What PSU?

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BiggusDoggus

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#143633 21-Apr-2014 22:26

Hey all.

I currently have a 420w PSU (low end, nothing flash). The fan is beginning to stick occasionally, so gets pretty toasty.

Plus it's probably time to upgrade anyway. Same old story, very limited budget, etc etc.

I am currently running:

AMD Athlon II x2 240 2.8GHz processor
AMD Radeon HD5670 video card
2 x 500GB Seagate HDD's
DVD writer
Normal misc gumf - printer/scanner, wireless router, speakers etc.

(Since I installed the current PSU (quite) a few years back I have upgraded the CPU and added the additional HDD).

I am looking at:

FSP RAIDER 80Plus Silver 550W

or

Corsair 550watt PSU - VS550

As everybody knows, Google is our friend, and both of these appear to be both much of a muchness, and okay for low-end PSU's.

So, a couple of questions please:

I'm assuming 550w is more than enough
Anybody have any strong opinions either way on these two
Any better alternatives for around $100?

As always, many thanks for any advice.

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

charsleysa

597 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#1028837 22-Apr-2014 00:08

If you're willing to spend a little extra then you should consider this one.

http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=2284313

It's modular with gold rating meaning long life with tidy cable management and since PSU are basically one of the only part that is future proof on the computer industry you'll be able to upgrade your other parts later on knowing that this PSU will be able to handle the power requirements (assuming to don't build a massive gaming beast).

Regards
Stefan Andres Charsley

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

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#1029085 22-Apr-2014 12:39

Thanks Stefan - I did look at them, but my budget is firmly around $100. And I consider myself fortunate to have that, lol.

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

timmmay

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#1029097 22-Apr-2014 12:54

You can get away with a 210W PSU according to this calculator, with 260W recommended. Just go for a well known brand, ideally modular if you can swing it.

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

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#1029104 22-Apr-2014 13:16

timmmay: You can get away with a 210W PSU according to this calculator, with 260W recommended. Just go for a well known brand, ideally modular if you can swing it.

Really? The calculator I used said I needed at least 400w.

Although I didn't mention in my first post I have 2 sticks of DDR2 RAM, if that makes a difference.

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

timmmay

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#1029107 22-Apr-2014 13:20

Get a 400W PSU, doesn't hurt to go bigger. I measured my i7 with 3 hard drives and 2 SSDs working hard once, it came to 110W.

charsleysa

597 posts

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#1029112 22-Apr-2014 13:29

As timmmay said, it doesn't hurt to go bigger.

Here's one that's in your price range that's modular as well though it's only got a bronze rating.

http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=1563417

The only reason I see for you to upgrade is the fact that it's an old PSU and that the fan is stuck, otherwise I'd say just keep what you have.

Edit: just for the record, that calculator recommends a 600watt power supply, but I upgraded to 1000watt anyway for the future.

Regards
Stefan Andres Charsley

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#1029120 22-Apr-2014 13:58

I got a Corsair (850W!) for my last build and it has been great. Modular cabling, reliable as anything and able to handle my previous SLi setup without missing a beat.