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new psu

meinzorn

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Nov 12, 2003
Messages
1,327
Hi,
I don't know how beaten to death this topic is.. But I'm on a major budget (as little money as possible). I *might* need to get a new power supply.. I have an antec 350W right now that came with an old Case that I got a while back. When I boot my computer my voltage drops really low, but then steadies out. I assume that means I should be investing in a new power supply?

anyways, my biggest question is, If I am going to buy a new power supply, and I'm on a budget... what are some good names, and even some specific psu's that I should be looking at ?
 
Well a bit more info is needed to help you out.

Is the system working fine other than this big drop? How big is the big drop?

and then

What system exactly? And by big budget what is the price?
 
Well, the system is the same as the one in my description on the bottom of my post..

the drop, you'll have to wait untill I go out to my house to check on that.. I can't remember how big it is, and I'm actually working right now. I think it usually runs at about 1.5.. and it goes well under 1.4 when I first turn the system on. the main reason that i'm looking to get a new PSU is A) a friend had the same one, had similar problems, and then it went one day and took some hardware with it. the other reason, is that i'm upgrading my video card.. and the last time I tried putting a different card in (a 9800 pro) it wouldn't boot, but when I put my old one back in, it worked fine.

and by major budget.. I meant little.. I can't afford much of anything.. definately don't want to spend over like 60$
 
AMD Athlon XP 1700+, 512MB PC2700 Kingston hyperX memory, EPoX 8RDA+, GeForce 4 MX440, Maxtor 120gig 8meg cache.

No extra P4 2x2. Therefore, Large single-railed is needed.

Upgrading to the 9800 pro?
 
Bbq said:
AMD Athlon XP 1700+, 512MB PC2700 Kingston hyperX memory, EPoX 8RDA+, GeForce 4 MX440, Maxtor 120gig 8meg cache.

No extra P4 2x2. Therefore, Large single-railed is needed.

Upgrading to the 9800 pro?

Actually, not even a large single rail unless the PSU has independent regulation.

Something with a single 12V for sure, big 5V.
 
jonnyGURU said:
Actually, not even a large single rail unless the PSU has independent regulation.

Something with a single 12V for sure, big 5V.

So, something like this ? (AMS Mercury 400w, +3v 28a, +5v 35a, +12v 27a)
 
That would be perfect.

Cheap, lots of juice on 5V AND 12V, single 12V AND indy v reg, if I rem correctly.
 
well, I'm not upgrading to a 9800 pro, it was a friend of mines.. he was getting rid of it because he got something better.

I'm upgrading to a 6800xt.

So that one will be my best bet then?



Just a side note, when would it be best to get a PSU with dual 12 volt ?
 
meinzorn said:
well, I'm not upgrading to a 9800 pro, it was a friend of mines.. he was getting rid of it because he got something better.

I'm upgrading to a 6800xt.

So that one will be my best bet then?



Just a side note, when would it be best to get a PSU with dual 12 volt ?

That is your best bet. Also, do not get the dual-12v rail psu. It will not work properly with your motherboard, since your motherboard doesn't support it.
 
When would be the best time to go dual 12V rail? When you build a PC that needs it such as a motherboard with a 4pin or 8pin 12V plug for the CPU. Until then stick with the smaller PSUs with the most amperage on the 5V rail since that's where your CPU is pulling off of.
 
ok, that's cool to know.

The other thing I'm sorta confused about.. is how am I supposed to know if I actually need a new power supply. Do I just have to try the card and see if it boots, and if it doesn't then I probably need a new one. I know there is nothing wrong with the card.. as soon as it wouldn't work in my computer, another kid I know tried it in his, and it worked fine. Should I wait and try the card, or should I just order the new PSU tonight?
 
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