looking for a good power supply

Have read so many reviews that my eyes are seeing double. Have always just put my faith in the power supply that comes with the machine but now am building myself a machine and I want a reliable one that wont explode on me or cost me an arm and a leg.

Does anyone know anything about the PowerUp units ??? Their web site does not seem to be available which scares me. From what I have read antec and emermax seem to get the best reviews.

I have a p4/3.2 800fsb, xp pro, 512mb pc3200 memory, 200g h.d., 256mb ATI graphics card, pacific digital dvd dual burner. What would you suggest again not to cost me an arm and leg.

 

Depends how deep your pockets are.
Personally I've had no problems with generic PSU's such as Codogen. I've also had a couple of AOPEN units. For your system a 400-450W would be fine. If a L.E.D. lit fan is your cup of tea then ANTEC and other expensive brands can accomodate you. I think they are over priced (IMHO). As long as the wattage is enough and the PSU voltages are stable under load then a cheaper one will be fine.

 

I have an Antec standard at the moment, no problems. I will get an Antec TruPower for my next upgrade.

Matt

 

havent heard of the codogen before will check them out. antec was the way i was leaning thought maybe i needed one in the 400 - 450 range currently i have a 350 and i think with what i've done with the machine its a little short on power.

thanks.

 

A couple of PSU calculators should help you determine if you really need to upgrade your PSU. These are a little generous, so if you're close to there recommendations, you will probably be fine.

http://www.challenge-my.com/goopsulator/
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

 

i use the second link you gave all the time but was more concerned about the psu itself the maker of it. the one that came with the case is a 350w okia and from what I've read on okia its not one of the best on the market. have decided either on getting the 450 or 480 antec. i need around 390 for what i have in the machine now so am leaning toward the 480 just in case i decide to put other devices inside.

thanks.

 

a little add on here and boy picking a psu is definitely confusing. like i said before when i fix a machine with a bad psu i usually get the same brand as was in the machine and upgrade the wattage but usually stick to the same maker that was in the machine. but now building my own for kicks i find there are a lot of different opinions on psu's. was leaning toward the antec 450 or 480 but after reading some of the reviews from within newegg and some were talking about problems with the same video card i have ( ati 9600xt 256 ) i decided to look a little further. so right now am leaning toward the enermax 460 with the copper shielding for emi protection. reviews also mention with the 460 working great with amd 64bit now i'm not a fan of amd for the most part but if the 64bit works then my p4/3.2 should work just fine. at least i hope some reviews talk about the antec literally exploding and naturally frying the board and cpu would rather not have that happen.

just thought i'd throw this in. if anyone disagrees please let me know havent made the purchase yet.