified above? I see many PSU's with fans on top, mine doesn't have a hole in the top for a PSU fan, would it still work in my case?

 

[flaminggerbil]

If you're talking about the pictures like that psu you linked above, the wire covered fan points downwards, so essentially it's upside down there. Those dimensions look like a standard ATX.

 

[stewartfan]

ok, and what about coolermaster and rosewill?

 

[flaminggerbil]

Never had any personal experience with them, but from what I can gather, average quality.

 

[stewartfan]

What about this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

are there any adapters that would allow me to use one of the connectors as a 6-Pin?

 

[flaminggerbil]

Indeed there are, you can get molex to 6-pin converters, which although gpu makers dont seem to like them, has worked fine for me using a GTX260 on an Enermax 485w which only had a single inbuild 6-pin.

 

[stewartfan]

So, if I got the GPU along with this adapter:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812198022&cm_re=molex_to_6_pin-_-12-198-022-_-Product
is it possible that this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131140
GPU would work with my current setup?
Current PSU has 1x6-pin and at least one 4-Pin

 

[flaminggerbil]

I'm not 100% sure on that one, never tried 2x molex to 2x 6-pin conversion as the sole power supply for a card so I have no idea how stable that'll be.

Also I wouldnt try running a 4870 on a 300w power supply, that'd be a pretty bad idea right there.

 

[stewartfan]

What I would do is use one of the built-in 6-Pins and one of the ones on the adapter.
If I tried it on the original PSU, could it ruin anything? If it works well, I really don't want to spend more on a new one

 

[flaminggerbil]

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

I personally wouldnt even try it, it'll bottleneck your card at the very best, also doubt that your 300w PSU has the neccesary Ampage on the +12v rail to run a 4870.

 

[stewartfan]

yeah, i did that earlier, and i think it said something about 320 i think, but would it be safe to try it, and if it doesn't work, a new PSU will definitely be in the works.

 

[flaminggerbil]

It's honestly not worth even trying it, it'll be a waste of your time and money.

 

[stewartfan]

well, no matter what, PSUs with 1x6-Pin are usually much cheaper, so I would be using the adapter most likely anyway, and it shouldn't waste much time. If i could get it to power the card so that I could use my computer for a week or so, I would have no complaints, and then get a new PSU, and if I'm really lucky (Doubtful, haha) then I wont need one, this is if my PSU is actually a really good 300W one, right?

 

[flaminggerbil]

Even if it's a really good 300w I cannot recommend it at all.
What brand is the 300w though, just out of interest.

 

[stewartfan]

It says Delta Electronics on it

 

[flaminggerbil]

Do not risk it then. Just use your old card until you can afford a decent PSU.

 

[stewartfan]

Do you think this could cut it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023

 

[flaminggerbil]

That should be viable, the efficiency is rather crap and I'm not too sure about the quality, but heyho, it's cheap at least. The Thermaltake support seems pretty active on the plus side.

 

[stewartfan]

So this Corsair would work well, and last long? With a price of $30 after rebate, it can't be beat. The only problem is that I won't be buying it within the time of the rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008
Hopefully, I can get a good deal on another sale of one (with all of the Black Fridays Newegg is having, 10 or so). Is the fan for this one going to point downward into the case, or upward into the aluminum top of it?

 

[delluser1]

It says Delta Electronics on it

A 300 watt Delta with a 6 pin pcie cable ?
Would you happen to have a model number ?

PS; the Corsair 400 is a much, much better choice than the Thermaltake 430,