Budget System PSU help.

[afoygel]

I'm building a budget system (around $70) and I'm almost disturbed by the ammounts of money people are throwing at PSU's and cases. I don't think my PSU should cost as much as my CPU, but maybe I am missing something?

What's the lowdown on PSU's? And don't just tell me that unless I get a $100 Anter or OCZ all my system components will get fried. I ran my old pc on a cheap codegen for 4 years without any problems, so back up what you have to say.

 

[furballi]

I like an efficient PSU (lower heat and noise, plus saves $). My favorite is this Enermax with +77% efficiency. Very quiet operation with dual-fan push-pull design. PSU is a very high margin product. There is NOTHING magical about a quality PSU. In general, the new Fortron and Enermax PSUs are very good value for the $. You tend to pay a lot more for an Antec, OCZ, or Seasonic PSU because of the advertising.

A decent 450 to 500 watts PSU will be good for another 5 years. Wait for a sale and you will probably be able to pickup the Enermax for less than $60.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103457

 

[eplebnista]

Link

 

[Biggerhammer]

Depending on your system, you may not need 500 watts and the like- but even if you're getting a 350W PSU you should get the best one you can afford- it will reduce the annoying, unpredictable, hard-to-troubleshoot problems that cheap PSUs deliver.

 

[simms]

I got a Antec SmartPower 350W for around $50ish with an Antec Case as well. (SLK ... something or other). You really can't beat that price.

 

[Codegen]

My 500W Elitech That I got for $39.95 Canadian last year is still running strong (Hey, and when I opened it up 1-2 weeks ago, not a spec of dust in it Just the fan.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Then I take it you're not running an intense system. Anyone who's running an intense system knows that they cannot skimp on the PSU. It will either provide sh!tty rails, causing damage or overvolt the rails, destroying hardware.
It might not even be able to start the system up if the PSU is sh!t or the system is stacked.

 

[BigCoolJesus]

Originally posted by: Kensai
Then I take it you're not running an intense system. Anyone who's running an intense system knows that they cannot skimp on the PSU. It will either provide sh!tty rails, causing damage or overvolt the rails, destroying hardware.
It might not even be able to start the system up if the PSU is sh!t or the system is stacked.

:thumbsup:

 

[nycdude]

Originally posted by: BigCoolJesus

Originally posted by: Kensai
Then I take it you're not running an intense system. Anyone who's running an intense system knows that they cannot skimp on the PSU. It will either provide sh!tty rails, causing damage or overvolt the rails, destroying hardware.
It might not even be able to start the system up if the PSU is sh!t or the system is stacked.

:thumbsup:

I second that

 

[Hacp]

For a 70 dollar computer, any peice of crap will do.