how to choose a PSU?

[loriel60]

Ok i'm going to do the BIG jump....building my first pc from scratch.
I have been doing my homework for the last 5 months until now i have realized that i do not know how to choose a decent PSU . I know that the heavier the better ( not easy to guess on the web right?!).
I know that i need at least 350W...., any advice?

thank you very much

[Stewart]

Stick to Antec, Enermax, Sparkle, Zelman. Unless you are planning on running a large amount of stuff off it, or are looking for future proofing, a quality 350w PSU will do you fine.

Never buy Q-Tec, or other cheapo brands, as its simply not worth the risk.

Suggest an Antec SmartBlue 350w for about £50. http://www.cpucitystore.co.uk/catalo...roducts_id=334

I have one in my system, running an Asus A7N8X Deluxe, 2600+, Gig of DDR400, 9800pro, CD-RW, DVD drive, Hard Drive, Floppy, several case fans, cold cathode, system exhaust, zelamn cooler and a Volcano 12. Does the job perfectly.

[Kezzer]

You have to look out for those little features that help such as active PFC and stuff like that. You can't just look at one and say "oh it looks nice and it's expensive so that'll be the one"

Enermax, Antec are good for this, Q-tec i wouldn't go near.

[Theo]

Basically, there are two rules when buying a psu:

rule 1 - get a branded psu, eg Antec, Thermaltake, CWT, Enermax, etc
rule 2 - branded doesn't mean Q-tec.

Personally, I'd recommend a Thermaltake Silent 420W ATX PSU DUAL FAN (dabs specs ).. I think it was £31+VAT, I'm not sure about the price now, though. It's rock solid stable, and quiet as a pea in the sahara.

Going back to the Q-tec thing, I've been running a 550W Q-tec psu 24/7 in my server for the past 12 months without any problems. However, there have been many reports of various faults with these power supplies, some leading to fires, damaging components, etc. So I'd steer clear now that I know that.

Hope that helps.

[Nox]

also look at the amount of money and what hardware is going in your pc, what do you plan to do with it in 6months? 350w is sufficient for most people, but not all people. If you're making a dual cpu, 5 scsi HD twin dvd burner monster you may want to look at something a little larger. stay away from crap brands, infact do not buy any psu's other than: pc power and cooling (one one place in uk sells these £200 psu's anyway) enermax, vantec, antec or possibly scan's cwt if the rumours are true a good 350w will suply your pc better than a cheap 550w...

Nox

[loriel60]

thank you very much for your advices....definetly i stay away from Q-TEC.
i may go for " 465W Enermax EG465AX-VE-G-FMA II PSU with Manual Fan Control "
found on http://www.scan.co.uk.

thank you again

[TiG]

Thats a great Power supply, i've bought 3 of them now (1 for my main Intel rig and 2 for friends and family i've helped build computers etc for)

It definitely get my recommendation

TiG

[Benjamin]

Here's a list of tips that I ripped off of maximumpc.com from their 'How to build the ultimate PC' Good luck with your new rig


1. Make sure you have enough juice

If you’re running a single-processor system with just one hard drive and a couple of optical drives, almost any supply rated at 300 watts or more should work fine. But if you want to augment this basic configuration with extra fans, drives, and other incidentals, you’re better off with a 400 watter. For dual-CPU configs, anything under 400 watts is a no-no. Do not buy a power supply that meets the exact needs of your components; always leave your equipment plenty of headroom.

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2. Don’t be cheap

The old adage "you get what you pay for" is particularly true for power supplies. If a power supply is rated at 400 watts but costs just $30, then you can probably assume the manufacturer has cut corners. For a good 350-watt power supply, expect to pay around $75. If you want more output, the price starts to increase steeply.

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3. P4 compatibility

If you want a power supply that’s primed for future upgrades—or one that’s ready for the current crop of Pentium 4s—then make sure you get one that has a four-pin, +12v connector in addition to the standard ATX connectors. Most power supplies should have this; look for the label that says "Pentium 4 compatible."

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4. Beware the bundle

Avoid power supplies that come bundled with cases. Because the PC case market is so fierce, many manufacturers bundle cheapo power in order to shave a few bucks off the total case cost. Unless you can verify the quality of a bundled supply, you should swap it out with a good aftermarket supply.

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5. Play it safe

When shopping around, you can’t pop open a power supply, count the transformers inside, and check for poor-manufacturing clues like staples and tape. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you stick with reputable, name-brand supplies such as those from Antec, Enermax, and PC Power and Cooling.

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6. He ain’t heavy, he’s my…

Here’s a quickie method for exposing cheapo supplies: Pick up the power supply and check its weight against other supplies of the same power rating—the heavier one is likely the better one. Why? Because lame-o power supplies often boast fewer or smaller heatsinks and transformers, which affect a power supply’s ability to deliver consistent voltages.

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7. Keep it consistent

Ideally, a power supply will be able to feed consistent power to your system, even under variable loads, such as during power sags and spikes. To achieve such consistency, some power supply vendors integrate "line conditioning." Essentially, this is a series of circuits that even out fluctuating voltages in the electrical current. Unfortunately, very few power supplies actually contain line conditioning; PC Power & Cooling’s Turbo Cool units are notable exceptions. Even without line conditioning, a well-made power supply should be able to keep the voltages within a certain degree of tolerance.

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8. Don’t believe the hype

A power supply with a high rating of 450 watts will not draw more power—and thus raise your electric bill—than, say, a 250-watt supply. The power supply’s rating represents a ceiling; the supply will draw only as much power as your system requires. So splurge and get a big 450-watt supply—if you can afford it.

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9. Travel alert

If you regularly take your PC overseas, be sure to get a power supply with automatic voltage switching. This automatically switches the supply to accept 230V instead of the U.S. standard of 115V. Sure, standard supplies have a voltage switch on the back, but if you forget to throw this switch and plug your PC into a European outlet, you can pretty much kiss your rig goodbye. .................................................................................................... ...............................

10. Keeping cool

In many cases (pun intended), the power supply fan can be the primary source of cooling for the oven that is your PC. If the fan fails while you’re not around, your internal case temperature can get very hot, very quickly. Because of this, it’s a good idea to get a supply with fan-monitoring capabilities, so your PC can shut itself down if your fan goes out. Better yet, get a supply with dual fans for even more cooling action.

[schrickvr6]

pc power and cooling (one one place in uk sells these £200 psu's anyway

sod paying £200 for a psu

i recently swapped my 3 antec psu's for el cheapo no name (jiou jiyee) psus from x-case,120mm fan is virtually silent and the rails are much Much better than 330w,380w and 430w antecs and at under £40 a piece i reckon they're a right bargain.call me a scrooge or stupid if you like but these are really good