Are all power supplies equal?

[Clopedion]

If I currently have a 300W power supply in my case, can I just replace it with any other 300W power supply?

Is 300W sufficient for computers for the forseeable future? Should I just buy a 350W supply so I don't have to upgrade later?

 

[emoney]

Without more information on your present set-up and future plans any specific answer is just a wild guess. But here goes anyway, I would be of the side of too much power rather than not enough. I was in a similar position a few weeks ago and I went from a 300w to a 400w Antec that CompUSA had on sale for $50.
Power supplies are like most things in life, you get what you pay for. One way to meausre two supplies of equal wattage (a supplier can label his 300w a 400w) is to choose the one that weights the most. It has larger heat sinks, capisitors etc. Thanks DEE

 

[CZroe]

Is that a bogus question?

 

[Clopedion]

Well, I'd heard that computers only really use 100-150W, and so the reason you get high-powered power supplies is so that proper voltage is maintained on the 3.3 V lines. So I was wondering whether different brands did that better than others; I'd heard that Dell ships underpowered PS's that have decent 3.3 V lines, for instance. Thread where I heard this

 

[Woody419]

AMD doesn't have a recommended power supply list for fun. You should have been around when everyone was trying to get an Abit KA7 to run on cheap power supplies, or Epox with low 3.3 voltage power supplies, or more recently the ECS boards.

Go with the brand names for all your power needs.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Myself and all my friends use Future Power psu's, havn't had any problems. You can get a 400 watter for around 35 bucks.

 

[fatbaby]

tell us your budget and we'll try to reccomend you a decent psu (if your budget is less than $20, don't ask)

 

[microAmp]

<< Go with the brand names for all your power needs. >>



Can't go wrong with that.

 

[Clopedion]

Mainly I'm looking for something quiet; my current one(300W Enlight) is awfully loud. I'm not too concerned about price; I've seen 300W Enermax Whispers for ~$40, and AFAIK, that sounds reasonable. My main concern is that, if I get a good, quiet power supply, I'd like to be able to use it on my next computer as well. Is it likely that a 300W power supply will still be useful in a year or three?

 

[Clopedion]

My current computer is a 1.2 GHz Athlon, and I don't plan to overclock.

 

[Dre]

I'd recommend the Enermax 350 watt whisper power supply or a Antec 350watt power supply. Both should last you for the foreseeable future.