Power Supply Advice

[EmberJGT]

I just ordered a new system. Should be here by wednesday.

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540)
AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 1GHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103529)
OCZ Platinum Series 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227209)
eVGA 256-P2-N515-AX Geforce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130247)
Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144160)
ASPIRE ATXA2XPW-BK/420 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case ATX 420W dual fan power supply Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144050)

I'm not a hardware expert but I'm not a total n00b. I originally thought the power supply that came with the case would be fine at 420w. Now I'm starting to second guess myself (good timing since everything is enroute to my house :eek: )

Do you think it will be ok?

[Lord_Vyper]

Hrm, Turbolink...
It's on most people's avoid list. Nothing specific I could dig up, just a low-end generic PSU.

I'd recommend going with Enermax, 535W would be more then sufficient, and at $80 or so, good bang for the buck.

Or, if you're a freak like me, and want the absolute best PSU, PC P&C 510 line. Not going to tell ya the price though :p

[moonglum]

SLI systems also require SLI power supplies not your typical ATI power supply.

[Fozzik]

The power supply will probably work, but usually not a place you want to skimp on with a brand new system. I like Antec power supplies, and I've heard and seen good things about OCZ, Thermaltake, and several other brands. For around 500 watts, expect to pay between $80-$100. If it's a lot less than that, it's probably lower quality.

SLI systems also require SLI power supplies not your typical ATI power supply.

ATX? ;)

[Cerebus]

I recently put together a new system and used PC Power & Cooling's Turbo Cool 510 SLI (link (http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=T51SLI)). I have used this brand of power supplies in all my machines going back the past ten years or so and have never had a problem...well, not power related, anyway!

Tom's Hardware just did a stress test of power supplies this past summer. http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/07/11/stress_test/ that might be of some interest to you as well.

[Liin]

The main problem with that PSU is the 12v rail having only 18amps. If you are thinking of going sli you will need more than that to be sure of stability. Todays tech going into new computers are using more and more 12volt amps instead of the 5 volt. If it were me I would look into something with dual rails at that amperage on each rail for stability and to future proof somewhat.

[Breogan]

I don't think buying an expensive PSU is needed in most cases, but I'm afraid yours is one of them. While the PSU "might" hold your system, I wouldn't trust it to hold much more than what you already have, in case you want to add another HDD or some USB devices, since it only has 19Amps in the +12V line (perhaps the most important spec for current PSU).

If you want to know more about current PSU, take a look at this excellent guide (http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=136602).

[Lord_Vyper]

Come to think about it, I don't believe that PSU has the 6-pin SLI power connector. So you'd have to use an adapter, which will eat a bit of power itself, and can be a point of failure.

If you're wanting to go SLI, get a PSU in the 500+W range, made by a reputable vendor, with all the goodies (24-pin ATX connector, 2x 6-pin SLI connectors, etc) built in.

A quick list of good PSU companies in no particular order:
OCZ
Thermaltake
Antec
Silverstone
Seasonic
Enermax
Fortron

[moonglum]

SLI systems also require SLI power supplies not your typical ATI power supply.



Fozzik ATX ;)
__________________

Yeah..meant to say ATX ;)

I have heard the saying that the more power coming from your PS the better and you will never have enough.

I have a 500W PS and its called an alien PS and is a clear see thruh PS. Has anyone ever owned one or can comment on any experiences they may have had with it or no anything about the alien PS in terms of performance?

I really should have taken the time to research the PS before choosing it over familiar names like Enermax etc.. The information on the alien PS I have gathered thus far is really sparse and inconclusive-which is not good. I still think I'll be ok with the alien PS considering that my Monitor has it own PS, but if necessary I'll get a different one such as a name brand if warranted.

[Lord_Vyper]

I have heard the saying that the more power coming from your PS the better and you will never have enough.

Yes and no.
You also need to look at: Amperage & number of +12v rails. Things like SATA or SLI connectors (if needed/wanted). Overall weight/component selection (Generally heavier PSUs = better)


I have a 500W PS and its called an alien PS and is a clear see thruh PS. Has anyone ever owned one or can comment on any experiences they may have had with it or no anything about the alien PS in terms of performance?
Never heard of "Alien" as either a PSU line, or manufacturer.
If it's completely transparent, it sounds more like [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817148006"]Aspire ATX-AS500[/URL?

I really should have taken the time to research the PS before choosing it over familiar names like Enermax etc.. The information on the alien PS I have gathered thus far is really sparse and inconclusive-which is not good. I still think I'll be ok with the alien PS considering that my Monitor has it own PS, but if necessary I'll get a different one such as a name brand if warranted.
Long ago I decided I didn't want to screw with PSUs any more. Too much hassle replacing them when they die due to the shoddy power here in California. So I went exclusively with PCP&C, and have never had one go bad since.

[EmberJGT]

Newegg shipped me the upgraded Aspire case with 500w psu. Even at max I don't consume close to that. I'm going to d/l 3dmark06' when I get home and I'll post the results if anyone wants to know. I had 3dmark03' and ran that and got a score of 15411 but I'm sure it will be different with the newer version.

[Slide]

I'll add my standard response to PSU questions.

Buy a Seasonic S12-500 or S12-600. Great build quality, doesn't make much noise. Worth the premium for sure. These things win 5* ratings all the time - only trouble with them is short / tangled cables.