inexpensive PSU recommendations?

Status
Not open for further replies.

f50

Solid State Member
Messages
14
I'm planning on making some big upgrades in a while, and to be safe on the power i'm looking at buying a 500W or higher PSU.
On Xpcases.com, there's some really sweet looking psu's (i'll have a side window, so they'll be visible), and they're low in price, too.

I'm specifically looking at Aspire and Achieve power supplies from that site. Anybody know of them?

I know i'll just be getting a bunch of recommendations to buy Antec supplies, but the cheapest I've found the 550w model is $95 with $15 shipping, and as a college kid i don't wanna shell out that much money if i don't have to.
 
yea, i know about pricewatch & those sites, it's just that those sites usually don't have a rewiew for a power supply.
i'd be more than happy to buy a $20 power supply, but i want to make sure it's going to be reliable. that's why i asked for recommendations of brand or any info on the ones i listed above.
 
Do Ya really wanta go cheap on a PSU?? Probably the most important component. Antec's got a great rep and 100 bucks for a 550 watt is a great price. What's the box going to be used for? It makes a difference, Maybe ya could skimp somewhere else? If it's not a gamer or loaded up why all the watts?:confused:
 
check www.tomshardware.com 's articles for their reviews of PSUs
they'll show that the power source can cause as many problems as almost any other part of your computer. it's not a good thing to skimp on....
 
btx launch is coming out soon, if i were you i wouldnt waste money on hard drives inless its serial ata, or PS.

New btx cases cant hold the old PS's
 
kboy said:
Do Ya really wanta go cheap on a PSU?? Probably the most important component. Antec's got a great rep and 100 bucks for a 550 watt is a great price. What's the box going to be used for? It makes a difference, Maybe ya could skimp somewhere else? If it's not a gamer or loaded up why all the watts?:confused:

I probly will end up buying an Antec when i do the upgrades, I was just hoping some of these up-coming companies had quality products as well. That is known to happen from time to time.

Anyways, the PC is gonna be used for gaming, movies, 3D modelling/rendering, etc..., so there'll probly be a bit of power consumption going on. The reason I'm going for 500+ watts is just to be on the safe side, I've heard by many that it's best to have some "padding" so you don't run the PSU at it's max output all the time.
Also, I'm not planning on overclocking my CPU or GFX card (maybe a little on GFX to see what sorta benches, but not for gaming), so those kinds of concerns don't really matter to me. I just want a supply with enough power to do what stock parts will want, and do it without dying.

spfd said:

btx launch is coming out soon, if i were you i wouldnt waste money on hard drives inless its serial ata, or PS.

New btx cases cant hold the old PS's

I just went and read the article about that on AnandTech, and I'm not so sure I'll be making the move to BTX right away, will probly wait a couple years. I'm looking to make upgrades this spring or later, when prices of today's top-notch stuff is dropping more.
I won't be buying Harddrives, and i don't know where you came with that advice:confused:, but thanks for it anyways.

*oh, just checked the andandtech thing again, and current PSU's will fit in the tower BTX cases, just not the MicroBTX and PicoBTX (which i wouldn't want anyways).*

In case anybody is wondering, I'm planning on getting something like this for my upgrades:

Athlon64 or Pentium4 (w/ 800MHz FSB)
-not sure which yet, they seem about even for gaming, and each
have their own strong suits in other apps.
Radeon 9800pro
-unless the next gen of cards can beat it at a lower price
Motherboard for corresponding processor that supports Dual Channel DDR.
various other bits & pieces that aren't really in line for biggest power usage.

Current things that I'm probly keeping long term:
DVD Rom
CDRW drive
2 HDD's

thanks for all the tips so far, though.
i just really really wish that hardware sites would review the budget psu's as well for those of us without lots of funds or need for a good O/C'ing system.
 
the best place to read about reviews for power supply are at newegg.com. find your product and select customer reviews button.

i don't trust some of those antec power supplies, just read some of the reviews about it on newegg.

and do you really need 500watts? if you're a college kid do some homework on which one to get. 400 watt is probably enough unless you have a bazillion devices hooked up.

for your information f50 - games, 3D modeling & animation, and movies don't require 500watt monsters. i should know, i just built a machine to do exactly that this week... plus to burn a lot of movies and run a server on it :eek:
 
I agree on the Antec. I bought a newegg Antec Power supply and it died 2 weeks later. Very quiet though.

I replaced it with a generic 'white box' 500 wat power supply that was at computerstop.com (the actual store irl). The thing is extremely reliable, and the loudest mutha fucher in the world. It is so loud that it has affected the placement of my box. But I plan on getting a quiter fan for it. $100 quiet Antec vs. a $15 'white box' loud monster... I know I'm gambling on it since it is so cheap but then again, the expensive ones seem to die on me more... My advice is to go in person, and talk with a hardware person in a computer store - not a mega mart that also sells washing machines and office supplies. But I wanted to add that I've no problem wiht Newegg, a very prompt service and delivery of any products I've purchased...
 
ekÆsine said:
the best place to read about reviews for power supply are at newegg.com. find your product and select customer reviews button.

i don't trust some of those antec power supplies, just read some of the reviews about it on newegg.

and do you really need 500watts? if you're a college kid do some homework on which one to get. 400 watt is probably enough unless you have a bazillion devices hooked up.

for your information f50 - games, 3D modeling & animation, and movies don't require 500watt monsters. i should know, i just built a machine to do exactly that this week... plus to burn a lot of movies and run a server on it :eek:

i'll check out newegg, then, haven't been there in ages, thanks for the tip.

and yes, i feel that 500w is a good choice at the moment. I used the nifty Wattage calculator that you may or may not have seen (http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/) and it told me my new setup will need around 418w. Since I want a buffer zone for my PSU, i'm looking around 500W to be on the safe side, and maybe it will last another upgrade as well.

i'm glad to see some people here without the one-sided experience with Antec that seems to be all over. I'm actually going to give an Achieve PSU a shot, as it's only $30 with shipping on ebay, has a nice shiny gold finish, and has the sorts of safety features that are on higher priced psu's as well.

If anybody else is interested, here's a good description of the product:
http://www.svc.com/ac55dufanp4r.html

and the ebay seller has 47 of these things on Buy It Now for a couple more days at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3435571995&category=42021

it's not anywhere on newegg, but overall it looks like a pretty good power supply for the money.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom