hi everyone. im just wondering if anyone can advise me as to which power supply i need,or what i have to be looking for in terms of connections/watts etc. i am building my 1st pc using Asus A8N SLi Deluxe Motherboard amd atholon 64 3700+ san diego will be using 1-2gb pc3200 ddr ram 250gb sata hard drive etc. has the psu got to have certain connections etc,to be compatible with my hardware?. thank you in advance for any help or advise.
You'll need any well known brand of PSU around 450 Watts or above using atleast 30Amps on the +12V rail. The PSU will also need to have an ATX 20+4 Pin connector. Big B is our resident PSU expert, so i'll let him chime in, hopefully
On the cheap-end, I suggest the Enermax EG565P-VE, Tagan TG480-U22 or Antec TruePowerTPII-550. If you're looking at a high-end SLI rig with some 7900GTX's, then I would look at an Enermax EG701AX-VE, an OCZ600ADJ, Hiper Type-R 580W, or if you really have some cash to blow, the PC Power & Cooling 510 SLI. All of those will have the proper connections. If you're going to look at other ones, make sure it has a 24-pin ATX connector, or a 20+4 (where the last 4 is removable), a 4-pin auxillary (may be referred to as a Pentium 4 connector)----this is separate from the 20+4 I was talking about---, at least 2 SATA power connectors, 2 6-pin VGA power connectors (especially if you have a high-end video card: Radeon X1800, X1900, GeForce 6800, 7800, 7900's), as well as plenty of regular molex connectors (6-8 at least). Specifications: Dual 12V rails with a combined amperage of 25A minimum, 500W. If you have a question about one you're considering, link it if you don't understand. I have a detailed listing of what makes a good power supply linked in my sig.
If you're looking at amazingly high end systems also check out the Tagan Turbo Series. TG900-U95 and the TG1100-U95 - 900W and 1100W respectively. They'll power any high end system with the greatest of ease. Plus they're got so many connectors you'll run out of space in your case before you run out of connectors. (Just a 'plug' for the new Tagan Turbo series really - check them out at http://www.tagan.com )
thank you for your advise,im not 100% sure i understand all the techno stuff. im on a tight budget,so need something cheapish,but capable of doing the job correctly. just had a quick browse and found these,within my price,do you think they are suitible?,and which would you go for if any?. THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR TIME,AND ANY MORE HELP. http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/101299/rb/18712112560 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/98566/rb/18712112560 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/104483 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/89518
Out of those I'd go for the Hiper. That's because it's the only one I myself have heard of. I know Willz on this forum has that PSU (different colour, same PSU) and he likes it. Antec make good PSU's too.
thanks guys for all your help,im taking everything under consideration(including my budget:O ) one last time,i would appriciate any and all advise as to whether this would do the job?. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6875638932&fromMakeTrack=true it seems cheap,so am i missing something?.
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/98566/rb/18712112560 That Hiper Type-R is probably your best bet. I don't know about the eBay item---the link comes up as an invalid item. I think eBuyer also has the Enermax EG375P-VE 370W (don't let the 370W fool you, it's got some beastly specs) that also very close in price to the Hiper Type-R 480W unit.
Yeah often the way generic PSU's boost the Watts is to use the 5V rail. Because: P(W) = I(A) x V(V) So lower end PSU's often use the 5V rail to boost their ratings by having massive amps on those (as the wattage for a PSU is the total combined power for each of the rails). It doesn't mean they're good, that's why you should really look at the 12V rail as a guide, but there are also a lot more things to consider as well, I just thought I'd give you a little formula to help explain it. (Go Physics!)