Need recommendation for energy eff PSU for HP Pavilion w geForce 9500GT

djoseph

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Jul 10, 2010
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Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could help with my power supply question. I have an:

HP Pavilion a6660z
ASUS M2N68-LA (Narra3) motherboard
AMD Athlon 64x2 4450e dual core 2.3GHz
PS LITEON PS-5301-08HA (300W)
eVga nVidia GeForce 9500 GT (1gb) (added after PC purchase)
Windows Vista 32bit

When I bought my HP last year, I added the GeForce 9500GT to give my constant graphics apps (Photoshop, etc.) a little help. Until recently, I didn't know the card required more power than the 300W PS in the PC. (When I was hooking my stereo and HDTV to my PC, I stumbled upon the information). Now I see that the intermittent symptoms (slowness, shaky monitor, etc.) I’ve had all along are most likely from an inadequate PSU.

I’m confused about which type (that will match my connections) can replace the current PSU, and ALSO, which brand(s) & model(s) are best. Wherever I’ve asked this question (at HP, ASUS, nVidia & others), if I got an answer, it was of 1 choice that COULD replace it (by connections), but not necessarily the features I’m looking for. I’ve done a lot of reading for 2 weeks now and just when I think I’ve found the one, I read about a reliability problem, or it’s out of my price range.

The energy efficiency is a big concern so I went to the http://80plus.org/manu/psu/psu_join.aspx and researched some of the models in the Bronze to Gold standards. I am just not sure which one; can anyone please make this simple for me and tell me, if you were me, what would be your 2 top mfg choices / model numbers of a PSU that sound something like:

- Matches the cable connections for my motherboard
- Reliable, & 3+ year warrantee
- Quiet
- Hopefully a Gold (or Bronze) rated; as energy efficient that the price range of $60 to $100 will buy; (I would pay up to $120 if there’s some extra feature that merits it, or if you say it would be best to go with a certain one.)
- 500W or 600W (or other)? (I’m a typical graphics-related business user. I don’t do any gaming, but I read that if I go with a higher wattage even if the pc doesn’t need that much, it will help it even more. Yet I don't want to spend something if I really don't have to either.)

Thank you if you would help me,

DJ


 

djoseph

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Jul 10, 2010
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Hi Rolli59,

I just wanted to let you know that (after a little wait time due to a ship addr problem I had), I just got my 400W Corsair power supply yesterday and installed it, and my pc is working WORLDS better now.

I like the quality of the Corsair, from the pkging on up. I ordered it from newegg, total price $56.xx, before a $20 rebate!

Thanks again for that recommendation.

DJ