Power supply went kaput!

If you don't see me around... at least everyone knows why.

I'm currently using a spare pc that has IDE issues and can't have HDs in it - so I can't save anything nor block annoying ads...


The question is: Has anyone bought any power supplies lately? What new ones out there in the 500-600wt range are a good buy? I'm behind a couple years since I haven't had to completely build anything from scratch.
Should I just bite the bullet and spend nearly $70 for an Antec?

400+ should be good for a machine taht is a couple years old. If the machine is fairly new, you should go with at least 450-500. I built a new computer this year from parts, and I didn't buy a new PS, but I had to after the fact because, dummy me, didn't realize the number of pins were different on the new motherboard. My old PS and computer was 6 years old. lol

As for brands, I bought a BFG. Antec is still good, but my research turned up BFG as being better. My old one was an Antec.

I wouldn't skimp on the power supply. An extra $30 can save a lot of trouble with frustrating and hard to diagnose problems. I built my machine from scratch last year and I had to completely relearn what the good components were because I hadn't built a computer in over 5 years. I spent a couple of weeks talking to people on a forum and looking at hardware on Newegg to finally determine what to buy. Here's a really good power supply from Corsair for $70 after rebate:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

I bought the 750W version and I haven't had any PS problems at all. I actually documented my last build (yes, I'm really that big of a geek ). Here are some pictures of it:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Grogs123...29October2008#

Newegg sells some barebones systems as well. They usually come with the case, PS, motherboard, CPU, and RAM pre-assembled. You just have to add drives and a video card. You could get one of those if you're not feeling like building the whole thing piece by piece.

Originally Posted by Grogs

Newegg sells some barebones systems as well. They usually come with the case, PS, motherboard, CPU, and RAM pre-assembled. You just have to add drives and a video card. You could get one of those if you're not feeling like building the whole thing piece by piece.

Click to expand...

I'm not going to be building a whole new pc, at least not for another year or two - if I can help it. My motherboard, cpus, and ram are only around 14 months old. The psu was reused from an older pc because it was a 600wt and was still working fine - so it was closer to 5 years old.

I had looked at the Cosairs, they look nice. I haven't came across BFG before - I'll look into those. Unfortunately at the moment I don't have a lot of money to spend.

I need at least a 550 or more because I'm not a typical user - I have multiple drives and need to be able to add more and not worry about power. Though I don't have a high end graphic card to suck all the power down. With psus you get more wattage than you need, not just enough. Unfortunately, the higher you go the more they cost.

I hate having to relearn parts every time I build, too. If you build a pc right you may go up to four years before needing to build again (if you're not a gamer who has to have 4 times the recommended stats ), a lot changes. I'm lucky that I'm not a gamer, I like slightly older parts (gives people time to catch up since I don't use windows) and focus more on ram and storage.

If you don't mind me asking... why get a kit if you're only putting one stick of ram in?

Is this an older machine? I have (I think) a number of old power supplies lying around from disassembled older computers. Not sure how to tell if they'll work for you, but if they would, I can send you one.

^Parts are a little over a year old. Running satas.

Thank you for the offer, though.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

If you don't mind me asking... why get a kit if you're only putting one stick of ram in?

Click to expand...

That was just for the initial setup. I mounted the CPU, video card, and 1 stick of ram in the first slot on the motherboard and then fired it up. That way I could see if the main components worked before I spent a lot of time mounting everything in the case and attaching all of the drives. I added the second stick later after I got the initial POST screen and confirmed the CPU and motherboard were working.

Ah, that makes sense. I dislike having to pull out or put in ram later so I usually prefer to get that dealt with after the heatsink's on the cpu. It's even more of a pain in the butt if you're upgrading a small pc and don't want to pull a bunch of stuff out.


ETA: so far a 550 BFG looks like it'll be what I get. I didn't recognize the name at first but realize now that I have heard about their graphics cards. The one I'm looking seems to only have 3 atas, though. I still have one regular cdr drive in there and 3 fans... So that's a minor issue.

Oh no, I think I took a wrong turn....




















This defiantly isn't in English.... LOL!


I hope you get your computer troubles sorted out!

Originally Posted by KatKisses

This defiantly isn't in English.... LOL!


I hope you get your computer troubles sorted out!

Click to expand...

Sure it is. The part that converts power safely to the rest of your pc is a power supply. Fairly simple, the only complicated part was brand suggestions for current ones. Really the post wasn't much different than anyone else asking for brands of vacuum cleaners, appliances, or phones - yet for some reason you never see those threads moved in here.... Maybe there should be a section just for "what to buy" stuff?

No computer troubles to sort, thankfully.

I got that your issue was with the power cord, I didn't realize that those were brands of cords, not parts.

I have bad luck with my laptop power cords! I have managed to mess up 2 cords, and I broke the computer outlet where the power cord plugs in. I had to take it to the shop for that last one, haha. Of course I don't take the blame, I blame the cats who trip/pull the cord when they are running around.

^No, not the cord. What the cord plugs into. The power out of your outlet has to be converted and delivered to the various parts of you computer. While vital in a pc it's something found in other devices, too. If you have a plasma or lcd tv, for example, it has one.

I have had an actual cord go bad before, though. It wasn't damaged but the pc just wouldn't turn on until switched to another power cord. (I have 4 or 5 of the things around here somewhere )

Anyways, it's ordered and processing. Maybe I should have spent the extra $2.99 to speed up processing.

Ohhh, I gettcha now. Sorta the same thing I messed up on a laptop, where the cord plugs in. I had to take mine to a shop, no idea how to fix that on my own, lol.

LOL, I know you are wishing you payed extra to get it faster! If you contact the company, it might not be too late to do so!

Little update. The power supply came in, looks good, nice big fan in it. Once installed I was shocked at how quite it truly is! I grabbed a flashlight and started checking fans because I couldn't believe it would be that quiet and running - DH's pc is fairly quiet, but it's power supply is louder. I was very lucky that nothing else in my pc was ruined when the other one died.

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/strange_wings/?action=view&current=psu.jpg
Tomas had to get his head in the picture... It's not a modular one (less cables - lets you pick and choose what connectors and cables you want), as those cost $100+ but the cables are not in the way in my large case. The shiny casing on it is a bit of a waste to hide, though very pretty to look at before you put it in.

Again, thank you for the brand suggestion emrldsky. Time will tell if this one lasts, but for now it seems perfect.

Glad you finally got it up and running!