Do PSU's increase performance?

[catattack]

Ever since I got my new NF7-S in, my whole computer was shutting down, glitching up and just being a ***** lol. Now, that it is in, its like a dream. I havnt experienced any problems what so ever. Before I put my new mobo in, I though it as a psu probem so I was about to buy a new psu. Even though it works fine, I am still considering getting a better one, because I have a generic crappy 300w one. The whole point to this post was to ask... Do psu's add to computer performance? Or are they just to keep the baby running nice?

Thanks for your help guys!

[Jonny M]

They just keep it stable. If it's already stable, getting a beefier PSU won't make it faster.

[catattack]

Thanks m8!

[Austin]

I don't quite grasp what you explained about instability but a better quality PSU has a number of benefits...

1. Better, cleaner power supply on all voltage rails esp under stress.
2. The rated max Wattage is more likely to be accurate (esp on the good branded supplies).
3. It is generally better equipped to deal with power surges or spikes.
4. It is less likely to blow out or knock out your components, if they are expensive it makes sense to protect them.
5. It should provide you with better stability esp if you o/c or run plenty of stuff in your PC (HDs, fans etc).
6. It should deal with heat better, both inside the PSU itself and when extracting air from within your case too.
7. It should come with more connectors, not just P4 type ones but more IDE/floppy connectors and perhaps longer leads, fan adjustment and SATA too.

There are two key ways to getting a better PSU. Either get one with a higher rated max Wattage (though it is often very approximate on the lesser known PSUs) or buy a branded PSU. eg an Antec/Enermax 300W PSU is likely to be much better than some generic 350W PSU. If it 'ain't broke don't fix it' obv applies here but then there is a slight risk to your components so if they're above entry level it's wise to get a decent PSU.