Please help me pick best power supply for the money =)

[BigxGuy7]

I need to build my sister and my mom a new system for each person. The last power supply on my sister's computer crapped out after like 5 years of wear and tear. Anyone know of any good power supplies that are fairly cheap in price but reliable and good quality? I'm not really going to run much off of their computers so I think 300 watts is sufficient but i guess for the long run then 350 watts wouldnt be a bad idea either. I'm trying to stay at like the $40 and below range after tax and everything in CA. I can get Antec TruePower 430 watt for $70 after tax and everything so please dont suggest PSUs that are like $50 or $60 because i might as well get the Antec for them if i were to pay that price.

Thanks Everyone!

 

[Mercurien]

Sparkle and Fortron make some good, affordable power supplies.

 

[tdgx]

I use some Enlight & Enermax power supplies, and they seem to be quite decent for cheaper power supplies. As previously mentioned Sparkles seem to be popular as well.

 

[natopotato]

a fortron source 300 watter would be a great choice. there is even a model with a 120mm fan that is very nice and rather quiet (though the model with the 80mm fan is far from loud unless running under a lot of stress in a hot environment)

 

[HappyCracker]

I have an old 300W Fortron powering a dual p3 setup with no problems

 

[BigxGuy7]

where do you guys usually purchase them from?

 

[karmasalad]

Originally posted by: BigxGuy7
where do you guys usually purchase them from?

You can get the 120mm Fortron one from Newegg here. It's only $32 shipped. I have it and it's quiet.

Newegg carries a large selection of Fortrons.

 

[BigxGuy7]

Hmm...they say it has a burnt in smell to it

Do you think i should go with some Antec Truepower 330 watt psu's for like $40 ish?

 

[shikhan]

What has a burnt smell to it? The fortron 120 300w ones? If thats what you're talking about, i dont know what you mean. I've got two of those and their beauties.

 

[GullyFoyle]

If you can get an Antec TruPower 330 for $40, go for it (and let us know where you got it at that price).
Other wise I'd get 1) the Enermax, 2) the Fortron, or 3) the Sparkle (from Newegg)

Check out the +12V numbers on the Enermax! 22 Amp! Athlon's and P4's are mainly powered on the +12V line, so if that's the kind of machine you're building, it may help you decide. (P3's and earlier run mainly on the +5 line)

 

[BigxGuy7]

Originally posted by: shikhan
What has a burnt smell to it? The fortron 120 300w ones? If thats what you're talking about, i dont know what you mean. I've got two of those and their beauties.

Yeah the people who reviewed the Fortron on NewEgg talk about it having some burnt smell to it...i dunno...a couple people mentioned it in their testimonials

 

[BigxGuy7]

Originally posted by: DanDeighan
If you can get an Antec TruPower 330 for $40, go for it (and let us know where you got it at that price).
Other wise I'd get 1) the Enermax, 2) the Fortron, or 3) the Sparkle (from Newegg)

Check out the +12V numbers on the Enermax! 22 Amp! Athlon's and P4's are mainly powered on the +12V line, so if that's the kind of machine you're building, it may help you decide. (P3's and earlier run mainly on the +5 line)

I think my friend can get it for me around $40-45 ish because he works at Best Buy so he hooks it up with his discount. He doesnt ever buy computer stuff and I'm the one that got him the job since i was cool with the manager at the time so yeah. But i remember people talking about some Sparkle brand having reliable psu's for as low as $25. I'm building my mom and sister some systems that are AMD XP 2000+ or around there. They arent really going to run much more than maybe a CD-rom and CD-RW burner. But i guess just to be safe in the long run then i wouldnt mind spending a little more to have peace of mind that if i decide to upgrade it later for them then it will be capable of upgrades.

 

[shikhan]

If they had a burnt smell to it, then somewthing was probably wrong. Neither of mine have such a smell.

 

[BigxGuy7]

Originally posted by: shikhan
If they had a burnt smell to it, then somewthing was probably wrong. Neither of mine have such a smell.

Yeah...i dunno. They said it went away after a month or two. How do you like yours? What are you running off of it? How long have you had it and how long do you keep your computers on everyday?

