Which PSU for my 9800 Pro?

[Denis54]

I am about to order a new MSI 9800 Pro from Newegg. My PSU is a no-name 350 watts PSU. The rest of my system is up to date: P4 3.0, 512 mb 3200, WD 120 GB SATA.

Can you suggest a good quality 350 watts PSU I could get from Newegg?

Alternatively, is there any way I can use a tool like motherboard monitor to find out if my present PSU is stable enough?

 

[CraigRT]

If your system is already working as is, give it a try... if not, pick up a Sparkle PSU for little $.. they work awesome and they are not expensive.

 

[daveybrat]

The best deal going right now on a good quality power supply with more than enough power for you rig would be below:

ThermalTake 420Watt Purepower

$39.99 and free shipping!!

 

[reallyscrued]

i know a few people who dont trust thermaltakes. this is what i ordered for my rig:

Aspire 520 Watt

Here ya go!

well u mite wanna do some research before ordering that. there is an adjustable fan knob in the back (fit fine in my case, a super lanboy, but some cases u need to hack some metal to get the knob to fit.) next, its HUGE. i have very little space between my PSU and my Optical Drive. i was gonna make a top blowhole but i cant get more than 4 cms of space between the two. Upsides: it lights up, (lights vary how much u turn the knob up, but doesnt light much) has three fans, and all wires are green UV sleeved.

one word of caution, the rails are kinda prone to fluctuatoins on my system. either my 12v is 11.8 or my 5v is 4.8.

Finally, u can tell the quality of a psu by its weight....that aspire weighs 4 and 1/2 pounds....i couldnt believe it. i will soon open it up to make sure they didnt add weights to try and fool me.

 

[Gamingphreek]

DOnt get either of those. Neither can even touch an Antec powersupply. Definately get an Antec 350Watt, or an Enermax.

Thermaltake is horrible! They have gone for flashiness and appearance over quality and quietness. Aspire, dont even go there, probably strains a lot under load.

Definately get the Antec or the Enermax. Even a Foxconn allied PSU would be better than those (they used ot make good ones but the recent PSUs aren't as good as the old ones).

-Kevin

 

[CraigRT]

Don't forget Sparkle (SPI) !
for like $30, you can get a 300W which can handle pretty much everything without a problem.

 

[reallyscrued]

i didnt feel like spending more than 60 bucks for a PSU, antecs seem like the ferraris of PSU's, why spend 150 grand when u can buy a civic for 10 and soup it up for 20? As a rule power supplies are rock bottom 60% efficient.

my aspire is 520 watts * .6 = 312 watts. (thats rock bottom mind you, probably never gets there)

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-907&depa=0

that antec costs the same as my aspire and its rated 380 watts with =>68 % efficiency. lets just say 70% for a rounded number.

thats 380 * .7 which is 266.....i rest my case. To match my power supply, it has to be 80 percent efficient. if someone can prove it can perform that well, i will back down. i bet u though that the aspire can keep up 75% which is 390 watts, even more than that 100% efficent antec...

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: reallyscrued
i didnt feel like spending more than 60 bucks for a PSU, antecs seem like the ferraris of PSU's, why spend 150 grand when u can buy a civic for 10 and soup it up for 20? As a rule power supplies are rock bottom 60% efficient.

my aspire is 520 watts * .6 = 312 watts. (thats rock bottom mind you, probably never gets there)

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-907&depa=0

that antec costs the same as my aspire and its rated 380 watts with =>68 % efficiency. lets just say 70% for a rounded number.

thats 380 * .7 which is 266.....i rest my case. To match my power supply, it has to be 80 percent efficient. if someone can prove it can perform that well, i will back down. i bet u though that the aspire can keep up 75% which is 390 watts, even more than that 100% efficent antec...

Antecs really aren't the top o the line PSU's anymore. Enermax and OCZ are duking it out right now, right now OCZ is still new but the PSUs are incredible.

I would get he Antec anyways, even for the price asked for it. You pay for the quality. How many times have you heard a bad review on an Antec PSU or how many times have you heard an Antec PSU frying components, not many... now, how many times have you heard of Aspire PSU's not many, aspire is more well known for makign generic cases.

-Kevin

 

[reallyscrued]

the one i picked was a top of the line aspire. even this company is not stupid enough to make their best PSU a crock.

 

[DragonFire]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
DOnt get either of those. Neither can even touch an Antec powersupply. Definately get an Antec 350Watt, or an Enermax.

Thermaltake is horrible! They have gone for flashiness and appearance over quality and quietness. Aspire, dont even go there, probably strains a lot under load.

Definately get the Antec or the Enermax. Even a Foxconn allied PSU would be better than those (they used ot make good ones but the recent PSUs aren't as good as the old ones).

-Kevin

You know I havnt had any trouble with my ThermalTake PurePower 420Watt. All my rails are 110% stable, I have yet to see my 5V rail read anything other then 5.15 and the lowest Iv seen my 3.3 rail was 3.38.

Antec? Hmmmm....I had a 430 Truepower for all of 3 days before it blewup. I have read more stories of Antec psu blowing up within 1-12 months then anyother company.....

 

[PrayForDeath]

My generic 350W PSU ran my "Pro" perfectly before I got a new one. So you might not need to get a new PSU, And I had my CPU overclocked and my video card at stock, but you might need a more powerfull PSU if you're gonna overclock your video card.
I say, don't rush and pay 60$ before you make sure your current PSU isn't enough.

 

[reallyscrued]

......duh

 

[xboxist]

I went a whole year with my Dell PSU (250W) with my 9800 Pro. In fact, I've just upgraded to a 6800 GT and the PSU even handles that just fine.