P4 PSU help

[VerbalKint]

Hi,

I am building a computer for my brother for college. I ordered everything and it is supposed to arrive tomorrow. However the case I ordered did come in earlier since it was shipped from a diff location. Anyways I ordered an Antec SX830. To my shock this case doesn't support the p4. I have a p3 and i had no clue that the p4 required a new psu with a 4 pin connector. The antec psu says atx 2.03 so i thought it would work but i guess not. Anyways I really need to order a new psu. I got lucky and the motherboard i ordered the Asus p4t comes with accessories to mount the heatsink to the case otherwise i probably would have needed a new case. I am on a time constraint since I am leaving to my college thursday so i am looking to overnight the psu tomorrow. I saw a 300W Sparkle on newegg that is p4 compliant. Does anyone have any experience with it? I also saw an antec 350 p4 from a site but it didn't have it. So does anyone have any suggestions or opinions on a good psu to get and where from. Thanks a lot

 

[damocles]

As a basic starting point try directron. They aren't always the cheapest, but they have a good range.

Although Antec and Sparkle make excellent PSus i would personally recommend the Enermax EG-365P VE. It is quiet, supports the P4 and at 350W it should meet all your power needs.

It's $62.50 at directron, but it may be cheaper on Pricewatch

Direcron P4 Powersupplies

 

[ShoNuff]

It may be cheaper for you to simply adapt your current power supply to the P4 by purchasing a P4 12V ATX adapter. You can get it here for only $8 plus S&H. If you need it before Thursday I know it would be cheaper to overnight the adapter vs. a new power supply.

If you search AnandTech you may come accross an article that suggest that you can run the P4 without the adapter. Find the article and draw your own conclusions. The information I am talking about may be in the same article that critiques the Asus P4T.

 

[damocles]

The P4T will run without the extra connector, but there is some opinion it may affect stability (i think)

 

[Wingznut]

I have a Sparkle P4 ps, and it's been flawless for me. As an experiment, I removed the two extra P4 power connectors from the motherboard, leaving only the standard ATX motherboard. It ran just fine all day @ 1955mhz, looping benchmarks, playing games, etc...

But I've heard that depends on the quality of the PS. If you have one of lesser quality, you may not get the same results.