 

[shikhan]

My computers stay on 24/7

I have a barton2500+ (oc'd a bit)
nfs7
1 gb ddr
1 20 gb hd
1 60 gb hd
1 160 gb hd
1 cd-rw
1 dvd
4 case fans and a ccfl

Runs like a beauty

 

[BigxGuy7]

Originally posted by: shikhan
My computers stay on 24/7

I have a barton2500+ (oc'd a bit)
nfs7
1 gb ddr
1 20 gb hd
1 60 gb hd
1 160 gb hd
1 cd-rw
1 dvd
4 case fans and a ccfl

Runs like a beauty

Dang that sounds good...alright, thanks a lot. I'm sold. Just one last question though. Did you get yours from NewEgg? and if so then is it the same model as the one in the Tom's Hardware review?

 

[shikhan]

i did get mine from newegg... i'm not sure if its the same model as the one in TH, but it is this one:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=17-104-979&depa=0

 

[ethebubbeth]

I'll put in a vote for forton and sparkle. I normally prefer andtec an enermax, but sparkle and fortron are dang good budget PSU's

 

[BigxGuy7]

cool cool. Thanks a lot guys

 

[BullsOnParade]

Just picked up a PC Power and Cooling 350w for 66 shipped free. Waiting
for it to arrive, but going on the opinion expressed everywhere I've
been, this PSU should be the end all be all. I was also impressed to
see their site confirm that for even 3 hdd's and whatnot the reccomeneded
PSU is still only in the 300w range, dispelling the mumbo jumbo about the need
for +400W psu's. I still run my 3hdd's 9700 and Athlon Barton A off my Skyhawk
300. I'd even reccomend the Skyhawk, its taken a beating and still performs top
notch (handing it down to my bro).

I think for the average user they reccomend
their quiet 270w which i think is going for 60 w/ free shipping. Based on reviews
and what everyone keeps saying I'd pick up one of these if you're shooting in
that range. If not then I'd say Fotron Source at newegg as they seem to get the
second most nods of approval and are held in the same regard by the community
as is PC power and cooling. Between those two brands I'd say you can't go wrong,
and while everything else will probably work fantastically you won't have the same piece
of mind with them as you would with those two.

dM

 

[BigxGuy7]

Originally posted by: fixMyAccount
Just picked up a PC Power and Cooling 350w for 66 shipped free. Waiting
for it to arrive, but going on the opinion expressed everywhere I've
been, this PSU should be the end all be all. I was also impressed to
see their site confirm that for even 3 hdd's and whatnot the reccomeneded
PSU is still only in the 300w range, dispelling the mumbo jumbo about the need
for +400W psu's. I still run my 3hdd's 9700 and Athlon Barton A off my Skyhawk
300. I'd even reccomend the Skyhawk, its taken a beating and still performs top
notch (handing it down to my bro).

I think for the average user they reccomend
their quiet 270w which i think is going for 60 w/ free shipping. Based on reviews
and what everyone keeps saying I'd pick up one of these if you're shooting in
that range. If not then I'd say Fotron Source at newegg as they seem to get the
second most nods of approval and are held in the same regard by the community
as is PC power and cooling. Between those two brands I'd say you can't go wrong,
and while everything else will probably work fantastically you won't have the same piece
of mind with them as you would with those two.

dM

Hmm..well let me know how your's turns out. I'd be interested in seeing how that PSU works.

 

[Arcanedeath]

I've purchased 2 of these Achieve 550W Dual Fan P4 Ready PSU w/ Gold Finish (Retail Box) from SVC for only 32.99 + shipping, they are not that lound, hold their rails pretty well for a cheapie power supply, and seem to be reliable, I have 1 powering a loaded K7S5A rig and they tend to be picky about powersupplies, but this one has worked fine, so I'd give it a shot. For the money you can't really go wrong and I doubt you'll ever tax a 550W supply w/ 30A on the +3.3v rail, 50A on the +5.0v rail, and 25A on the +12v rail. Hope this helps....

 

[borgmang]

Originally posted by: HappyCracker
I have an old 300W Fortron powering a dual p3 setup with no problems

Get the Fortron - P300XFPN 300W Power Supply

 

[BigxGuy7]

Originally posted by: borgmang

Originally posted by: HappyCracker
I have an old 300W Fortron powering a dual p3 setup with no problems

Get the Fortron - P300XFPN 300W Power Supply

Where can i find that for the cheapest? I live in CA so any online stores outside of CA with cheap shipping would be cool. That way i don't have to pay freakin tax. I hate the 8.25% sales tax in CA!
:|