Should I get a new PSU?

[schneiderguy]

I'm looking to upgrade to a dual core CPU in the near future. Right now I've got a A64 3500+ (S939), and I think I'll upgrade to a x2 3800+ or x2 4200+ since I want to get one before they dissapear completely

Anyway, right now I'm using a 300watt Bestec that came in a HP. It has 19amps on the +12v rail. Do I need a beefier PSU? The TDP of my 3500+ is 65w, the TDP of the x2's is 89 watts... so it'll be about 30 watts more power required I think.

My full system specs:

A64 3500+
7600gt @ stock speeds
3x 512mb DDR1 + 1x 256DDR1
250gb SATA HD
X-fi xtreme music sound card
DVD-RW drive

As you can see, my system isnt particuarly power hungry... but I'd rather be safe than sorry

If I do have to upgrade, is there anything in the ~$40 range that is better than this Forton 400 watter?. I'm in high school and I don't have a job so my budget is pretty tight

Thanks.

 

[PurdueRy]

I guess you could try it and see if it works. My only concern would be if the power supply crapped out on you and took out more than just itself.

Might be worth getting a cheap fortron...just for the sake of protecting your investment.

 

[schneiderguy]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
I guess you could try it and see if it works. My only concern would be if the power supply crapped out on you and took out more than just itself.

Might be worth getting a cheap fortron...just for the sake of protecting your investment.

Yeah, the Bestec PSU dying and taking out the mobo/other stuff is what I'm afraid of... I've never seen a review or anything on one of their PSU's so I don't know how good/bad they are

I think I'll get the forton.. I'll probably need a new PSU when I get a new video card later this year anyway

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: schneiderguy
I'm looking to upgrade to a dual core CPU in the near future. Right now I've got a A64 3500+ (S939), and I think I'll upgrade to a x2 3800+ or x2 4200+ since I want to get one before they dissapear completely

Anyway, right now I'm using a 300watt Bestec that came in a HP. It has 19amps on the +12v rail. Do I need a beefier PSU? The TDP of my 3500+ is 65w, the TDP of the x2's is 89 watts... so it'll be about 30 watts more power required I think.

My full system specs:

A64 3500+
7600gt @ stock speeds
3x 512mb DDR1 + 1x 256DDR1
250gb SATA HD
X-fi xtreme music sound card
DVD-RW drive

As you can see, my system isnt particuarly power hungry... but I'd rather be safe than sorry

If I do have to upgrade, is there anything in the ~$40 range that is better than this Forton 400 watter?. I'm in high school and I don't have a job so my budget is pretty tight

Thanks.

http://anandtech.com/cpuchipse...howdoc.aspx?i=2903&p=7

...(flip to the power consumption page)...

Your system might take around 180-190 watts (the 7600GT should take significantly less than their 8800GTX), so a 300W PSU should be more than enough.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: dclive

Originally posted by: schneiderguy
I'm looking to upgrade to a dual core CPU in the near future. Right now I've got a A64 3500+ (S939), and I think I'll upgrade to a x2 3800+ or x2 4200+ since I want to get one before they dissapear completely

Anyway, right now I'm using a 300watt Bestec that came in a HP. It has 19amps on the +12v rail. Do I need a beefier PSU? The TDP of my 3500+ is 65w, the TDP of the x2's is 89 watts... so it'll be about 30 watts more power required I think.

My full system specs:

A64 3500+
7600gt @ stock speeds
3x 512mb DDR1 + 1x 256DDR1
250gb SATA HD
X-fi xtreme music sound card
DVD-RW drive

As you can see, my system isnt particuarly power hungry... but I'd rather be safe than sorry

If I do have to upgrade, is there anything in the ~$40 range that is better than this Forton 400 watter?. I'm in high school and I don't have a job so my budget is pretty tight

Thanks.

http://anandtech.com/cpuchipse...howdoc.aspx?i=2903&p=7

...(flip to the power consumption page)...

Your system might take around 180-190 watts (the 7600GT should take significantly less than their 8800GTX), so a 300W PSU should be more than enough.

When trying to get as close to exactly how much power you really need understand first of all that there are really no 100% accurate power cunsumption programs and if you decide to get a 300watt PSU you need to get a quality unit...not a generic unit such as OKIA or bestec.

At one time Fortron made some descent inexpensive PSU`s.
Personally the 400watt Fortron should do you just fine!!

Peace!

 

[dclive]

I'd suggest using Kill-A-Watt ($24 from Amazon) to get around that questionmark, but Anand's reviews are very clear - about 203 watts in a system with nVidia's 8800GTX card, which is a monster card... I don't think there's any guesswork required.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: dclive
I'd suggest using Kill-A-Watt ($24 from Amazon) to get around that questionmark, but Anand's reviews are very clear - about 203 watts in a system with nVidia's 8800GTX card, which is a monster card... I don't think there's any guesswork required.

AnandTech's power consumption charts aren't clear, and I am fixing to make a thread about it. Stay tuned....