I think i need a new power suply

[Dave_w]

Hey all,

as the title says, i think i need a new power suply. Mine has been making a really anoying noise for about a week or so. I have gotten rid of all the dust, but it is constantly making a noise.

I dont know what my power suply is, so is there a way of finding out about it without opening my pc? Also, what kind of thing do you need to think about when getting a new one? Like, how much power should you get (500/600/ so on). Does it depend on what kind of system you have?

My spec's are:

Mobo: ASUS P4S800D-X
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 .. 3.00ghz
Ram: 1024mb .. PC3200 (200mhz / 2x512)
HD: 80gb .. SATA
GFX card: Radeon 9800SE .. 512mb

--- Other things (dont know if this is important or not) ---

19" widescreen monitor
2.1 speaker set
Saitek Eclipse II .. keyboard
Logitech MX-518 .. mouse
windows XP home

Any help would be great.

Thanks in advance,
Dave

[mjc]

Probably is on the way out...so yeah a new one would be advisable. With what you have, I'd say 400-450W edging toward the higher end of the range.

Is your machine a prebuilt, off the shelf machine (HP, Dell, etc) or a custom build?

[Dave_w]

Its a custom build. I found a web site and they did it all for me...

[Fruss Tray Ted]

I have gotten rid of all the dust,

so is there a way of finding out about it without opening my pc?

If you cleaned it out once, why is it so much trouble to open it a second time? You're going to have to open it to replace the power supply so what's the big deal?

I have 4 to 5 pc's within sight and there isn't a one of them that has the side cover on! I tinker on them so much the panel gets in the way! If there was a side panel on my laptop, that one would be off too! :eek:

[LadyGrey]

Hi Dave,
I've had a 500w for several years now and have never had an issue with not having enough power. As computers change the more power they are going to require I think so it might be better to invest now in a high end PSU. Just hedging your bets for on down the road.
LG;)

[HomeSA]

I have 4 to 5 pc's within sight and there isn't a one of them that has the side cover on! I tinker on them so much the panel gets in the way! If there was a side panel on my laptop, that one would be off too! :eek:

ha ha ha, I know what you mean :D
The problem is to figure out what side panel goes on which case after months and months have passed.

[Dave_w]

Well i found out what my supply is, it is http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=132721.

[1966]

My system isn't too much different from yours and I am at the moment using an older PC Power and Cooling 275watt Silencer. Have been looking for a replacement and will probably go with a 350 to 400 watt unit depending on what mood I'm in when I do it.