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PSU recommendation for an old PC

Last response: in Systems
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Edit: I meant to post this in the power supply section.

Well, our business PC was built in 2004. The fan in the PSU is starting make noise like the bearings are going out, which is sort of funny because the exhaust fan just went out last week with the same issue. I can't replace that fan easily without soldering wires etc. so, I guess I need a new PSU.

The PSU is only a 250w. Wondering what I should get as a replacement? My local PC shop is recommending a 450w for $40 - cause that's the smallest they carry.

current system business PC :

OS: XP SP3
Mobo: MSI RS480M
CPU: AMD 1.6 Sempron (upgraded to 2.1 Athlon two years ago)
RAM: 512 (upgraded to 2g two years ago)
HD: WD 80g (WD 500g a few months ago)
PSU: 250w
GPU: Onboard ATI Radeon Xpress 200 Series

Yes, I know how old & outdated this system is. Anyway, I'm waiting for the new AMD mobos etc to come out with support for PCIe 3 for the next build. We're going to give this old PC to the 9 year old kid but, I figured I'd have to do an upgrade for the kid at some point but wanted to put that off as long as possible especially since the kid doesn't use the PC all that much & mostly watches silly youtube videos. We need our own new build 1st. Besides, the kid has a new XBox 360 for gaming. But, you can see my dilemma, I don't want to put another dime into this old PC. I can keep the HD and the new PSU for the upgrade for the kid. Of course, he'll need a GPU at that point too - so what would you recommend for a PSU?

BTW, money is very tight in this economy. Is 450w enough for like a 6570 GPU down the road in a year or two? Just wondering what I can get by with without having to buy a higher wattage PSU just to able to support a decent GPU in a year or so? I'm just trying to save money down the road.

What would you do?

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LOL, the fan on my PSU stopped making that fan noise. The fan is still working properly and I keep an eye on it but, I've put off running out and buying a new PSU for now. Especially since I do intend of doing a new build soon anyway.

Now, I'm basically waiting to see benchmarks and the prices for Ivy Bridge to see if I want to leave AMD and go with Intel or not.

Ill save you some money, buy a quad core FM1 from AMD, they have a 2.6GHz chip for $120, and with a decent OC, you could hit 3.2 with stock fan, and save yourself the cost of a cpu. Integrated graphics with that cpu is a 6530. not too shabby. you could get a mobo capable for that card for around $50, and a Corsair CW430 for around $30. This would give you a brand-newish pc for roughly $200. I know you said money was tight, so the power supply would come first, but i think this setup will save you some money in the future, and give you adequate performance.

I am building some "gaming" pc's for the house so i can have lan parties, and im on a tight budget for it respectively, and i am putting together brand new computer towers for appr. $375 with everything in the tower. Im using these cpu's and power supplies. I think this will help you inside your budget.
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Thanks casualbuilder, that set up sounds tempting especially at that price range. How well does the FM1 from AMD compare to Intel's Ivy Bridge at working with Adobe CS4/CS5, Word, Office 2010, building websites and making videos? I've really been wanting to step into the new, next generation platform with USB3 and especially PCIe 3 because that will help me with the work that I do.

The FM1 price is certainly right and I would be fine if it takes a little bit longer to get the job done with AMD but, how much longer is the question I suppose I'm waiting for to see what Ivy has to offer. If Ivy is over priced then that certainly makes my choice easier.

aside: $50-60 sounds right for a power supply. You don't need a lot of wattage, you do need stable reliable power. I'd only ever buy a name brand power supply. It's unlikely that you'll be happy with no-name "450w for $40".

The Corsair CX 430 V2 is only 'bout 25 odd after rebate on Newegg.com the last time I checked.

Having said that, it could just be dust accumulation why don't you use the blow drier on it or something?

If that is indeed the case, it'll prolly take a few power on/power off sequences to go away, methinks.

josejones said:
Thanks casualbuilder, that set up sounds tempting especially at that price range. How well does the FM1 from AMD compare to Intel's Ivy Bridge at working with Adobe CS4/CS5, Word, Office 2010, building websites and making videos? I've really been wanting to step into the new, next generation platform with USB3 and especially PCIe 3 because that will help me with the work that I do.

The FM1 price is certainly right and I would be fine if it takes a little bit longer to get the job done with AMD but, how much longer is the question I suppose I'm waiting for to see what Ivy has to offer. If Ivy is over priced then that certainly makes my choice easier.



AMD will never compare with Ivy Bridge imo. Their new bulldozer barely keeps up with their i72600k in applications, and quite frankly, thats not impressive. On that note, if you are on a tight budget, Ivy Bridge is WAY WAY WAY! out of your price range. I think that FM1 chip is plenty for what you are using it for. Clarification on CS4/CS5? for everything esle though, piece of cake. Im thinking that 2.6GHz will oc to roughly 3.0-3.2GHz on air cooling, but i dont think you will need to OC it.

calguyhunk said:
The Corsair CX 430 V2 is only 'bout 25 odd after rebate on Newegg.com the last time I checked.

Having said that, it could just be dust accumulation why don't you use the blow drier on it or something?

If that is indeed the case, it'll prolly take a few power on/power off sequences to go away, methinks.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Was: $49.99
Now: $44.99

$35 after rebate, + $2 shipping.

Cheaper than I thought. not$25, but certainly not $50.

Prices keep changing. Which is precisely why I added the caveat "last time I checked" - I meant it literally. Newegg's listed price hasn't changed as far as I can remember. The rebate used to be $20 when I last checked.
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