power supplies

[auggybendoggy]

Ok Im about to purchase a 22$ 550 watt powersupply

 

says its ultra quiet and for 14.00 can add second fan.

 

is this good or bad.

 

On the pic it says extremo? I've never heard of em.

 

Also is dual fan just a waste of money or should I get dual fan?

 

Auggy

[All Kill3r]

i would get dual fan. i would also get a name brand psu.

[auggybendoggy]

killer whats the bad in a no-name brand?

[wilco]

First what are you going to be running with the PSU

 

Second what are the volts..

[flux]

wow awesome sig. bad avatar.

[auggybendoggy]

it doesnt say what the volts are just its p4 and amd ready

heres from the web site

550 Watts maximum output

Exclusive DC connector for Pentium-4 CPU

Ball Bearing fan for extra silent cooling!

Noise killing technology!

Built-in voltage overload protection

Voltage switch for 115/230V AC input

AC inlet, & On/Off switch

Support Intel "Pentium-4" and AMD "Athlon XP"

Complies with ATX 2.03 and ATX 12V 1.1

Certified by UL, CB, CE, TUV, & FCC

Protection circuits for over current and over temperature.

 

the overall price is just 14.99 but when you add a few goodies

its about 22.

 

what kind of voltage should I look for?

also i'll be upgrading soon to a p4e (prescott) 3.0 ghz 800 mhz bus

 

im goint from a 1.6 p4 north 533 bus

 

I hope to see some diff in video rendering

[All Kill3r]

the overall price is just 14.99

 

GL. Does it not stirke you a bit funny that this PSU is atleast 50 bucks cheaper then the competition. It may work without a hitch for you for years, i just dont trust things that look to good to be true. You know how that saying goes.

[auggybendoggy]

i know killer thats why i dont just buy it.

 

but is there some spec I should know about like voltage or anything else. could it blow up my motherboard? stuff like that

 

auggy

[All Kill3r]

actually yea it could "blow" it up

 

Check out some name brand Psu's. Say like 420w-500w unless theres a reason you need 550w. With the launch of Nvidia's new 6800U, they recommend a 480w psu so thats what i bought and should get it today. If you dont ever plan to get this video card stay with a name brand 400-480wattter.

 

Good brands:

 

Antec

Fortron

Thermaltake

Enermax

Allied

 

Stay away from:

 

Powmax

Aspire

Codegen

Generic

Coolmax

 

Lots more brands out there too.

 

This is my opinion of course but it is a pretty well informed one. I read a lot of reviews and customer feedback and generally the psu's in my "stay away from" list a) dont work for long have unstable voltages c) cant put out the power they advertise d) dont work when it arrives, or are just cheaply assembled hardware.

Edited April 16, 2004 by All Kill3r

[appalachian_fox]

To echo above, power supply voltages are pretty darn important in some applications -- Computers happen to be one of them. Solid state components work within a window of voltages and currents. To little, and you can't drive the gates. Too much, and you overload the gates, potentially burning them into a state.

 

I've never heard of a computer power supply burning solid state PC components up (in home PCs...I know experimenters who HAVE blown up logic chips, and frequently), but I HAVE heard of frequent resets under stress. Watts are watts, but there's a difference between peak capability and average sustainable (like CD-ROMs...). Furthermore, the voltage does not have to drop below the solid-state trigger voltage (which is very low) to cause problems. If the power supply is "dirty" (very responsive to changes in line voltage, i.e. not well regulated, or allows AC components on a DC line) you may find that, even though the gates are driving (the computer is running) you may have to bump up your VDIMM and processor voltage because the power supply's voltage range will vary widely. In essence, you are overpowering your components during normal operation to provide for the insufficiences that occur every so often. Not a good insurance policy.

 

However, I have heard of non name-brand components going a long way and doing a great job the whole time. And remember, every name-brand component had to start somewhere. The bottom line is, if you feel comfortable with the product, it's your call.

Edited April 16, 2004 by appalachian_fox

[[Mmmm]Homer]

All Killer posted a good list there of the good ones and questionable ones.

 

Another useful thing you can do if you are at a computer store is to pick up a cheapie PSU and a better one. The weight of the cheapies is nothing compared to the quality ones. Heavier internals - capacitors, heatsinks, etc. - make a quality PSU. This isn't specific, but when you've dealt with a few cheapies and had problems you realize fast that they weigh half to a third of good ones.

[appalachian_fox]

Good point, Homey. Buy better components => Get better stability.

[dwEEziL]

Another great PS brand is PC Power and Cooling, but they are usually quite a bit more in price.

 

Auggy, you got a link to this PS? Usually, one of the pictures for a PS will show the information sticker that is on it which should have the voltages and rail distribution.