What PSU should I buy?

[nofx]

I noticed on theese forums there's alot of thread on building computers but not really a thread on what kind of PSU you need. PSU is the most important part of the computer because if it fails it can take the mobo, cpu, and video with it. Sooo Im building a machine and I need a PSU I dont really want to go over +200 - +100 watts of what I need.

Heres my specifications:
AMD64 3000+
8 Fans (6 Antec) 80mm
1GIG Corsair Value Select RAM
Sapphire 9800 Pro
Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA HD
NEC DVDRW
SONY FLOPPY
I still havent decided on a mobo yet but will most likely use this one:
ASUS K8N-E Deluxe
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=240411

Right now I have a 350watt Fortron in my cart..

 

[bosox188]

Well you have to be careful about the bad ones claiming to be 500 watts or something but they're actually unreliable and worse than a good 200 watt psu. Antec makes great psu's, go to antec.com. I'm not too much of an expert on how much power you need, but seeing as you have a 9800 pro and athlon 64 they probably need some good power. I'd recommend 400 watts, 350 at the least.

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Get an antec 400-500W psu.

 

[nofx]

Wow I didnt realize they released the k8n-e lower than they had it wwowowowo. Thanks

 

[blahblahblah]

Forton is a good name. As is Antec or Thermaltake.

As for wattage, I would recommend at least 400 Watts. You always want to be safe than sorry. Especially with your power supply.

As for your system, if you have a extra $150, I would recommend getting the Athlon 64 2800+ and an ATI X800Pro or Geforce 6800 GT.

 

[nofx]

Thanks, But I rather get the 9800 because hl2 will be only one of the games I play on my comp. Next to doom 3 and maybe farcry

 

[blackeye]

Some people dont linke vantec but I havent had anything bad happen when using their PSU's. I got a vantec stealth 520 PSU. Its overkill but I got it for 15% off so I didnt complain. My computer never shuts down ramdomly or anything and the PSU has a peak output of 620 watts if its running cold enough.
Here is a review.
You got to be carefull when buying a PSU though. I would never recommend getting a PSU without a fan. The more watts you have the hotter your PSU is going to get. Some companies are coming out with fanless PSU but I personally would never get one.

Any PSU you buy should run with an input voltage of 120V AC at either 50/60Hz. (Higher end units can also run on 240V AC but you really only need 120 V AC if you live in the united states or canada)

Another thing you should know is that the hotter your power supply gets the less watts its going to send out to your components. Some manufactures may state that they are capable of 480 watts. But what you have to be careful of is that the 480 watts output may only be at 20'c. Mosts PSU's runs at around 38'c so you have to calculate that in.

Make sure you get a power supply with ball bearing fans so that none of them seize up and your PSU will overheat. Ball bearing fans have a much longer life time also.

If your not buying your PSU off a place like newegg you can usually tell the quality of a PSU buy seeing how heavy it is. This is one of the reasons I picked the one I did. (you should proably read some online reviews befor you resort to going to the store to see what the heaviest PSU is though)

If you have the money PC Power and cooling is the best PSU maker there is. But antec and enermax also make good PSU's. Neither of these companies lie about their output at 38'c so you wont have to worry about that. Some people like vantec some people dont so I will let you decide on that one. OCZ is also starting to make power supplies but I have no idea on the quality of theirs.

This is probably one of the most innovative PSU's I have ever seen but I would have to read some more reviews befor I ever recommend it.

Anyway hope that helped because im going to sleep now.

 

[ailevation]

:naughty: I would go for a 430 Antec power suppy, I think they are sold for under $100 buck.

 

[oD1Nz]

Emermax makes nice PSUs - they have dual 12v Rails and independant connectors for video cards.

I've put 3 in various machines (for clients etc.) and they've had no issues with them, which is all good.

 

[nofx]

Thanks alot.
I will begin m search

 

[Warbie]

Get the most powerful, quality psu you can afford. It'll save you money in the long run - go cheap and you'll have to buy a new psu everytime you upgrade.

I got an antec 480, which is pretty neat

 

[gulo]

I got antec 350 W now, with blue light
But I am thinking about getting bigger one, because I am about to upgrade to x800 pro and I am not sure if 350 will be enough

 

[nofx]

Ya gulo I would recommend to upgrade to atleast a 500w, just to be safe. The 6800U GT requires 480w. =/ technology technology

 

[blackeye]

Many people were able to run their 6800's without a 480 watt power supply but its better to be safe then sorry. If you dont have the money you shouldnt worry to much because some people claim to have run 6800's on a 350 watt power supply. Ultimately it depends on your hardware configuration. (how many hard drives and optical drives you have and what type of cpu you are using)

 

[bosox188]

Gulo how many other things do you have running (hard drives, cd drives, etc) because unless you have a lot of extra stuff using up the power I think you'll be fine with a 350w psu. My friend just got a dell 4600 and got an X800 pro and it runs fine, and he should have about a 300w psu I think. I looked at the X800 box and on it a 300w psu is recommended.