Time For a New PSU?

[Lt.Doomsday]

new member posting.
i got warm air coming out of the back of the PSU and once had "the smell" coming from the back of the PSU.the smell went away and hasn't come back.for the last two years it has locked up for no reason.changed HD's,CD-Rom's,Video Cards,BIOS Battery and it stil happens once in awhile during,it was happening when i had windows 98 installed and now with Windows XP.the only thing i haven't changed is the Mobo.

my rig specs:
Enlight 7237 ATX Case w/ 300 watt PSU
Abit Kt-7 Non-Raid
1.0ghz Duron CPU
a DVD-Burner and CD-rom
2 HD's {a 40 and 80gig}
ThermalTake Volcano 7 CPU Fan
2 80mm Fans
HD Fan
A Radeon 9500 Pro 128mb Video Card{Not O/C}
768mb of PC-133 Memory{Ran a Memory Test for 4 hours and everything was fine}

i was thinking of getting an Antec PSU from Staples for $60 bucks
This One

would it work for my machine or should i steer clear and get a ThermalTake or Enermax PSU?

 

[SJetski71]

Its a tough call since a bad mobo and psu can display the same symptoms. For the sake of upgrading it wouldn't hurt to get a new psu but thats an awfully expensive price for a intermediate/mediocre psu. A 350w smart power isn't much of an upgrade over an enlight 300w imho either. If you think a system upgrade is in your near future then buy a quality unit over 400w. High powered psu's are necessary with all the new voltage hungry hardware being released.

Check the psu buyers guide sticky for quality psu choices.

 

[Lt.Doomsday]

i don't have alot of choice computer stores around,just staples and then i have best buy about a half-hour away.i have the local mom and pop places that jack up their prices,but are good for old hardware like a ISA Modem still wrapped up in the oringal box for $5 bucks.

i'm not a fan of ordering stuff from Mod Places like Xioxide,i ordered my ThermalTake Volcano Fan from them and it took a week to get it,i get the box in the mail and it looked like it was in a prize fight and so was the box for the Volcano Fan that was inside.after trying to get hold of them wanting to return,i gave up after 2 weeks and just used it.maybe i should order a PSU from tigerdirect?
This Vantec One

i think this would work for my machine.plus it has over voltage,over current and a short circuit protection.i do get lighting once in awhile.

 

[SJetski71]

when in doubt, order from newegg, they're the best combo of price and high quality service. Tiger doesn't have the greatest reputation either...some would say its downright horrible.

As i mentioned before, stick with the recommendations in the stickied buyers guide and you can't go wrong. If you want a recommendation then i'd say pick out a fortron or sparkle although the tagan 380w psu looks like a downright bargain for the power it supplies.

 

[Lt.Doomsday]

i've never heard of Sparkle or Forton,i haven't really looked much into Hardware in about 5 years.
what PSU do you have?

Tigerdirect has been good for me.ordered memory from CDW,DOA in the box{lucky the 800 Duron Chip was Fine} i looked at the PSU guide before posting, i was thinking about a thermaltake before the Antec,but after stripping a screw on the CPU Fan a few months back{it's being held in by tape,i'm gonna get a slighty bigger screw to fix that problem},i'm staying away from them and reading some of the horror stories of Antec PSU's blowing up motherboards and frying HD's,i'm staying away from them too.


one of the local stores was trying to sell me a Demon 420watt PSU for $50 bucks.just by looking at the Demon case it was sitting on,i declined.