Help a nub pick a power supply

[imported_Citan]

Hey guys. I'm kinda new at this so give any suggestions that you can please. =)

This is my system:
AMD Opteron 144 @stock speeds w/ stock cooling
1GB Kingston PC-3200 (some dual channel value ram, i forget which one)
Asrock 939 Dual-SATAII
Connect3d Radeon x800GTO
120GB Maxtor 7200rpm 8mb cache
Sound Blaster Live!
NEC 16x DVD burner(ND-3520)
And a few fans

Currently I'm using a 350W power supply. The computer randomly freezes on me and I cant overclock the video card at all w/o crashing. I tried doing the sysprep method with the hard drive when I made my computer but I dont think I did it right. So I'm gonna get a new hard drive(because I dont feel like backing up 80GBs worth of data) and a new power supply. I looked on newegg and saw these. Could someone help me pick one of these or suggest a better one for around the same price please? I'm not sure how many Watts I need or how many amps it should have.

Rosewill RE502-BLK 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182002

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954

ASPIRE ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817148027

Thanks. Oh and btw, I do plan to overclock once I get the system running stably =) Probably nothign too extreme though.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Fortron out the three. The rest are trash.

 

[Arkane13131]

faced with the same dilemma as you, and in roughly the same pricerange...after taking counsel on here i came out with...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937

 

[TylerP]

You have already put some good money into your system....why skimp on the PSU? It is argubaly the most inportant part of your system.

Check out the Enermax Liberty series of PSU's. But if you set on the three you linked....go with the Fortron as StrangerGuy said.

 

[JEDIYoda]

well as far as I know you shouldn`t need a power supply that has over 350 watts......

 

[Ricemarine]

Forton 450w FTW.

 

[imported_Citan]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
well as far as I know you shouldn`t need a power supply that has over 350 watts......

Yea I just figured that out ^^; Sorry for not searching before. Just found that extreme psu calculator link posted somewhere earlier. I was leaning toward the Forton too. But now since i know I dont need 500 Watts, maybe I can skim it down to 400?

Btw, this is my attempt at a decent budget system. Thats why I'm skimping on the PSU. I know its bad, but i'll take the risk. *Poor college student* As long as I dont go with super cheap brands like $20 psu's right?

PS: Not gonna get it, but are Rosewill power supplies known to be bad?

 

[CosmoHorizon]

Seasonic S12 430 gets my vote, not sure whether if Forton is superior, but it's a great PSU
Out of the bunch, Forton is clear winner

 

[Ricemarine]

Originally posted by: Citan

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
well as far as I know you shouldn`t need a power supply that has over 350 watts......

Yea I just figured that out ^^; Sorry for not searching before. Just found that extreme psu calculator link posted somewhere earlier. I was leaning toward the Forton too. But now since i know I dont need 500 Watts, maybe I can skim it down to 400?

Btw, this is my attempt at a decent budget system. Thats why I'm skimping on the PSU. I know its bad, but i'll take the risk. *Poor college student* As long as I dont go with super cheap brands like $20 psu's right?

PS: Not gonna get it, but are Rosewill power supplies known to be bad?

Not a good well known PSU brand, so it could possibly be. Forton 450w is $50, forton 400w is $40, spend the extra $10 for 50w more

 

[imported_Citan]

Originally posted by: CosmoHorizon
Seasonic S12 430 gets my vote, not sure whether if Forton is superior, but it's a great PSU
Out of the bunch, Forton is clear winner

Ow. A tad too expensive for me. Though if I had the money I totally would. Seems everyone likes these Seasonics.

Originally posted by: Arkane13131
faced with the same dilemma as you, and in roughly the same pricerange...after taking counsel on here i came out with...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937

Ooo this one seems good too. A little on the expensive side but I like the fact that you can disconnect the power thingies(sorry dont know the name). Seems to have good reviews too.

ok so from what you guys suggested, I'm either gonna go with ricemarine and the forton 450w or the antec one Arkane13131 posted. Unless theres a better choice. THanks for the quick replies =)

 

[Bobthelost]

Fortron are the kings of budget PSUs, the 450W is overkill, but for $10 why not.

It's called modular cables, if you want them then the antec isn't a bad choice, although you don't need a 500W model under any circumstances.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Fortron 450W for $50 is the best bang for your buck. Fortron is one of the highest quality PSU manufacturers out there, so you should have no problem running on that PSU.

 

[imported_Citan]

Well then, seems like Forton is exactly what I'm going for. Bang for the buck is what this computer is the idea behind my computer =p Wish it had modular cables though heh I think the idea is a great feature. Especially since I'm not too good at tying up my cables out of the way.

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
Fortron are the kings of budget PSUs, the 450W is overkill, but for $10 why not.

It's called modular cables, if you want them then the antec isn't a bad choice, although you don't need a 500W model under any circumstances.

