Desperately need a case / PSU recommendation

Mar 15, 2003
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I have an austin 450 watt power supply that's flaking out on me lately.. System seems unstable and I'm almost positive it's power related.. I just added yet another optical drive to my system and now the drives sometimes don't even get recognized (again, the drives work perfectly in other systems - i really think it's the PSU).. So I need to change my PSU.. My budget is $50 for a PSU or $80 for a case with PSU.. Any suggestions? Here are my specs because I have an unusual amount of drives (using a RAID controller):

Pentium 4-2.4b on a abit bh7 board
Pioneer A04 dvd-rw
Artec 16X dvd rom drive
Seagate 80 gig, 7200 rpm drive
Samsung 80 gig, 7200 rpm drive
WD 40 gig, 7200 rpm drive
1 cpu fan, 1 system fan (system and cpu temps are always normal - I don't over clock)

I don't need anything fancy at all - just something that delivers clean, steady power without sounding too much like a lawn mower. (though i'm not a silent pc zealot)
Thanks for any help guys!
 

Mr N8

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2001
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Austin PSUs don't seem to have a good track record. I would highly recommend getting an Antec PLUS1080AMG. It comes with a 430w Antec power supply, which will provide cleaner and more stable power than the Austin ever did.
 

SuperPickle

Golden Member
Nov 1, 2001
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Well, this may not be the most popular answer out there, but I have all my junk running on the 350W Antec Smartpower that came with my SLK3800AMB case. I run an OC'd 1900+, two 10K drives, one 15K drive and 3 optical drives with this PSU and all my line voltages are rock-steady. This would fit in your budget and get you a nice case, although it may short you in longevity for long-term power requirements.