The power supply on my computer broke and I need a new one. I know it needs to be ATX and at least 300 watts, is there anything else I need to know about it before I buy one or are those 2 criteria the only ones needed when buying a power supply.
Spend at least $30. That’s about how much it costs these days to build and sell a power supply that has an acceptibly small risk of spontanious combustion. Antec is probably one of the more popular, trusted names.
-lv
You might want to check how loud or quiet it is based on user reviews. I used to have a PS that sounded like an airplane taking off - very irritating.
Who makes quiet ones.
Buy one online; power supplies sold at retail stores are a huge rip. Newegg (newegg.com) has become a very, very popular merchant for us tech geeks. But yes, buy an Antec, or a Sparkle, or a Thermaltake, or Inwin. Noise can be a big annoyance, as someone mentioned. I’d also recommend 350W with modern PCs.
Just for drill, you might want to check that the new power supply has as many or more power connectors compared to the old one.
If it’s a Pentium 4, you’ll need to get an ATX12V power supply. (Which also works just fine with normal ATX motherboards.)
I’d second the recommendation for a minimum of 350 Watts, and also second the recommendation to purchase from NewEgg.
I would make sure that the power supply is UL certified.
Are Antec, Sparkle, Thermaltake & Inwin the best companies for good, low sound power supplies? My last supply was loud as hell and it got annoying. And it broke obviously.
I think I may only need 300W since I have a 1.2Ghz athlon but if 350W is available I may get that instead.
Check your CPU, motherboard, RAM, graphics card, CD-ROM, and hard drive models to make sure none of them draws abnormal amounts of power. Look up the tech specs on each, find out what the maximum draw for all of your components should be. Drives with motors and moving parts, CPUs, and GPUs will be the major drivers for this figure. Sum these and add 10% margin or so (or do your homework well, sum all the parts, and skip the margin), and then look for the smallest size PSU with reasonable silence that can accomodate that power. I can usually spec out a full system’s power requirements in an hour, having done it a few times.
Once you know your power requirement, look at End PC Noise for a list of quiet power supplies of that size, then comparison shop for the make and model you desire at NewEgg, Pricewatch, or another reputable vendor. I’ve done this several times and four years later the oldest of the PSUs I purchased is still running wonderfully.
Some motherboards or CPUs may also be sensitive to the amount of current they require on certain “rails” – for example, I bought an Antec for one system because it was the quietest big-name brand that delivered enough current (amps) on the +12V rail. You can see, for example, that this supply can deliver 24A of current on the 12V rail (maximum), or 35A on the +5V rail, which is usually enough; some low-end supplies will only deliver 10A on the +12V rail, which may not cut the mustard for some CPUs.
Ugh - apparently EndPCNoise has sold out to Nexus and is only selling $70 power supplies made by that company. Antec and Thermaltake should make PSUs that are just as good and almost as quiet.
Right now you can get a Thermaltake 420 Watt Power Supply for $41. This will provide ample power for any normal system, plus offer plenty of head room for any expansion. The 360 Watt Thermaltake is $37. Or go with an Antec, Sparkle or Irwin power supply in the same range.
I’ve had good results with Antec’s “TruePower 380” PS - it’s not terribly loud at all. If you want even less noise, have a look at PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer supplies.
If you’re not running a super-fast (and power-hungry) video card or RAID disk array, Antec makes a 350 watt PS they call Phantom - it’s dead silent with no fans, and sells for about $150. This would be a very good choice for a home entertainment PC that’s in a living room where you don’t want that endless whir.
At the moment, the Antec 380 can be had for about $70, and PCP&P’s 360 watt is $65, their 410-watt is $85.
Oh, it’s been said coutless times here, but it bears repeating and beating into everyone’s heads: Cheap power supplies will only give you endless grief as you’ll be chasing phantom memory errors, crashes and other odd behaviors.
To save money what if I reconnected the wiring on my old power supply to an old car alternator and hooked that up to my exercise bike. That way i’d save about $10 and i’d have to work for my computer’s power supply.
No good, too much jitter on the DC lines.
-lv
