good power supply - worth geting?

[avzay66]

I plan on upgrading my computer a bit. Currently i have an Enlight 250W power supply in it. Is it really worth the money geting a bigger power supply. If yes...would a 350W be enough?

 

[Gretzky]

what are the upgrades? List your computer specs so we can make a better decision on what powersupply is needed.

Most of the times a 350watt psu is more then enough

 

[Doh!]

Can you share with us what your upgrade will involve? Which CPU, how many drives, other peripherals, gadgets, fans, etc. Your requirement will be directly dependent on the components you'll have in the system.

Generally, with recent hardware, 250W is on the lower side and may not provide enough juice for rock-solid stability. However, I have a system with a 1.33ghz Athlon/512MB/60GB/CDRW/CD-Rom/NIC/Radeon7500/SoundCard/other junk that has been very stable for the past couple years (using Enlight 250W). But all of other machines have 350W or higher PSU (all Antec or Enermax).

Anyways, whatever your system requires, I would never cheap out on a psu. So tell us what your system is going to be and we can provide better recommendations.

 

[o1die]

Enlight makes good power supplies, but I would definately upgrade. Newegg has an enlight dual fan 400 watt unit for $46 shipped, last time I checked. I found a single fan L&C 350 watt at dealsonic for $17.95 shipped. I bought it cause I found a review that gave me specs and said it was quiet, which is what I'm after. It runs very well, but I would still recommend a dual fan unit for cooling.

 

[Shimmishim]

directron.com

fortron - 350W psu should be plenty.. and it's only 38.00
check it out here

 

[jiffylube1024]

I'm a fan of Enermax and Antec, myself. Own a 350W Enermax and 430W Antec, very happy with them.

 

[flawedexistence]

Actually, Fortron makes good, reliable PSUs. At least in my experience. I've been running two of them for about 3 years in Plll machines with nary a hitch. My other box is a P4 and I'm running a 400w Antec in that one.

 

[Oakenfold]

What exactly are you trying to run?

I run one hard drive, one cdrw,4200 and OC my beast to all get out(mad mad fans) with a measly 550w Antec.
It's overkill, but I like knowing it's there, you can't upgrade a power supply,
so you need to tell us your budget,. and what you are trying to run.

 

[Coalfax]

Originally posted by: Oakenfold
I run one hard drive, one cdrw,4200 and OC my beast to all get out(mad mad fans) with a measly 550w Antec.
It's overkill, but I like knowing it's there, you can't upgrade a power supply,

Um.. sure you can upgrade a Power Supply. Takes 4 screws and a small amount of patience

 

[Oakenfold]

Originally posted by: Coalfax

Originally posted by: Oakenfold
I run one hard drive, one cdrw,4200 and OC my beast to all get out(mad mad fans) with a measly 550w Antec.
It's overkill, but I like knowing it's there, you can't upgrade a power supply,

Um.. sure you can upgrade a Power Supply. Takes 4 screws and a small amount of patience

LOL!
I did'nt mean like that...sheesh u guys some times.

 

[chizow]

A good PSU can exorcise all the unseen bugs and specters haunting your system, causing unexplainable phenomena behind the scenes....

Pretty scary stuff huh???

Chiz

 

[WalMart1564]

here is a head to head review of 21 power units (including FORTON) from toms hardware

and here is Anands own Power Supply review

 

[emjem]

I've had good experiences with Enlights. Good 3.5 and 5 volt output. What you can do is upgrade your system and see if the 250w is enough before spending more. But once you decide to upgrade I would say don't fool with a 300+ -- get the Enlight 420 for $46 shipped at Newegg. Then you'll be good to go for a few more years.

 

[Shimmishim]

this post really explains about good and bad power supplies and how you can't always trust a power supply that claims to be 350W or 400W to supply that much power...

check this thread out

the fortron/sparkle power supply can be found for $38 at this place

here at directron.com