250W FSP PSU vs 500W Powerlogic PSU

[djdelarosa25]

I have these two PSUs lying around. One's salvaged from an Acer Aspire rig. It's a pretty neat 250W FSP ATX-250PA PSU, with 4 SATA power connectors, 1 4-pin CPU connector, 1 fan connector and the mobo connector.

One is a Powerlogic 500W unit that has 2 molex, 2 sata, 1 mobo, and I think 1 fan connector.

Specs:
Q9550
HD 5450

Which should I go for?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Neither. Buy a quality name-brand 500W for $50.

 

[Yuriman]

I'd probably try the FSP unit, but it's cutting it a little close for a C2Q system. You can probably get away with it so long as you're not running a lot of power virus software.

Best solution is to get a new PSU, of course, rather than risk destroying your machine, I picked my 400w platinum-rated FSP unit, new and with no rebate, for $25 a few weeks ago, so a quality unit won't necessarily cost you very much, but I understand if you don't want to dump money into old hardware.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I picked my 400w platinum-rated FSP unit

Can't find any online reviews. Hmm. How are you liking it?

From the brief looks of it, the fan looks to be a loud one for my standard but for that price, it's okay, I guess.

 

[Yuriman]

The PSU fan is the loudest part of my computer, and I've considered swapping it for a Yate Loon, but even if I were to use something like a Noctua, I'd still come out way ahead in terms of money spent. The fan isn't that bad but there's a bit of bearing noise that can be audible in an otherwise near-silent room. When my heater kicks on, the movement of air drowns out the PSU fan.

Beyond that, the rails are right where they should be, and I dropped 10-20w under load compared to my old bronze-rated unit, and 5w at idle. I have no way of measuring ripple or noise, and under power-virus type loads my system still doesn't come near 200w, so I'm unsure how it behaves when really pushed.

 

[coercitiv]

From the brief looks of it, the fan looks to be a loud one for my standard but for that price, it's okay, I guess.

The only disappointment with my 350W Gold rated FSP PSU was indeed the fan: silent but with a noticeable clicking sound. However, it's inaudible once the case is closed. I said to myself I would replace it once the sound signature got worse, but it's been almost 24 months of 24/7 usage and it did not deteriorate.

When my heater kicks on, the movement of air drowns out the PSU fan.

Vibration/noise from HDD should also do the trick. When powered on, my 2.5" 5400rpm WD drive drowns it even if it's one of the quietest drives I have ever owned.

 

[jumpncrash]

We have thousands of FSP power supplies at work and they are very reliable. Our systems are in very rough conditions and they still hold up very well.

 

[DrMrLordX]

If you can undervolt your Q9550 at all, you might get away with using the FSP unit. The HD 5450's power consumption is pretty low. Maybe 15-20W at most?