In need of a good inexpensive PSU

CDsDontBurn · Oct 3, 2008, 05:13 PM

yes, i know that the words "good," "inexpensive," and "PSU" don't all go well together in the same sentence.

what this is for is my mom's PC i'm putting together for her. It's not going to have anything special. she basically uses the PC for web surfing and checking email.

celeron 420
2GB Kingston DDR2 533
MSI P6NGM (NVIDIA MCP73 chipset)
x300 ATI card - *may not be installed due to NVIDIA chipest board to avoid driver conflicts and all.
and other basic hardware like 1x HDD and 1x optical

presuming that i do go ahead and install the video card, what would be the best bang for the buck kind of PSU for this type of machine? I was thinking that perhaps this Antec PSU would do her fine, but i'm still open to other suggestions as well

Judas · Oct 3, 2008, 05:34 PM

i still stand by my coolermaster psu's i've been getting.... they are dirt cheap depending on the wattage.. obviously for that machine probably no less then 300-350 watt

**kris23** · Oct 3, 2008, 07:51 PM

id get an OEM Seasonic....

Newegg.com - SeaSonic SS-300ET 300W ATX12V Ver.2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply with power cord - Power Supplies

CDsDontBurn · Oct 3, 2008, 08:46 PM

hmm....it seems that the Antec PSU i chose is just a hyped up 300w PSU, lol. except that my chosen antec has a 6pin PCI-E power plug. a necessary item?

mkk · Oct 3, 2008, 09:55 PM

That Seasonic above is a great deal. 80PLUS efficiency rated and most likely silent running. I was leaning towards any semi-crappy PSU being enough for that type of system, but when you can get a quality part for $41 there's not much to think about. A PCIe power plug is unimportant for that system and a simple adapter could be used for a future mid range card, if ever necessary.

CDsDontBurn · Oct 3, 2008, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkk

That Seasonic above is a great deal. 80PLUS efficiency rated and most likely silent running. I was leaning towards any semi-crappy PSU being enough for that type of system, but when you can get a quality part for $41 there's not much to think about. A PCIe power plug is unimportant for that system and a simple adapter could be used for a future mid range card, if ever necessary.

hmm, those are all valid points! I will probably be buying this along with a 16GB flash drive next week

wiskerbizkit · Oct 3, 2008, 10:13 PM

ZUMAX 400W ATX 20+4 Pin/(Slide-in Connector) Power Supply

we use these at work and charge $31 they are awesome and i haven't had one fail yet. 29 amps on the 12v too.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Oct 7, 2008, 11:26 AM

I just got a Coolermaster 500W PSU for $45 the other day

Canada Computers - Power Supplies/Management > Desktop Power Supplies : Cooler Master Extreme Power 500W RP-500-PCAR Power Supply.

It was $4 more than the 460W so I figured what the heck. Bought it for a friend's system, works perfectly. Quiet and 500W? Can't go wrong.

Judas · Oct 7, 2008, 03:01 PM

that's the same psu i've been getting for most of my builds... they have proven to be ROCK SOLID and only 1 out of 40 or so have failed.... and that was pretty much emediately... so a good failure rate so far...

**Mousey** · Oct 7, 2008, 05:03 PM

I dunno how much my PSU was but it would have been what, $116 ish?
So far it's been really good, cables are nice and long, fully sleeved, every connector you could want. (Sata, PCI-E, 4 & 8 pin cpu power, SATA x god knows how many, 20+4 pin ATX and a CRAP LOAD of Molex connectors)

CDsDontBurn · Oct 7, 2008, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

that's the same psu i've been getting for most of my builds... they have proven to be ROCK SOLID and only 1 out of 40 or so have failed.... and that was pretty much emediately... so a good failure rate so far...

speaking of PSUs dying, a client of mine called me up yesterday wondering why his computer wouldn't turn on. using my PSU tester, i checked his PSU and as soon as i hit the power switch, i saw sparks flying in all over the inside of the PSU through the ventilation holes!

.

the part that freaked me out the most, was that i had the PSU sitting in my lap when i hit the PSU switch to the ON position!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mousey

I dunno how much my PSU was but it would have been what, $116 ish?
So far it's been really good, cables are nice and long, fully sleeved, every connector you could want. (Sata, PCI-E, 4 & 8 pin cpu power, SATA x god knows how many, 20+4 pin ATX and a CRAP LOAD of Molex connectors)

really? that's an awesome PSU! thanks for the name and link!!!

YnHDaRkMaN · Oct 7, 2008, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

I was thinking that perhaps this Antec PSU would do her fine, but i'm still open to other suggestions as well

hey! that's the same PSU i'm using right now lol
as one of the customers said on Newegg, it is kinda loud sometimes, but it can handle my system pretty well (see my specs), absolutely no problems since i got it (turning 1 year-old on November)

Judas · Oct 7, 2008, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

speaking of PSUs dying, a client of mine called me up yesterday wondering why his computer wouldn't turn on. using my PSU tester, i checked his PSU and as soon as i hit the power switch, i saw sparks flying in all over the inside of the PSU through the ventilation holes!

.

the part that freaked me out the most, was that i had the PSU sitting in my lap when i hit the PSU switch to the ON position!

Yeah, generally you want to be grouned.... you liven on the edge there buddy lol.

Quote:

really? that's an awesome PSU! thanks for the name and link!!!

CUT, love it, sarcasm was great.... lets try that again though with more enthusiasm