Do I need a new PSU?

[Serrinon]

I've got a Rosewill RP500 ATX 500W Power Supply and am wondering if it is a time bomb waiting to happen. Its been running fine for 2 months, but I will be building a new system in May, money is an issue so as long as this PSU doesn't pose a threat to the rest of my hardware, I will keep it. But if it poses a threat, than it is more of a liability than I am willing to live with.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817182009

 

[imported_michaelpatrick33]

20 + 4 pin? Does that mean it does not have a straight 24pin connector? If so, I would avoid that PSU in any motherboard (especially the NF4's) that have the 24pin connection. What is your purposed system specs so we (the Anandtecher's who know far more than me) can help you determine if it is adequate. If you are getting a ultra modern system I don't know if 26amp on the 12v line will cut it but if you are going to have a mid-line system I would imagine it is fine.

 

[Serrinon]

It has a nifty adapter to do both 20 & 24 pin boards. So its a 24 pin, but the adapter can make it 20. The PC that I would like to build will have the following parts and be puchased in May of 06

Lian Li PC-60APlus Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower

ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939

G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit

AOpen 91.05210.45H Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value SB0400 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - OEM

and some ATA 133 Hard Drives and a DVD Burner and CD Rom Drive and the PSU that are in the current system will be used for the new one (or at least that is what I'm trying to figure out) I'm hoping that the PSU is ok and wont fry my new parts.

Thanks!

 

[Cook1]

I'd get a quality brand PSU for that setup as soon as you can. Trust me, I had a lil crap PSU for my system that I had hoped it would hold til my new one came. One day before my new PSU came my old one crapped out on my and took my 7800GT with it.

 

[Serrinon]

Ugh! You are probably right, what PSU would you recomend?

 

[raildogg]

Originally posted by: Serrinon
Ugh! You are probably right, what PSU would you recomend?

What is your budget?

For around $50, Fortron 450W is the best option. For $75, the Enermax Noisetaker 485W is excellent. If you want to spend $100, then check out the newer models from Enermax, like the Liberty series which are modular and offer great performance.

 

[Serrinon]

So even though my current PSU was like $50 at new egg, it is still probably crap based on its specs?

Does the PSU manufacturer cover the hardware the PSU destroys? Or did they just say too bad?

Thank you for the list of options!

 

[Serrinon]

I guess my budget is like $50, as little as possible, but it looks like I already made that mistake once, so up to $100

 

[Cook1]

Check out coolerguys.com I just bought the Enermax Liberty 500W PSU for right around $100. Since I'm videocardless thus can't really try it out, all I can say about it thus far is that it's pretty.

Does the PSU manufacturer cover the hardware the PSU destroys? Or did they just say too bad?

You're kinda SOL...so yay me

 

[Serrinon]

hummmmmm, so what should the ideal PSU have? I mean the Roswill that I have ran me $50 and has 500W and looks nifty, but as far as all the amps etc...

EDIT: What is Dual +12V?

 

[Cook1]

First off you want to stick with the quality brands:
Antec, Enermax, Fortron Source (Sparkle), OCZ Technology, PC Power & Cooling and Seasonic to name a few.

Secondly a good hard 12v rail, now days it's best to get dual 12v rails.

 

[TraumaRN]

Originally posted by: Cook1
First off you want to stick with the quality brands:
Antec, Enermax, Fortron Source (Sparkle), OCZ Technology, PC Power & Cooling and Seasonic to name a few.

Secondly a good hard 12v rail, now days it's best to get dual 12v rails.

Dont forget to add Tagan as a decent manufacturer of PSU's however the are tougher to find in the US these days....tho i got mine at newegg for 90 bucks, it has dual 12V lines it's 480W and it's a darn good PSU also

EDIT: Not to mention it's nearly silent even on full load!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817101516

 

[Serrinon]

So what exactly does dual 12v rail mean?

 

[rs1089]

First off all, all power supplies have several rails where a specified amount of voltage is supplied. There are 3.3v, 5v and most importantly these days, 12v rails. The older power supplies have one large 12v rail that supplies power to the cpu, motherboard, fans, hard drives, video cards and other peripherals. Having dual 12v rails would be better because the power is split between the cpu (and motherboard, not entirely sure) from everything else. So, if the peripherals caused a power fluctuation, the cpu and motherboard would not be affected. Dual 12v rails is extra insurance for stability and "cleaner" power. Im telling you all that I know, other members could probably tell u more, but thats my two cents.

 

[ribbon13]

If you're not buying till may, come back here in April. Price will have changed.