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Need a new PSU

fustercluck

fustercluck

Diamond Member
Need a pretty powerful PSU. My antec 350 just died. It couldn't handle my A64. I need something big and powerful apparantely, sadly this A64 system just keeps costing me more and more 🙁. Could someone link me up to the best PSU under $70? I don't know a whole lot about PSUs and Rails and all that. Need to order soon though. Thanks.
 
your psu didnt die because it couldnt handle your system. it just died because of some hardware failure. it happens. 350w antec can power far more then what you got.
 
This Fortron 530W PSU will do very well if you are willing to spend a little more. It is an excellent PSU, and much cheaper than most comparable ones. If you feel like spending less, any Fortron PSU is worth the money and should do well.
Also, my guess is that the PSU that you had die was not too overtaxed, it just had a bad component.
 
I keep hearing PSUs over 400w are overkill from Pentium 4 users. A64s require much more power, which is a good thing, and a bad thing.

But yeah when people get to suggesting PSUs, it seems like it is often overkill. After spending so much on this system and cooling for it, i didn't want to spend another $100+ for a new PSU, and i don't have much in my case anyways.
 
I agree all the power supplies listed are overkill, but what "jacktackle" asked for was suggestions for the best power supply for under $70. I would have suggested another 350w, that would have been more than adequate. Sorry if I misunderstood what you wanted.
 
i have a question when getting these super high PSU wattages. That just means your electric bill is high as hell as well correct? Wouldn't a 350W be more then enough for today's average system.
 
T2urtle: the amount of electricity you pull from the wall is basically determined by 2 things: the amount of DC power used by components when idle or active, and the AC/DC conversion efficiency of the PSU. Most PSU's these days reach peak efficiency somewhere around 60-80% of their rated power. So in a small way a higher rated PSU may draw more AC power if used in a low power situation. This difference would be small compared to the individual difference in PSU efficiency, which ranges from 60% for the nastiest kind that come with generic cases, up to around 80% for the best available.

A shorter answer would be: a 450 watt PSU will not consume anywhere near 100 watts more than a 350 watt PSU, and neither will be pulling their rated number.
 
Originally posted by: jacktackle
I keep hearing PSUs over 400w are overkill from Pentium 4 users. A64s require much more power, which is a good thing, and a bad thing.
Click to expand...

Not true p4 especially the prescott uses more power than the AMD64 (especially the 90nm ones) as far as I know.
 
Originally posted by: LeadFrog
Originally posted by: jacktackle
I keep hearing PSUs over 400w are overkill from Pentium 4 users. A64s require much more power, which is a good thing, and a bad thing.
Click to expand...

Not true p4 especially the prescott uses more power than the AMD64 (especially the 90nm ones) as far as I know.
Click to expand...

LeadFrog is right.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...c.aspx?i=2249&p=13

Even the mighty FX-55 doesn't consume as much power as the 3.0GHz Prescott.




Originally posted by: T2urtle
i have a question when getting these super high PSU wattages. That just means your electric bill is high as hell as well correct? Wouldn't a 350W be more then enough for today's average system.
Click to expand...

A PSU doesn't draw more power from the wall than what the system actually needs, regaurdless of it's rated wattage.

I.E. If your system consumes 125W, both a 300W and a 500W PSU will supply 125W.

P.S. Other things like PFC mentioned above play into how much wattage your PSU draws from the socket, but they don't drastically alter the concept.
 
For $41 shipped I think the COOLMAX 400W CX-400B is one hell of a bargain. I have no case fans and have my Athlon 1700 OC'ed to a 2400+ and cpu temp is at 42C. Cant recommend the Antecs personally cause after installing the 350w one my cpu temp rose up 20C (!), again with no case fans so it didnt have enough airflow for me. Oh yeah the Coolmax one is practically silent too 🙂
 
Originally posted by: jacktackle
I keep hearing PSUs over 400w are overkill from Pentium 4 users. A64s require much more power, which is a good thing, and a bad thing.

But yeah when people get to suggesting PSUs, it seems like it is often overkill. After spending so much on this system and cooling for it, i didn't want to spend another $100+ for a new PSU, and i don't have much in my case anyways.
Click to expand...

That is just not true, pentium 4s draw a lot more power than A64s.
 
If the output was distributed properly across tha rails, then 350W should be enough for most systems. But most PSUs are still weighted far too heavily to the 3.3/5V side. So to get enough amps on the 12V rail(s), you have to buy an over powered unit.
. In any case, switching PSUs are load driven so all that is drawn from the power generation system is the output power plus the inefficiency factor which can range from 25 to 50% or so depending on the quality of the PSU design. It is a fact however that switching regulators are less efficient at the lower end of their output range. So the more you use, the less you waste (at least within the PSU itself)...
.bh.

The :sun:, the :sun: !
 
Well, my 2.4 ghz P4 ran fine on my 350 antec for over 2 years, then i get a 2 ghz A64 and all of a sudden my PSU dies, so i just figured. Perhaps just a couincidence.
 
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