Cheap PSU = Bad idea?

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theplanb

Golden Member
Jan 12, 2001
1,239
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I don't know how mcuh I have to spend on a PSU.
I mean., c'mon it's just a power supply.. I can't pay more for a PSU than a CPU or mobo?
On one hand I can buy 350W Enhance or Aopen PSU at around A$110-120 (both AMD recommended), and on the other hand I can buy clipper Pro 400W PSU for less than half of what I need to pay for the brand name PSU. (A$45-50).

And it's just to power a duron system.. with cdrw, 7200RPM HDD, dvd rom, 2x80mm fan..a nic, and AGP card..possibly GF2 MX400..

When you think I can get the CPU at A$120.. it's just crazy to pay the same for PSU.. isn't it?
Although I can get Aopen 250W PSU for A$25, I'm not to keen on that..
 
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ChrisOh

Banned
Oct 17, 1999
910
0
0
Don't underestimate the PSU, it's the unit that gives power to the entire computer, better brands have more consistent voltage levels, etc... and are just a lot more reliable, quieter, and last longer than cheap ones. I went with a cheap one and I regretted it later on. You can get a good 350W Enermax that will power any AMD system out there for around 60-70 shipped easily.
 
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Dat

Senior member
Jan 14, 2000
742
0
0
Cheap PSU = bad idea indeed. A friend of my overload his system the other day on a cheapee PSU and it died... taking along with it his video card...

Anyhoo - newegg had the enermax mid tower with AMD approved enermax PSU (supports AMD XP1800+) for 63shipped. I got two cases that arrived last week and they are really well built.

have a look at the hotdeals forum or newegg and see if they still have the cases... oh hell lemme see if I can dig up a link for ya
Click here, it is the first case listed.
 
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Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
16,215
0
71
Do a search at pricewatch...I believe you can get a sparkle 350 watt PS for 50 w/o shipping...It is a great PS and recommended for pretty much anything out today...
 
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Mitzi

Diamond Member
Aug 22, 2001
3,775
1
76
I think its all down to luck, I personally have never purchased a high-quality, brand name PSU simply because up to this moment of time I haven't had to. The cheap'n'nasty PSUs which come with a £30 case have always worked flawlessly.

Lately, my opinions have changed. I have just spent £140 on a Lian Li case and am soon going to get an Enermax PSU to go in it. My thinking is that a high quality PSU and case combo should easily outlast two or three upgrade cycles with the rest of the system.
 
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damocles

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,105
5
81
Pay the extra for a good PSu, you will have it longer than your CPU and a bad one may cause problems that you can never track down. The 350W Aopen is very nice indeed
 
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BatmanNate

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
12,444
2
81
I have to give my recommendation for the good old Sparkle 300 watt unit, seeing as I purchased it for a grand $40 years ago and to this day it is faithfully powering dual athlons, 2 HDD's, 2 CDROM's, a GeForce2, 5 PCI devices, and a metric buttload of fans. :D My hat is off to Sparkle.
 
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Migroo

Diamond Member
Jul 14, 2001
4,488
9
81


<< I think its all down to luck, I personally have never purchased a high-quality, brand name PSU simply because up to this moment of time I haven't had to. The cheap'n'nasty PSUs which come with a £30 case have always worked flawlessly.

Lately, my opinions have changed. I have just spent £140 on a Lian Li case and am soon going to get an Enermax PSU to go in it. My thinking is that a high quality PSU and case combo should easily outlast two or three upgrade cycles with the rest of the system. >>



Very True :)

The over-engineering of Enermax PSUs is just so -nice- sometimes :) They will LAST.
 
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dingdongdingdong

Senior member
Dec 29, 2000
898
0
0
yeah it is very bad idea. i remember 2 year ago my first build pc using cheap case and everything run fine for a week and suddenlly the power supply blow up and it get on fire but lucky i was there so it won't burn my house;) so you fix it out .
 
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AyeYou

Junior Member
Jun 18, 2001
21
0
0
I had one cheap power supply fry the first time I turned it on. Thank god it took nothing with it. Had another one trash a motherboard and a CPU after it had been working fine for months. No more cheapies for me, but I am still trying to decide which one to buy for my AthlonXP system I am about to build. The Enermaxes look really good to me but I keep seeing posts about them having a weak 5 volt rail. Can't afford PC Power & Cooling.

What's a body to do?
 
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gtd2000

Platinum Member
Oct 22, 1999
2,731
0
76
It's really hit or miss - a lot of products that are made in Taiwan or China are just rebadged and sold with different names elsewhere in the world.

I could pick up a very cheap PSU in Hong Kong which might have a well known brand name elsewhere in the world on it.

The Brand name is there to give the consumer confidence in the product - that does not necessarily mean it is a better product than a cheaper no-name PSU.

The old saying you get what you pay for is also only partially correct. If people are recommending certain brands at a reasonable price then hedge your bets and go with the product that fits your budget and confidence levels.

Personally, I've used US$8 300W PSU's that were perfect and even one of my friends who is still in Hong Kong using the rather sexy aluminium Lian Li case was recommended the same PSU by the shop that supplied his case..... ;) He has no problems with it either ;)
 
Mem

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81


<< And it's just to power a duron system.. with cdrw, 7200RPM HDD, dvd rom, 2x80mm fan..a nic, and AGP card..possibly GF2 MX400.. >>



Just buy Sparkle 300w or Antec 300w they are AMD approved and will be more then adequate for any Duron cpu ,so buy the cheapest of the two price wise,both are good enough to power even lower speeds of the Athlon XP processors.
 
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