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Power supply recommendations

J

j282

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Messages
209
I recently asked a question on the forum about my Radeon 9800 pro bringing up an error message when I start my computer up. It says that the power cable is not connected when it is. If I open up the computer and change the power connectors around it will work for a while and then do it again. I was advised by some people on the forum that it may be my power supply. I have plenty of power (420watt), but was wondering if it is failing. I guess either way i'm looking at upgrading some parts on my computer and was wonder if anyone can give me some advise on what a good 500watt power supply would be for my system. Sorry about the basic question, I don't know a whole lot about this stuff and have some worries about pciking up a power supply that could damage my computer. Any help would be great and much appreciated. - thanks

ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe
AMD 2600+ Anthlon
9800 Pro (going to upgrade to a 6800gs)
2 gigs of ram
120gb hard drive
dvd/rom drive
TV card
 
j282 said:
I have plenty of power (420watt),
Click to expand...

watts dont mean jack
its the amps and where they are that counts
and how the supply was rated and built

what is your budget?
 
I was looking on new egg and saw some ones for around 60 that got good reviews. My biggest worry is just picking one out that works well with my motherboard and other devices. I really don't know what is necessary or the best. I also read about some people having the Power Supply over heat their computers. Anyhow, anything around 50-70 would be in my price range, also wouldnt mind something that looked cool. - thanks a lot for the help and quick reply.
 
j282 said:
I was looking on new egg and saw some ones for around 60 that got good reviews.
Click to expand...
Do you mean "favorable review" or "good review"? Because a favorable review can be a bad one ("All the voltages were dead on, and I give it a 10!"), and a good review can be unfavorable (Jonny Guru and his tests of Powmax Assassins that failed).
In addition to Jonny Guru, there are only about 5-6 other websites that do good PSU reviews.

also wouldnt mind something that looked cool
Click to expand...
What difference do looks make for a PSU? It's inside the case, where it can't be seen, at least if it's a legitimate PC case. Why not concentrate on making the case look cool?

For $50-70, I'd get a 450W Fortron-Source.
 
guys whats the difference between the Antec Smartpower and Truepower? I am running a file server and would like to know if the Antec listed above is good? I will not be running SLI.
 
Sorry to say this, but you guys are totally steering this guy in the wrong direction.

He has an Athlon XP on an Asus motherboard (no 2x2 connector) with an AGP card.

If you recommend a power supply with a high 12V rail, he's going to crossload it.

Same problem with a Thermaltake power supply:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=949253

Same problem with an Enermax power supply.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=929448

Same problem with an Antec power supply:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=924977

Same problem with an Ultra power supply::

http://www.ultraproducts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17&page=1&pp=10

I'm sure there's more. :D
Click to expand...

If you send him out to buy a dual 12V rail power supply, 12V1 is certain to go completely unused!
 
Hey I ended up getting this power supply. I ordered it a few days ago before this last post, I hope it will work fine. I know it's not top of the line but I heard it is a good company and I didn't want to spend a lot. I'm a little worried after the last post, is it going to work. Thanks for the help.
 
Opps, here is the power supply I got.

PSU FSP|AX400-PN 400W RT - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$40.99)
 
You've got a completely unused 12V2 rail and you're probably crossloading the heck out of it.
 
So, you are saying this will destroy my system and I need to get a new power supply. If so that sucks, but can you tell me what I need that will not cost a lot.
 
I didn't/wouldn't say it'll DESTROY YOUR SYSTEM (not like Godzilla or Mothra would, at least.)

Question: Have you installed the FSP AX PSU and did it fix the error message spawned by the video card?
 
No I actually had ordered it from newegg, it will be here tomorrow. I somehow managed to get my video card working good with the crappy power supply I have right now. I just thought it would be a good idea to replace it with a better one that I could use when I upgrade my motherboard and cpu. Right now I have another socket a board (A7N8X-X) that I was going to make into an HTPC, using this new power supply. I won't if you think it is a bad idea though. I plan on upgrading my motherboard and cpu (I'm thinking 939) in the next year. From what I hear it will be old technology by then, but my point is I could just keep this power supply I ordered for this upgrade if it would work ok with that type of a setup (939 or what ever newer technology is out there). I'm still new to all this stuff so thanks for the help.
 
I think it's time you get away from these Socket A Asus boards. ;)
 
No arguements there, but the one I got has worked great for me and I'm trying to get by with for a little while longer. As for the HTPC, I just figured since I already had an extra socket A lying around and some other parts, why not. What type of board and cpu would you recommend I upgrade to down the road, I'm not looking for the best just something better. I was just wondering you never answered my question, at least specifically, Would it be a bad idea to use that new power supply on one of these socket A boards? I guessing you think so.
 
Even I have a Socket A Asus board in the house. It runs an Athlon XP 3200+. But when I put two different "modern" power supplies on it, the results were disasterous. The 12V spiked up to 13V+! A little too much for my liking!

You really want to seek out a single 12V rail PSU with a 5V rail with more Amperage than the 12V rail. Either that or something REALLY rock solid that doesn't crossload no matter what. Like a PCP&C or one of the old Antec Neo 480W or an old single rail Enermax. Not an FSP AX.
 
Well thanks a lot for the help, I will have to take a look at those older power supply's. So you are saying basically any of the single 12V ones would be good (given that they come from a reliable manufacturer).
 
Single 12, but you can get a cheaper one if the 5V is higher than the 12V. Yes.
 
Oh no! I just bought an Enermax Liberty for my Socket A ASUS AN87XE-Deluxe. Its a dual rail, I didn't know about the crossloading with dual on socket A. It seems stable so far, do you forsee any problems for me?
 
I don't know a lot about this, but you can just call asus and read off the power supply specs and they can tell you if it will cause problems. I just returned my power supply because it was dual 12V and would not work with my socket A ASUS board. I never tried it though so I'm not sure if it would of actually caused any major problems (better safe than sorry I guess).
 
Ok thanks I'll do that. But so far no power issues have occured, system boots up fine and gaming with no problems, knock on wood.
 
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