Cheap 550W PSU or expensive 450W?

[BurningInferno]

I have been searching for a while for a new PSU because I bought an FX5900 and my current PSU (says 350W) can't take the extra load!!
I have never cared much about PSUs (because I have never upgraded it) but I was thinking about buying 550W for 25E (euros).
The brand is not known so I only count on the fact that even if it isn't a true 550W, it will deliver a good 400W - 450W.
I really don't want to burn my system, but since I won't stress the PSU to limit (not even close I bet) I guess it won't burn.
So, should I spend over 70E for a 400-450W that will be a good one, or do I save some by buying a 550W for 25E since (I guess) it will be ok for the current load?
Please tell me your opinion on that. Keep in mind that I don't need 550W output but a lot less, and that 550W for 25E sounds cool.

My system specs are :
Athlon 2000XP
Gigabyte GA-7VAXPU (KT400)
512MB DDR400
3 PATA HDDs
SONY CD-RW 40x/12x/28x
Plextor PX-116A DVD-ROM 16x/48x
LG 4080b DVD+-R/RW 4x/2.4x/16x
MSI FX5900
SBLive 5.1
Terratec Cinergy 600TV
...and a couple of fans...

 

[Mik3y]

go for an expensive 450W psu. if anything, it'll still be stronger then the 550W. heck, even the antec true380W psu is stronger then some generic 430 and 450W psu's.

 

[Cerb]

Get a nice 400-450w.
Most good PSUs are conservatively rated, with the Antec Truepower (Channel Well?) and Enermax PSUs being the exceptions. But the Truepower supplies have all separate rails, and Enermaxes are tough PSUs, and the newer ones (Noisetaker) have a 12v rail just for the mobo.

 

[xbassman]

You'll find a lot of folks here on this board that have learned the hard way to NOT skimp on your power supply.
Buy the best one you can afford...and you probably don't need more than a quality 400-450 watt at the most.

 

[Cerb]

You probably don't need more than a good 300w, but a 350 or better will give some room to grow.

 

[HardWarrior]

A good 450.

 

[Jaxidian]

Definitely a good 450W PSU. I've helped friends try to salvage parts for at least 8 different computers that were fried due to an el cheapo PSU (including one of my own that helped eat through 3 motherboards and 6 sticks of RAM).

 

[essasin]

another vote for a good 400 watt i suggest the antec true 430. I and many others have them and they are rock solid. Besides those cheapo 500 watt psu will may ruin your hardware it does not really put out as much as it advertises

 

[gordanfreeman]

i would vote for the quality 4xxW psu as well. i recently bought an Antec 480W truepower supply and i hope it will last me quite a while. it was not too spendy either... you can get Antec 500W supplies for under $100 i am pretty sure, and that would likely be overkill for you.

 

[pookie69]

Another vote for the good 450. Never skimp on your PSU.

 

[BurningInferno]

I definately do NOT need that much power (550)
@cerb : I certainly need over 350 though. My current PSU is a 350 and it can't support my FX5900 and I'm stuck with the old GF2MX..
It's pretty strange that my cousin's 360W could handle the card and he has almost the same system with mine!! Both our systems are loaded with watt-eaters!!
Anyway, thanx everyone for your replies. I will find a good 450W + to do the job.

 

[ianching]

Get a quality 350W-400W PSU, just to name a few, Fortron (or SPI in some places), Enermax and Antec. If you're overclocking, a 450W is recommended.

Most of those cheapo PSU are over-rated, so don't always believe what it says on the specification. When buying a PSU, brandname does matter.

A good quality PSU will outperform any over-rated cheapo PSU, remember, what you pay is what you get! Never save on a PSU as a stable and sufficient power output is crucial to the many expensive hardware in your computer. Also, a good PSU will last through many upgrades, you sure don't want to replace your "500W" PSU again when you upgrade to the newer CPU's or graphics cards in the future.

A good collection of PSU-related articles on the net:
http://www.amdboard.com/psu.html

 

[Cerb]

Look at reviews where they tried to burn out the PSUs...the good brands go well above their rating safely. Also, actual power draw is rarely ever nearing the rating--crappy PSUs just can't take much high pull for more than a few seconds. A good 350w will handle your system with ease. If you plan on getting really nice upgrades, like the FX 6x00 cards, newer P4s or the like, a 400w or so wouldn't do you bad.

 

[klah]

Plenty of people have 3GHz+ P4s and 9800Pros in their Shuttle SFF cases with 220W PSUs. You get what you pay for.

 

[TGHI]

One vote for the cheap 550W - you can get two for the price of one expensive one - besides I LOVE the smell of burning power supply!

Now, seriously - it all depends on the amperage of the power rails I am willing to bet that there are some cheap ones out there that will hadnle all the power requirements that you need, and will last a fair while. But, as the old adage goes, 'you get what you pay for' - however I have been running my system with everything overclocked on a crappy generic 300W power supply - you just never know about these things. (But my new coolermaster 550W is in the mail!).



TGHI