Any suggestions on what kind of power supply I should get on a limited budget.

 

I have to upgrade my power supply from 300 W to 350 W or better. My system is a dual Core system with your basic gear.

 

Any suggestions

what's your budget?

do you plan upgrading components (particually graphics?)

 

Stick to the known brands for quality - e.g; Corsair, Antec, Coolermaster

 

 

http://www.shopbot.com.au/c-111-0-0-1.html

Edited August 21, 200816 yr by Sapper28

If you can afford a 500W it would be nice so you don't have to get a new one when you next upgrade. I have one and it's about 3 years old almost and will still be in my upcoming upgrade.

Thanks Noddy and jumper

I recently picked up this guy. Good price and top quality.

 

http://www.abit.com.au/computer-system/6953_620W__Corsair__HX_620_ATX_Modular_Power.aspx

Watts are reasonably important, but these days it's mostly amperage over the 12V rails that you have to be concerned about, as well as a PSU's efficiency rating. For example you've got yumcha 600W PSUs that output only 14A on the 12V rails etc, whereas you have quality components like the corsair HX-520 or better and you're getting close to 20A required for the power-suckin graphics cards of today.

 

That being said, if it's not a high end configuration, pretty much any psu will probably do as long as it's 350W or greater

Corsair HX-520 around $120 , but really give us a budget.

 

edit: btw im bias since i own three Corsair PSUs. VX-450,HX-520 and a HX-620

Edited August 22, 200816 yr by Roy.Mustang

I am trying to get a PS for as little as possible to keep the spousal unit happy

Yeah honestly you dont need any more than 500W unless your packing some of the beastiest graphics cards on the market. 600W will chew up your power bill by the way.

The card I got only requires a 350W supply

Get a cheaperish/ high end wattage It will do. I think mines a 500, but no big name brand.. As I like the idea of replacing it cheaply if it dies

Well then, i'd go with either a Coolermaster Extreme 500W for $61 @ MSY or the Thermaltake TR2 470W for $69

QUOTE] Coolermaster Extreme 500W ,I got one of them...works great

I second HX520. Get a decent, quiet one and be done with it.

 

And a 600W PSU isn't going to be at full load, all the time. It's only going to supply the amount of power that your cards, mobo, vid card draw. So no, it's not going to use that much power over a 350W one.

I have a Corsair TX750. Any Corsair one though I'd recommend.

I second HX520. Get a decent, quiet one and be done with it.

 

And a 600W PSU isn't going to be at full load, all the time. It's only going to supply the amount of power that your cards, mobo, vid card draw. So no, it's not going to use that much power over a 350W one.

 

Exactly it's all about draw. My 1.5L engine lancer will use as much or more fuel than my 2.5L skyline if I floor the lancer all the time but drive the skyline casually.

 

If your components draw 300W, that's how much your PSU will output and thus require in draw from the outlet. The difference is that high quality PSUs will be very efficient in their outlet->component conversion so component draw will [almost] equal outlet draw... versus some PSU reviews I've seen where the differential was around 10% due to PSU inefficiencies, which by the way only get worse as PSUs age

Yeah I recommend a Coolermaster or corsair, considdering the price differences are so low between different wattages it is probably much more cost effective to get something in the 500-600W range even if you don't need that much power ATM, for the sake of future proofing.

The corsairs are supposed to be the shiz. I read a review of some Antec PSUs a few weeks ago which surprised me by concluding they are actually cruddy power supplies with poor voltage regulation. I thought Antec made decent quality stuff.