Antec 350W Smart Power an ok purchase?

[Confuse]

CPU: Pentium 4 2.4Ghz 800mhz FSB
MOBO: Abit IS7
RAM: 2x512MB Kingston PC3500 HyperX
VIDEO: Radeon 9500 Pro
PS: Allied True 450W (DEFUNCT AND TO BE EXCHANGED)
HD: WD 100GB 8MB cache 7200 RPM, WD 60GB 5400RPM 2MB cache
CDROM: Sony 48x24x48x CDRW
Fans: 3 Panaflos.

This Allied PS was defective, it would power up my system for half a second and then die. I temporarily got an Antec SmartPower 350W and it works fine with my current system (see above); it powers my system fine and is relatively quiet. I was thinking of exchanging my dead ps for the antec at newegg but I was a bit concerned about the drop in wattage, from 450 to 350W. Eventually, I'd like to add two more hds (120GB and up) and get rid of the 60 gig one. I want to make sure that this PS will support my expansion needs and that it will perhaps last through another upgrade (maybe, not a top priority but it would be nice). The price difference bettween the 350 and 400W Antec is pretty significant ($45 vs. $60) and I was only planning to spend around $50 on a new PS. Please let me know what you think or any recommendations you might have.

Another thing, what are the consequences of a weak or inneficient PS? I was transfering about 40 gigs of mp3s from one drive to another and my entire system was pretty sluggish during that time, might that be some sort of sign? Aside from that I have no other concerns. Thanks in advance!

 

[mechBgon]

The Antec is a high-quality unit and it should get the job done ok, although more wattage doesn't hurt anything either. In the relative scheme of things, an extra $15 spent on the foundation of your whole system is not that big of a jump, is it?

The consequences of a weak PSU can range from crashes to the complete frying of everything in the system. Once in a while we hear a report from someone whose PSU took the whole system to the grave with it, but thankfully that's not too frequent.

 

[Lyfer]

The Antec should be fine. I have the Allied True 450W, it runs my overclocked rig completely stable and thats why I recommend it to all my friends. Why not just RMA? The Allied 450W is a great PSU for only $40.

 

[Confuse]

I don't know, I guess I'm just scared. Some people here don't seem to think they're very reliable either. And after running this borrowed Antec its kind of hard to let go, its pretty quiet by my standards and it seems pretty stable with my current setup. How does the Allied (assuming this time it works correctly) compare to the Antec 350W Smart Power?

Oh yeah....And the Antec has a 3 year Warranty as well as opposed to the Allied's 1 year (I think).

 

[ROJAS]

Antec smartpower 350w is good one. Im running 3 different Antec cases from 350w,400w,430w. All computers are populated with Geforce4 128 video cards, Lite-on 52 speed burner, Maxtor 120Gb ultra133 7200rpm drives. I don't see any difference running the 350w p.s.

One is 2.4Ghz o/c to 3.0, one is 2.4Ghz o/c to 2.9, one is o/c to 3.2ghz (lock up after 2 hours Unreal tournament.

Stay with Antec, you can't go wrong. Very good support from the company.

I made the jump to Antec 15 months ago and I am real happy. Good quality case.

ROJAS

 

[Confuse]

Yeah, I really like the PS so far. Its just sort of sad letting a $40 450W PS go. But I'm very weary of its quality and reliability now. Guess I'm still in shock. hehe This antec is super quiet to me, I don't know how the Allied scales up on that note. But I'm still currious as to how the Antec SmartPower 350W compares to the Allied True Power 450W.