PSU. What's good? + General Questions.

[aceO07]

I'm researching a getting a good PSU. I'm considering building a new system. P4 1.6A, CDRW, DVD, 2 harddrives. Nothing major, but will overclock.

What's a good power supply? I remember hearing that Sparkle was good. Or Enermax?

What's the difference between the different ATX specs? 12V, Rev 2.01, Rev 2.03. How do I know which one to get for the motherboard.

 

[jcmkk]

Antec is really good. Enermax is also good. PC Power and Cooling is the best. I'd go with Antec, unless you have the money for the PC Power and Cooling. Basically, just make sure it says P4 Compliant. Go with at least 300w.

 

[aceO07]

I'm thinking of getting an Asus P4B533 motherboard, it has

20 pin ATX Power connector
4 pin ATX 12V Power connector

Does that mean I can use either connectors? Which one will be the future? I suppose that I'll have to get a ATX 12V power supply to use the 4pin connector..?

 

[Ionizer86]

ATX PSUs have both the 20 pin connector and the 4 pin connector. You have to plug both in on a P4 board simultaneously to provide the power. On AMD boards, all you have is the 20 pin connector (with a few exceptions where the 4 pin connector gives the fan headers more stable power).

For a good PSU, make sure you have enough wattage and check combined wattage too (3.3 + 5v wattage). You should have at least 170W combined on a 300W PSU.

 

[aceO07]

Thanks for the information. What's the difference between the different ATX forms? 12V, Rev 2.01, and Rev 2.03? How do I know which one a motherboard needs?