Well then, I have some headroom for more stuff if I ever need it heh. Might as well upgrade for possible future usage in new systems, assuming the power supply is still alive by then. Back during the PII days, I never imagined using anything more than 200W haha. Hopefully it can take the beating I'm gonna give it. I keep my computer on for days sometimes. If all goes well, I'll be reporting back in on how high my opteron can OC, assuming it doesn't blow up =D I think it was a CAB2E 0548EPAW. Can't remember off the top of my head. But yea, thanks for the inputs guys. Great help.

 

[0roo0roo]

seasonic

 

[StrangerGuy]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
seasonic

Don't think there is a good Seasonic at the $50 range.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
Fortron are the kings of budget PSUs, the 450W is overkill, but for $10 why not.

It's called modular cables, if you want them then the antec isn't a bad choice, although you don't need a 500W model under any circumstances.

Dude you only need a 250 watt PSU any old generic brand will do!
What counts is that it fits inside your computer...

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
Fortron are the kings of budget PSUs, the 450W is overkill, but for $10 why not.

It's called modular cables, if you want them then the antec isn't a bad choice, although you don't need a 500W model under any circumstances.

Dude you only need a 250 watt PSU any old generic brand will do!
What counts is that it fits inside your computer...

Is someone still bitter about that other PSU thread, maybe?

Also, could you make your sig a little longer? I mean, you could maybe list what kind of screws you use in your case or something...

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
well as far as I know you shouldn`t need a power supply that has over 350 watts......

i agree, unless you have an OCed rig. i'm sure even the 400w fortron would suffice your needs. but i guess there's nothing wrong spending $10 more for 50 more watts

 

[jonnyGURU]

Out of your list of three, the FSP by a long shot.

The AX series isn't the same as an FSP part number unit (FSP450, for example.) It's a good unit (compared to the other two) in that it has an "honest" label, but the rails are not stable under higher loads.

If you're willing to spend $5 more, I'd get the AMS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817101111

If you're willing to spend $69.99 this is the best value in a power supply on the face of the earth:

http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.a...SU460+ATX12V/+EPS12V+460W+Power+Supply

Reviewed here: http://jonnyguru.com/PSU/NexthermPSU460/

Active PFC, efficiency around 76-78% and higher amperage 12V rails than either of the above two (18A/18A, 32A combined.)

If you can tolerate the frustration of mailing in and waiting for rebates, this is a hell of a deal:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2210219&cp

Normally sells for around $79 to $89 on the web. Has a pair of 12V rails rated at 16A/18A (32A combined) and lifetime warranty. $29 after two MIR's.

 

[Extelleron]

The FSP. BTW why havent you overclocked your Opt. 144? You could get FX-55 or FX-57 speeds out of it.........

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: StrangerGuy
Fortron out the three. The rest are trash.

:thumbsup:

I would highly recommend that Fortron unit too. I have the 400w powering ym Sempron rig and it is great. Very stable rails and I cannot hear it at all.

 

[imported_Citan]

Originally posted by: Extelleron
The FSP. BTW why havent you overclocked your Opt. 144? You could get FX-55 or FX-57 speeds out of it.........

Thats exactly what I intended to do. But with the random freezing and the crappy power supply already in it, I dont want to push it. I currently have a 350W PSU from Raidmax with 15Amps on the 12V rail. I didnt want anything happening so I decided to wait atleast until I got a better PSU. But I dont think I will push it that high on air cooling, especially for long hours.

BTW, thanks jonnyguru for the links. Those look like excellent PSUs, I'll definitely put it into consideration. Just need to do some research or get some advice from someone before I make a final decision. I dont want to regret what I buy.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
Out of your list of three, the FSP by a long shot.

The AX series isn't the same as an FSP part number unit (FSP450, for example.) It's a good unit (compared to the other two) in that it has an "honest" label, but the rails are not stable under higher loads.

If you're willing to spend $5 more, I'd get the AMS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817101111

If you're willing to spend $69.99 this is the best value in a power supply on the face of the earth:

http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.a...SU460+ATX12V/+EPS12V+460W+Power+Supply

Reviewed here: http://jonnyguru.com/PSU/NexthermPSU460/

Active PFC, efficiency around 76-78% and higher amperage 12V rails than either of the above two (18A/18A, 32A combined.)

If you can tolerate the frustration of mailing in and waiting for rebates, this is a hell of a deal:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2210219&cp

Normally sells for around $79 to $89 on the web. Has a pair of 12V rails rated at 16A/18A (32A combined) and lifetime warranty. $29 after two MIR's.

How did you know all these stuff?

 

[jonnyGURU]

Burning bush.

God spoketh onto thee, "thou shalt not bequeath poor power supply advice unto others. Nay. Thou shalt proceed hither with thy covenant of power supplies bequest upon you by thy channel partners."

 

[imported_Citan]

One last quick question...I was looking up on that AMS Mercury PSU and noticed on their site that it had a 24+8 pin.
http://www.amselectronics.com/Products/PSU/P4_PSU.html
Newegg says two things, 20+4 pin in the specs section and 24 pin in the features section.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817101111

Can anyone clarify this? Also, will I be able to use it on my Asrock motherboard which has a 20pin socket?
Thanks. Looks like its down to these two.