Looking for an acceptable PSU that isn't junk

[pangea33]

I know that a decent power supply is highly recommended by everyone here. One important factor, is that my computer is pretty much at the limit of it's upgrade capabilities. I'm running an Athlon XP 2400+, I use 2 run of the mill IDE hard drives, have a DVD burner that doesn't see much use, and a low caliber ATI 9200SE video card. This machine doesn't see much duty other than playing mp3s, and web browsing. Having said that, the PSU fan that came with my case is, suprise!, starting to make nasty bearing noises on startup. Once the system is up and running the noise doesn't return, but I suspect it's on the way out.

For someone like me, would this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153023) 430W Thermaltake be an acceptable replacement? My goal is to keep costs as low as possible, without wasting money on junk. Thanks for any input.

[Rick]

If it's just a fan going bad and not the PS itself.

My goal is to keep costs as low as possible


You can replace the fan..

It isn't that hard and only requires a little work on your part.
Some older units require you to do a little Soldering ( 2 wires)
Many newer units are just remove and plug in new one

[pangea33]

Point taken, Rick, and thanks for keeping to the goal I stated. Basically, after reading all the PSU threads here, I've come to the conclusion that my $50 case with PSU is probably a joke. Maybe I should have said that I'd be willing to spend $40-50 so that I don't have a ticking time bomb. I'll take a look at fan replacement first though. I know my way around a soldering iron. Thanks again for the suggestion.

[jlreich]

I have that Themaltake you linked to running my AMD64 3000+ system. It's not bad at all for the price, and it does the job. More connectors than you will probably ever use. Hell I have a good portion of them tied and tucked away in an unused drive bay. But the 12v rail are is pretty low at only 18A. I think that may actually be enough for your system though. Wait for others to comment on that.

It was really something that fit my budget and was a lot better than my stock PSU that came with the case, But I intend to get a better one when taxes come in though, probably a nice Seasonic. But my system is a little power hungry than yours. And I use my DVD burner all the time.

[Cavalier90]

I agree it is a false economy to skimp on the PSU. I paid £28 (between $35 - 40) for a case and PSU. The 400w PSU gave up just within the 12 month warranty period; I'm trying to get it fixed under warranty so I have a spare. However I bought a new 500w PSU for £46. Hopefully this will last a bit longer.

[pangea33]

Initially I was looking only for something that boasts a dual 12v rail. The cost of this Thermaltake caught my eye though. The generic psu that came with my case only claims an 18A 12v rail, and I imagine that's not even true. The 3.3v and 5v rails claim some completely unrealistic values of 28A and 50A!!! respectively.

My motherboard maxes out at an Athlon XP 2500+, and my 4x/8x AGP 9200SE exceeds that capabilities of my AGP 4x slot. This machine has just about everything it's ever going to see, so I think we've got a winner.

Thanks for sharing your real-life experience with me, jlreich. It's got a 5 star average out of almost 500 reviews at NewEgg too. I'm feeling pretty safe. Appreciate everyone's input.

[saphalline]

Yeah that Thermaltake looks good. And as far as the +12V rails go, don't be fooled by past CPU's. In the era of the AthlonXP and early P4's, 13A was plenty! Prior to that, back in the days of the Athlon and Pentium III, 8-11A was plenty. Only recently, with higher speed P4's and Athlon64's has 18A become necessary. The +12V rail(s) are used a lot more than they used to be...

[jlreich]

Oh, and BTW it is surprisingly very quite, if that concerns you. :cool: