PSU suggestions

[phenom2003]

What PSU would you suggest for a pc to be used slightly overclocked with high performance components? Cost would also be an issue, so getting the balance between power, noise levels and cost is an issue. So, what can you reccomend?

[Bursar]

Depends what the components are really. High speed drives and CPUs will require more power than slower ones.

It's a bit of a vague question really.

Something around the 350-400W mark should be fine unless you're going to stuff the machine to the gills with gadgets and drives.

[Kramer]

Antec are excellent.

Truepower 480w etc. should be OK - go for the 550w if you want the best available. Not cheap though :eek:

[InsertNameHere]

Hi

Like Barsar says its all depends on the components you have. You can get a good idea of what you’re after by heading over to this site: http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/. It calculates the total wattage of your system (at peak load). Whatever it suggests, I would add another 50W or so to this figure for overclocking and future upgrades.

I also agree with the recommendation of an Antec power supply. However, Enermax are also a very good make and are certainly worth considering.

Alex

[Bursar]

People get far too hung up on the maximum wattage of the PSU. What really counts is the stability of the voltages, and that's what's key if you're going to be overclocking.

There's little point in buying a 550 Watt PSU if your 5v line is going to drop to around 4.5v once you start clocking stuff. It will severely limit your maximum overclock.

Sparkle PSUs whilst not having the same rep as Enermax and Antec have adjustable pots. This means that you can start overclocking and as your voltages drop, you can tweak the pots and bring them up again. This will help in reaching higher clock speeds and a more stable system.

[Apocalypse]

I've had all the major makes of PSUs from Enermax, Sparkle, Qtec and Antec but Antec truepower is head and shoulders above, it does exactly what it says on the tin, no loss of power. I have a m8 who uses a lowly 350 truepower in his massively overclocked system and he says it's better than his previous 550 Enermax. I currently run the 550 Antec which handily comes with a bayplate device for tweaking the 3.3, 5 and 12V lines plus a dial to set the speed of the PSU fans and any 4-pin fans connected directly to the PSU, perfect for running large 120mm fans in a HCPC case with near silent operation..........................a lot less fuss than getting rheostats or other fan controllers.

Edit - I've just built a PC for a guy who insisted on an Enermax 460 and upon opening the box I discovered that it only had the European 2-pin plug so if you choose Enermax ask the vendor if it's the non-European version :lesson:

[BOD]

I love my Antecs 430 and 550 Trupowers.

I have used QTEC's and they are poo.

Macron was ok.

You get what you pay for.

Two considerations - ampage and seperate voltage lines.

Ampage - good example is the QTEC 550w was half the combined ampage of the Antec 430w.

Antec Trupowers and high end Enermax's use independent voltage rails. Most manufacturers don't. They derive the 3.3v rail from the 5v and 12v. Hence a high hit on either of the 5v and 12v adversely affects the 3.3v rail.

Antec Trupower comes with a 3year guarantee. They cost a lot but they are worth it.

[overkill]

Antec, Enermax etc are all good options - at a price. Antec for example are just CWT PSU's in nice suits. Better made than CWT's ordinary PSU's but massively overpriced just the same.

I have used Antec, & Sparkle & i'm still using:- Enermax, Thermaltake, & Q-tec 550 watt psu's. The only PSU's that you really need to avoid (at all costs!) are the cheapo sub £20 jobs. Check out:- PSU review (http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20021021/index.html) It's a fair guide, but be warned, Toms tends to favour *ahem* certain brands.