What PSU?

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BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#18790 23-Jan-2008 21:12

Hey all - quick question please.

With:

250GB SATA HDD
4200+ AMD Athlon dual core CPU
7600GT (or 8600GT) Video Card
DVD Writer

Will I get by on a 420w PSU, or should 450w be minimum? And is Thermal Master a brand anyone has heard of/got any opinions of? Googling it brings up nada, which is not a good sign, I reckon.

thanks!

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

dnb4life

312 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#106433 23-Jan-2008 23:38

a 420w should manage with that setup. just depends if you want room for expansion or not? i.e another hard drive or dual video cards. i always reckon its better to be safe and go for the bigger size. a 450 or 500w wouldn't cost much more. as for thermal master, i've never heard of them. though i don't see myself as a psu guru so they may be well known. check out some hardware sites like toms hardware, they'll have reviews and comparisons of the best that are out there. i have a raidmax 520w silent pci-express psu and its great. super quiet even when running 1.4tb over 4 hard drives, 4200 x2 dual core cpu, x850xt pe gfx card and a dvd writer. also no stupid neons (i hate neons :P)

bradstewart

4335 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#106437 23-Jan-2008 23:52

Are you getting confused between Thermaltake and Cooler Master?

A 350w would run that system, but I would recommend something like the Thermaltake 430w PSU. Only go bigger if you intend to go for a large graphics card down the road.

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#106454 24-Jan-2008 08:21

Here's what I'm looking at

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=137494225

cheers

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

dnb4life

312 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#106480 24-Jan-2008 11:36

any reason why you're buying parts on trademe? you'll find them cheaper and garanteed brand new here: http://www.pricespy.co.nz/cat_7.html

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#106481 24-Jan-2008 11:40

Not even close to be honest. Fine if you're in Auckland, and want a "no brand" PSU.

But as soon as you add shipping, and go for a "brand", it gets outside my budget.

Thanks though - appreciate the post.

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

dnb4life

312 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#106485 24-Jan-2008 11:52

suit yourself, don't say i didn't warn you.

lets see...

450w psu
only $48.80 shipped to auckland, hardly pricey.

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#106486 24-Jan-2008 11:59

Yes, but shipped to Christchurch it becomes $58.93, and it's just a generic PSU.

Compared to $45 shipped to Christchurch, and it's a branded PSU (admittedly, still trying to ascertain the quality of that PSU, but it came from a Master Cooler case, so it can't be too shabby)

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

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dnb4life

312 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#106487 24-Jan-2008 12:05

have you even confirmed if thermal master is a brand? it says it was ripped out of a cooler master 330 case. but for sure, go for the dodgey 2nd-hand seller on trademe who barely grasps english and didn't even complete his last trade. i'm sure the extra $5 or $10 you'd pay for a pricespy one isn't worth the peace of mind.

bradstewart

4335 posts

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Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#106488 24-Jan-2008 12:14

dnb4life: the dodgey 2nd-hand seller on trademe who barely grasps english.

That would describe most of the dodgy little businesses on Pricespy

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#106489 24-Jan-2008 12:14

I agree Brad.

And that's harsh about that seller on TradeMe. The buyer on that last trade posted negative feedback 2 days after winning the auction to say they haven't received an e-mail from the seller? The seller has 3 days to do that. So it's hardly an incompleted trade.

And that PSU you quoted is a good price, but as I said, it's a generic brand, and according to their website doesn't have a warranty either (other than the Consumer Guarantees act, which basically just means if it doesn't work when you receive it you can return it)

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

dnb4life

312 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#106500 24-Jan-2008 13:15

i dunno if you've used trademe and pricespy alot brad but i have. trademe is a hell of a lot worse than pricespy. sure there are a few useless businesses on pricespy but with alittle browsing you can quickly tell who to buy from and who not to. sure that psu was crap but i only did that as an example, i wouldn't have brought that for myself but i still think its a better deal and lower risk. i wonder why the guy ripped out his 420w psu and replaced it? hmmmmm. as for trademe there is usually even less coverage via warranty and returns for faulty items (let alone the seller is usally untracable unlike a registered business) so have fun with that.

BiggusDoggus

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#106505 24-Jan-2008 13:46

Generally I would agree.

However, I have had nothing but problems with any business I have tried to buy from in pricespy - incorrect prcing leading to "sorry out of stock", me cancelling the order and then that same product appearing on their site the next day with the increased price, for example. That's happened to me twice for the same product from 2 different dealers.
And there's no come-back, and no means to feedback on poor service/product.

Whereas I have been buying PC parts from Trademe for years with absolutely no issues. And there is a very public means of giving feedback.

So it's TradeMe for me, in most cases. Yes, it may come back to bite me, but IMHO (as Brad alluded to) it is just as likely to happen with a back-street business.

Anyways, as far as that PSU is concerned, do those specs mean anything at all?

AC input 115V/230V 10A/5A 50-60HZ
DC output +12V +5V +3.3V -5V -12V +5Vsb

current 16A 30A 0.5A 0.5A 2A

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries