Have no idea what to look for in a PSU

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by Pmaw10, Mar 17, 2006.

  1. Pmaw10

    Pmaw10 Newbie

    I have a low wattage psu which will not work with any video card I want to buy. How do I know if a psu will work with my pc? I have no clue what kind of psu I have, like what connectors. Does that matter? What does ATX mean? Any help I appreciate, thanks.
     
  2. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    Yea, you have to go look at it. Take the side panel off and look at how many watts your powersupply is.
     
  3. Pmaw10

    Pmaw10 Newbie

  4. llstuber

    llstuber Newbie

    re: power supply

    Hi. It's obvious that your computer is fairly old. Wherever you are planning to buy your replacement from PSU from should be able to tell you what will work in it. You are going to need at the bare minimum a 250 watt and should get a 350, if it will fit your computer. I know money is always an issue when buying these things but you can get decent PSU fairly cheap. If you live in USA or Canada, a good place on-line for all things computer is www.ncix.com. You can get PSU's AND a new case for under $50.00 Canadian.
    ATX is explained by Webopedia (on-line encyclopidia) as this: "The modern-day shape and layout of PC motherboards. It improves on the previous standard, the Baby AT form factor, by rotating the orientation of the board 90 degrees. This allows for a more efficient design, with disk drive cable connectors nearer to the drive bays and the CPU closer to the power supply and cooling fan."
    It just makes working on a m/b easier. You asle need to be concerned if the m/b will handle any new additions as none of the new parts out there now will work on older (more than 5 years old) computers. Hope this helps.
     
  5. Papercut

    Papercut Newbie

    I might stop you there...the PSUs that come with cheap cases are usually terrible - they are unlikely to even come close to their rated outputs, may generate excessive heat and noise, and may even die and take some components with it. Of course it's a generalisation and some cheap PSUs may work without problems, but it's better not to take the risk.
    With the amount of power that graphics cards (and CPUs) draw these days, it's better to spend a bit more for a PSU that you know is capable of doing the job well :thumb:
     
  6. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    A good PSU generally costs more than most PSU + Case combos! :mrgreen:
     
  7. Pmaw10

    Pmaw10 Newbie

    The main connector on my psu is 20 pin. If it says the psu is 24/20-pin will that work with my mobo?
     
  8. llstuber

    llstuber Newbie

    Connector

    Yes, it will. What that means is that it comes with a seperate 4 pin connector attached to the side of the normal 20 pin connector. Some motherboards require a 24 pin connector to power them and that is why they make the PSU's that way.
     
  9. llstuber

    llstuber Newbie

    Re PSU's

    Yes, Papercut & Chai. You are correct in what you both say about the PSU's and I agree with you both. I was only making reference to the cheaper ones as most people that are just learning and buying a computer for the first time, these type of units generally work well for their needs, especially if there are no cards added to the M/B. I have yet to have a PSU crap out on any of the systems I have put them in. However, if I am building a system for someone who is upgrading computers or if they know what they will be using the system for and want video or sound cards, etc., installed, I always, ALWAYS use a better PSU on those systems (I would really hate to have to replace a PSU 6 months later or so).
     
  10. Papercut

    Papercut Newbie

    No worries, it's just that Pmaw10 is looking at upgrading to some pretty high-end gear if you look at his other threads :thumb:
     
  11. Kweli

    Kweli Newbie

    Dont want to highjack the thread..but i have the same thing going...

    Its a brand new machine...on the PSU it says 310watts MAX

    Im looking to buy a 7600GT Video card, which minimum is 350watts


    Might be a stupid question, but do i really need to upgrade my powersupply?
     
  12. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Preferably.
     
  13. ALstonLoong

    ALstonLoong Newbie


    well a full system spec would be grateful .
     
  14. Stephenishere

    Stephenishere Newbie

    One tip when looking to buy a psu is try to get ones with dual 12v
    These will support more hardware and seem to be a little bit more stable.

    When looking at PSU if you look at the rails, or the things like heres the one i got, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817171001

    Now at the bottom it says this
    Output +3.3V@30A, +5V@35A, +12V1@18A, +12V2@16A, [email protected], [email protected]

    Now those two that are in bold are the 12 volts. I would say try to aim for anything above 20, that should be able to power some pretty heavie gear, now not up to some sli but should do the job quiet well. Heres a good cheap psu also,
    1-(40) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817148027

    2-(30 but this one isnt 20 one 12v but still a good psu) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153023


    Hope that helps some :/
     
  15. Papercut

    Papercut Newbie

    Personally I would never recommend Aspire or Thermaltake PSUs, especially the former. Heard way too many bad things about them.
     
  16. Stephenishere

    Stephenishere Newbie


    Ah ive heard some good stuff from friends but personally havent ever tested one of them, they seemed like good power/ price.

    I really really like my cool master though :)

    If you really want to get some thing nice get one of those ones you can disconnect unused cords :) might be worth the extra money.
     
  17. aKho

    aKho beat around the bush

    Acbel is not a bad brand..i'm using one. :whistle:
     
  18. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    No such thing as cheap and good. :p
     
  19. Papercut

    Papercut Newbie

    Yeah. There are a couple of exceptions though...TTGI/Superflower make pretty good PSUs which are priced at the cheap end of the scale.
     
  20. ZuePhok

    ZuePhok Just Started

    acbel is a great brand.

    they manufacture Cooler Master PSU :thumb:
     

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