Power Supplies - Supplied vs Expensive Pros / Cons

[stytagm]

Hi guys,

Sorry for walking a well trodden path but I just can't answer this from what I've read.

I'm building a system for my cousin, it's going to be socket 939, 3000+ winchester probably, and the budget is going to be stretched very tight so we need to scrimp where we can.

In the past I've used stock PSU's that came in very cheap cases with no problem. My current 2400+ socket A rig is running on the 400w PSU that came with a £15 case from ebuyer, but would that be courting disaster on a 939 box? It'll only have one hard disk and one optical drive, and hopefully a GeForce 6800.

If so, and I want to get a new PSU do I have to pay £40-£60 for it? Is there a range of PSUs at about £20 that are 'a little bit better, but better'?

Also, I don't know which brands are good or bad, it seems to change with the phase of the moon. Are there any brands to avoid like the plague, or brands you can allways rely on?

Finally, when a PSU dies, will it go quietly or will it try its best to take the mobo and CPU with it? (Big voltage surges or anything)

Thanks for your time - Andrew.

PS Next week, which HD brand is the current favourate!

[Rave]

Avoid- Q-Tec. Apart from that though, I'm a great one for using cheapy Ebuyer supplies, being a chronic tightwad and risktaker. My new project (if I can get a HD sorted) is to run a dual Athlon system off an Ebuyer 300W, on a Tyan Tiger MP (which is notorious for welding power connectors). Can you smell burning?

Rich :¬)

Edit: Winnies use a bit less power than Newcastles, so that's something in the cheapo option's favour.

[johnnr892]

best to get a branded supply like antec or tagen to be safe. If your power supply fails it could do anything to you board. I had a cheapo 300w with an xp 2400 and when i went to burn a cd, thats what literally happened . luckily for me none of the components were damaged but with your kind of system its better to be safe than sorry Have a look at most of the antecs on this page:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...subcat_uid=177

i have a true power 330 and thats fine for my system but you might want just a little bit more grunt.

[Zak33]

spend more money on the psu and less on the cpu

thats it...end of.....

one day you can get a better cpu, when they are cheaper....but the psu needs to be good....from day one...period

[stytagm]

Thanks for the advice people. Problem with your point Zak is that that we're getting the absolute cheapest socket 939 CPU, so without changing socket (which is not going to happen) we've got to save elsewhere.

*Andrew has premonition of crying as the smoke clears, then having to eat his words*

If people think that PSU is that important then there are a few places we can scrimp, but they're going to make visible differences to the computers performance. the easierst being to pinch a 15" monitor from my Uncle rather than buy a 17" one. If it was me I'd rather take the risk with a cheap PSU than make my eyes suffer that

[Zak33]

there MUST be a way of spending more dough.....must be.

Every other thnig on that PC will be out of date in 1 year....except the PSU.

[mike_w]

A bad PSU can destroy an entire system - not worth the risk if you ask me. Brand is more important than wattage in my opinion, so go for a decent brand like Antec, Tagan, Thermaltake, etc. As Zak says, if you pick the right PSU, it can last you quite a while. You might want to find a BTX compatible PSU as well (such as the Tagan 480W, got mine for £55 ), since it should future proof it more (assuming BTX actually arrives).

And, no matter what, never buy a Q-Tec.

[Rave]

An Ebuyer 300W PSU has powered my brother's computer for a while now (at least 6 months, probably 9, I forget when I bunged it in. That's with a Tbred A @ 1.8GHz, 1.8V, running 24/7.

Yes, a cheapo power supply is more likely to go bang and take out your parts. It's never happened to me though, so I'll probably carry on risking it until it does. I honestly think the risk is small. Keep the voltage going into the processor sensible, run a reasonable graphics card like a 6800, and stick to one HD and one optical drive and I reckon even an Ebuyer 300W supply is not going to running at more than about 50-60% capacity.

Still, I agree that if you can afford to buy a better PSU you'll be better off in the long run. I have a couple of non-flat-screen, but otherwise reasonable 17" monitors here which I have no use for. Yours if you can pick them up from SE London, or pay my petrol for a local-ish delivery.

Rich :¬)

[iMc]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...roductID=37215
or
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=129219
or
http://www.overclock.co.uk/customer/...roductid=16417

any of the above would be much better than a cheapo unbranded one imo.

a good psu should last for 2,3 or 4 upgrades and therefore its worth spending a bit. otherwise its just going to have to be spent in the future instead of something better then.

I learnt this when I bought my case which I know think is crap (for what I want) and I want a bigger, quieter, cooler one.

[stytagm]

OK, on the branded front, In another system which I Reeeeeely don't care about (500mhx P-III) I've got a 300w (or is it 350) watt PSU from quiet PC. It's a few years old now, and the quietness would be a bit pointless next to a stock AMD cooler I think, but it was a quality bit when I bought it about 3 years ago. Would that be an improvement over a cheapy 400watt ebuyer contraption?

Failing that thanks for those links iMc, those prices a bit more reasonable than 50, 60 or even 70 quid.

Edit: PS I'm Moving house today and might be offline for a week while the new adsl gets set up (going up to 1mb, I'm such a tart)

[pre]

You could probably get a thermaltake 480w butterfly in that price range.

[Apex]

Get the CWT 350/450/550 from scan.

350
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...roductID=59490

<snip>Seems scan no longer do the CWT 450 and upwards </snip>

[fthlagen]

If you're still gonna go for the cheapo PSU after all this advice, don't spend anything. I have a Q-tec (still unexploded) 650W which you can have for the postage.

PS. Respect to the beeb. I have one with a PSU which caught fire but the damn thig still works for all that. They don't make exploding PSUs like that anymore (except maybe Q-Tec do).

[stytagm]

Bump!

Well I've solved the problem by being reeeeely lazy and procrastinating for a month. Although a few prices have actually risen (Christmas - bah humbug) we'll be able to save some money by getting my various aunts and uncles to buy my cousin parts for christmas, spare cash for a PSU.

Anyone got an opinion on the smartpower psu in these antec case (third from bottom specifically)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Antec_Cases.html

[synchro]

I would recommend Thermaltake W0014 Silent Purepower 480W with Black housing - Xaser Edition ATX 2-Fan Power Supply I have used in this the past with excellent results and falls right in with your purchasing range.

[BUFF]

Anyone got an opinion on the smartpower psu in these antec case (third from bottom specifically)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Antec_Cases.html

Only 16A on 12V.
I think that it will struggle (& fail) to power an AMD64, board & a 6800.