Power Supply - Quality v. Quantity

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xerocool

Senior member
May 26, 2003
497
0
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I'm in dire need of a new power supply, my harddrives are locking up and my computer is freezing when I run video games such as UT2k4 and Lineage2 and Warcraft3. My main question, is should I buy a cheapo $20 ps that says it's 550W or should I buy a quality 350W (I probably wouldn't buy a 350, probably a 400+ at least).

I was under the impression that quality ps's just mean smaller deviances in current, but if the power is said to be 550W, it should never drop below let's say 450W right? Or should I be concerned with the actual fluctuations crapping up my system too?
 
MDE

MDE

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
13,199
1
81
Quality without a doubt. I had a cheap one that had a messed up ATX plug (caused arcing between the plug and mobo pin) and killed two motherboards and numerous hard drives. Moved up to a 350W Fortron, then a 380W Antec (in my Sonata) and I haven't had any unexplained failures.
 
yhelothar

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
40
91
550watt for $20 would probably last about 5 months before breaking... not worth the time and money... STAY AWAY!
 
L

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,938
6
81
Check the 12v rail has enough juice (aim for 20A at least), especially with a P4.
 
S

SilentZero

Diamond Member
Apr 8, 2003
5,158
0
76
quality > quantity anyday! Id go with a Enermax 460 or the like. Great PSU and easy on the budget.
 
0roo0roo

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
84
91
wtf are u running that requires that much power. i use a xp 1800@ 2.4ghz 1.85v 4 7200rpm hd's+2opticals, full pci slots with stuff, 5 case fans etc on a lousy antec 350watt sl series
 
M

Monoman

Platinum Member
Mar 4, 2001
2,163
0
76
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
wtf are u running that requires that much power. i use a xp 1800@ 2.4ghz 1.85v 4 7200rpm hd's, full pci slots with stuff, 5 case fans etc on a lousy antec 350watt sl series
Click to expand...

well, My dual MP board with 2x 15k scsi drives killed an ENERMAX 350watt. I had to move to a 460watt PSU.
 
T

Tom61

Senior member
Aug 16, 2000
200
0
0
One more vote for quality.

My main system lost it's video card and DVD drive when the cheap power supply I was using blew. :(
 
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Baldy18

Diamond Member
Oct 30, 2000
5,038
0
0
dual Athlon 1800+, 2 HDD, 2 optical drives, 6 case fans (not counting heatsink fans), couple of PCI cards, and a floppy drive, all on an Enermax 330W and running strong for 1.5 years now.

Go with the quality one. Cheap ones come DOA a lot or break in the first few weeks/months.
 
B

billyjak

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,869
1
81
Quality. I use only PC Power and Cooling Power Supplies since 3 years ago and never had a problem yet.
My oc/s are also higher with a regulated steady stream of current with line conditioning.
Don't skimp on the most important part that gets overlooked many atime.
80% of all problems are attributed to a poor power supply.
 
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n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
1
0
I don't understand why people skimp with generic crap parts when it comes to power supply and memory. Especially when they pick up the latest and greatest motherboard and processors. :confused:
 
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hoppa

Senior member
Apr 10, 2004
253
0
0
im running athlon 3000+, radeon 9800 pro, 2 HDs, audigy 2, gig of ram all w/ 300W, and its stable as a rock
that 550w is probably the same one alienware tries to sell to you for $300
 
X

xerocool

Senior member
May 26, 2003
497
0
0
whoah, what ps are you using? and how much did you get it for?

btw, i know to check the voltage rails first cuz that's more important than the number they label their ps with; however, i'm just wondering if they really could exaggerate a ps that much (like i said, a 550W generic has to be running around 300 no?)

and i'm running:

P4 3.06b HT
4x 7.2k 8MB HDD's (20, 160, 160, 200)
2x Opticals (CDRW, DVD)
Radeon 9700 Pro
10 case fans (mostly 80mm, but also have an HDD fan and system exhaust blower)
2x 5 port USB PCI hubs (all PCI slots are full)
and of course 1x 3.5" floppy drive :p

it's not that i think i'm overusing my antec 350W, it's just my comp for some reason randomly freezes every time i play a 3D game.

also, if anyone has any good suggestions for a good QUALITY ps that's also cheap like <$50, i'd like to hear what it is and where you got it from.

thanks!
 
3

3LEMENT0

Senior member
May 8, 2004
221
0
0
Quality...I have an 300W PS brand is Addtronics (I think it's also antec) and has been working for 4 years. Good luck
 
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