The lesser of three evils?

Joined
Mar 19, 2001
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So I just put together a little rig with some of my older parts to get a HTPC going. Specs are:
AMD X2 3600+
ATI 3870
Abit NF-M2 nView mobo
NEC SATA DVD burner
Seagate 320gig SATA drive

So of course the last piece of the system is the PSU. And as my budget is nonexistant due to holiday expendatures, I'm stuck with what I found inside my box-o-old PSUs. Amongst the Deer and Allied P3 era untils, I found the following:

Dynex DX-PS400w2 (2x 12v rails, 14A and 15A)
Ultra ULT-400P (1x 20A 12v rail)
Logisys PS550AC (1x 25A 12v rail)

The only one that seems to have been reviewed on the net is the Ultra and it wasn't pretty. The Logisys is clear so I can see inside of it and it scares me (I don't believe the 25A rating). I have actually used the Dynex before in an AMD64 system running a ATI 1950 pro and it ran well, so I'm sort of leaning toward that one. But basically I'm just wondering if any of the experts have any opinions about which PSU will run the system without destroying any of my stuff until I can afford a decent PSU in a few weeks.
 
That Dynex PSU is actually pretty shitty:
http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ5MSwyLCwxNTA=

The Logisys should be taken out since it's a Logisys, Nuff said.

So by process of elimination, the Ultra PSU would be your best bet. But not for long I'm afraid if the HardwareCanucks review is to be believed. The image for their +12V AC Ripple Testing is missing so I can't tell just how much wattage you can get out of that PSU safely.

Hopefully you'll get enough cash for this PSU:
Corsair 400CX 400W PSU - $60
 
Yeah, I know Dynex is generally pretty bad. This PSU is actually different from the one that [H] reviewed (I can tell by looking in the top and the heatsink arrangement is very different).

And as sort of an update, I assembled the system with the Dynex, had a 4 hour WoW session on Saturday night, and and the system ran like a champ.

But I do plan on upgrading (of course to Corsair since I am a Corsair whore) when funds allow. This is a very temporary situation.
 
if you live by a Fry's and hurry you could try to snag an Antec EA430 for $20, it was posted in the hot deals forum...
 
Sorry to bump up an old thread, but I have a little update. The system has been running fine for the last month, but I got around to buying a Corsair 400CX so I swapped it in. No POST. Awesome. I've got more troubleshooting to do.

Anyway, I opened up the Dynex and it is indeed a Huntkey-built unit allbeit a different one from the H review (board says hk-400-12ap). It looks strikingly similar to this unit on the instide (except for mine passive PFC):
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=4&artpage=2270&articID=537

But the Dynex will be relegated to low-draw bench duty from now on after looking at reviews of several other Huntkey units (it seems as if explosions are a common theme).
 
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