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.

 

[glorygunk]

Firstly, I hope you don't mean $70 for the whole system. For that price, you'd get a slow Pentium 3...and only by salvaging most of your parts from a junkyard. In that case, YES any old working PSU will do.

The reason people spend $70 or more on a quality PSU is simple: they want to protect their expensive components. People can easily spend $1000 or more on computer parts so a quality PSU only makes sense. Obviously you're not that kind of guy, so it makes sense for you not to buy a "$100 Anter". But ask yourself this: if you had a $90000 Porsche, would you fill it up with anything but premium grade gas?

 

[JBDan]

Look at Fortron/Seasonic/Enermax IMO for "best bang for your buck" psu's. They each have several under $70 that are in the 400W range. What kind of system you hooking up too? Specs would help.

 

[wbynum]

Just buy the X-Connect 500W from outpost for $25 AR. Enjoy your money savings while people flame you. That's what I did.

 

[Operandi]

$70 can get you a very nice Forton or Seasonic, both of which make some the best PSUs you can buy regardless of price.

 

[CrimsonCutie]

the PSU is the life blood of the system.. its what powers everything.. a cheap PSU will eaither A) lead t unstable operation or B) fail befor it should.
Invest in a quality PSU... there is a reason there are tons of 10 page threads about which PSU is best... its a very important thing...
Seasonic, Antec, Tagan are the best you'd want to choose from.... and Enermax if you wanted too

 

[CrimsonCutie]

check this out
PSU Calculator
CaseModGods PSU Calc

 

[Varun]

$100 gets you a 450w Antec PS and the Sonata II case, pretty good deal if you ask me.

 

[afoygel]

sorry, i meant $700 for the everything. woooops.

already got 1gb ram for $85
80gb sata drive for $55
still haven't ordered:
3000+ cpu with fan - $135-145
nf4 motherboard $110
I will also be carrying over my beige liteon dvd drive

so that leaves me with a little over $300 for a graphics card (hopefully prices will drive within a week or two) and a psu+case. i can get a psu case combo for about $60 and put the rest toward a nice graphics card. i can also pull the psu out of that and get a thermaltake 430w psu for around 45. beyond that, buying an expensive psu, and a separate case will cost push me way over budget. has anyone ever had any problems with generic psu's? i had a generic psu for my last built and I had no problems with it, except the fan has gotten real noisy after 4 years. any feedback would appreciated.

 

[JBDan]

You used a generic psu for what kind of system? Your new pc IMO requires good clean power and stability is a must especially on the 12V line. hmm for $300 I would -->http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122201 and the SonataII ($104 includes 450W psu) as Varun stated. Probably the best case/psu combo out there for the $$'s. Get what ya want though and Njoy it

 

[glorygunk]

$700...thats better!

generic psu's shouldn't cause the death of your system (but make sure you have a surge protector). basically it's hit or miss. cheap psu's have less accurate/stable rails, which translates to system instability. this won't always happen, but a good quality psu will definitely give you peace of mind.

if you're on a strict budget, go ahead and buy a good video card and a cheap case/generic PSU. a few months down the road when you've saved up more money or when a good deal comes along, buy a better PSU. you can survive the short term.

 

[afoygel]

thanks for the encouragement glorygunk. it's just frustrating because there doesn't seem to be a middle ground in this market.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: afoygel
thanks for the encouragement glorygunk. it's just frustrating because there doesn't seem to be a middle ground in this market.

Sure there is.

400 watt Forton Source for $40.00, you won't find a better PSU for the money.

 

[Zepper]

The XClio 400 or 450 are very good PSUs for the money, but you can get good ones in the budget lines from Fortron/Sparkle too. Many adequate PSUs available for around $50 or less. But the PSU is the cornerstone of a stable system - so don't skimp on it. I'd say the Antec SLK3000-B case (I think it is still under $50 from Amazon or Provantage) with either an XClio or the Forton linked above would make an excellent foundation. The antec SLK3800-B (which is the 3000 with a good Antec PSU) is another good option. Also take a look at the Evercase 42x2 series cases w/ one of the above PSUs or the Athenatech A600 series which come with a good PSU from Sparkle's budget line.

. I see the Ultra X-Connect's price is now homing in on its true value ($25.) - good luck on collecting those Tiger Direct rebates...

.bh.