which power supply should i buy

[clidx]

following jcarle's advice on getting a new power supply, which psu should i get? this is probably my worst area of computing as i've never touched the power supply in my life, it was installed by a "professional" (who obviously went for price rather than reliability)

as jcarle recommended, the corsair hx 520W looks good but a bit out of my price range (i'm hoping to get a graphics card as well)

any other fairly cheap, but reliable than my one that may explode at any second?

thanks

[SmaugyGrrr]

(Links and info below shamelessly ripped from a post on another forum by a user named Bbq.of.DooM)

High end gaming PCs

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103

High efficiency, <$150 psu’s

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1460

Enhance ENP-5150GH [This works with pretty much anything up to and including a high end Core2duo with an 8800GTX]

Silverstone Olympia 650/750/850 [Perfect for your high end rig]

Corsair HX 520 / 620 [Modular, quiet, and always on rebate.]

Seasonic S12 430/500 [Low-mid end rig]

Seasonic S12-EP 550/650 [High end]

Seasonic M12 [High end, modular]

Zippy (all of them) [Got noise?]

PCP&C Turbo-Cool [i hope you have money]

PCP&C Silencer [These are nice seasonic-built psu’s, with a major pricetag ‘upgrade’]

And if you have a PC that draws more power than the sun, your E-Penis isn’t big enough (and you make up for it with a pc), or you want a power supply so powerful that you can run a small town, look no further. Don’t even ask about the price tag on these.

PCP&C 1KW-SR. 72a on a single 12v rail.

Silverstone Olympia 1KW. 80a on a single 12v rail.

Ultra X3-1kw. 70a on a single 12v rail.

Thermaltake Toughpower 1200w. 100a split up over 6 rails.

(again, all the above is from a post on another forum - not written by me)

[dirtwarrior]

This is a good one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817226001

[DigeratiPrime]

We really need more info on what else is going to be in the pc.

I recommend this one though, $50 shipped at EagleBit, I got one from them a couple weeks ago, shipping was slow but an excellent deal.

Seasonic S12 330W P4 Prescott & Athlon 64/64FX ATX Power Supply

http://www.eaglebit.com/Seasonic_S12_330W_...b-460-00102.htm

Its over $65 shipped from NewEgg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817151021

here is a good product review

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article596-page1.html

[weEvil]

I'd get something high efficiency. 80plus certified.

Less cooling needed for the case and lower power bills.

High efficiency ones are usually quieter if the correct fans (or no fans at all) are installed. Less heat produced in the PSU means less cooling, which means less noise.

[puntoMX]

We really need more info on what else is going to be in the pc.

I knew you didn´t see this when you posted the 330W PSU, he´s going to use a x1950pro, P4 OCed at 3.3GHz and the basic stuff and he had it running without the VGA card on a 350W PSU that had only 15A on the only 12Volt line.

The shop that has the x1950pro for a good price only has Antec and NanoPoint PSUs.

But they are sold in the UK, the 430W version for example; this one and up would do for the setup .

[ripken204]

the 520hx is a great psu, im about to get the 620hx.

if you dont wna pay that much then get a seasonic s12

Edited August 2, 2007 by ripken204

[clidx]

well i have about 5 usb devices that don't have an external supply source, 1 pci-e x16 gfx card (not yet but i will be), 1 monitor, 1 pci-e x1 tv card, 1 dc prescott intel p4 3ghz cpu, 1 dvd-rom, 1 dvd+/-rw, 1 floppy drive and that's about it

i'll look into the links you guys gave me, thanks

EDIT puntomx, that looks like a good priced psu, now i need to persuade my parents to get me one, i'm only 16.

first can i ask, what is the difference between my crap psu only having 1 12V spec (15A) but the sea sonic having 12V1 and 12V2? does it mean that it has 2 12V thingys so it basically has a total of 29A for 12V? sorry, it's just i don't get that part

Edited August 2, 2007 by clidx

[jcarle]

well i have about 5 usb devices that don't have an external supply source, 1 pci-e x16 gfx card (not yet but i will be), 1 monitor, 1 pci-e x1 tv card, 1 dc prescott intel p4 3ghz cpu, 1 dvd-rom, 1 dvd+/-rw, 1 floppy drive and that's about it

i'll look into the links you guys gave me, thanks

EDIT puntomx, that looks like a good priced psu, now i need to persuade my parents to get me one, i'm only 16.

first can i ask, what is the difference between my crap psu only having 1 12V spec (15A) but the sea sonic having 12V1 and 12V2? does it mean that it has 2 12V thingys so it basically has a total of 29A for 12V? sorry, it's just i don't get that part

Best thing to do, show your parents the picture I posted in the other thread. Tell them that a lot of people have had that happen to their power supplies and if that happens, your entire computer will get destroyed by the surge. Then, show them the Seasonic or Corsair, tell them those power supplies are SAFE and QUALITY and will prevent your computer for getting fried.

[clidx]

jcarle you are a genius. i thought that wouldn't work to convince my parents but it did!! props to you for that, and to puntomx for the seasonic and everyone else who tried to help

[puntoMX]

EDIT puntomx, that looks like a good priced psu, now i need to persuade my parents to get me one, i'm only 16.

first can i ask, what is the difference between my crap psu only having 1 12V spec (15A) but the sea sonic having 12V1 and 12V2? does it mean that it has 2 12V thingys so it basically has a total of 29A for 12V? sorry, it's just i don't get that part

To answer that question: You can´t add those 2 lines (12V1 / 12V2) together but you have to see it for example like this: CPU and mobo on 1 line and the VGA card on the other line. Pros are that the PSU will be more stable and it´s way cheaper then a PSU that will have only one 12V line of 29A.

[Zxian]

Just a note about these so-called "independent power lines" - they're usually not independent. Most manufacturers just put current limiters on the rail outputs to make the PSU conform to ATX standards, but on the inside, they're all just connected. There's an article at SPCR about that somewhere - I remember putting a LOT of load on the one 12V rail (the one for the GPU), and the other 12V rails dropped as well - go figure.