What's in a PSU?

Grimspoon

Grimspoon

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Hey dudes,

I am busy trying to work out what gaming machine to buy, and I hear a lot of talk about PSU. What is big deal with what PSU you buy, why would you buy a 700w over a 600w if they will do the exact same thing? I do realise if you buying a monster gaming machine you would need a lot more power than say a celeron, but surely once you have power you have power end of story? Forgive my ignorance. :D


Grim
 
thed33p said:
Power Supply Unit
Click to expand...

LOL :D

Mostly buying a bigger (eg700w) over a smaller (eg500w) will only be necessary if you are planning on going SLi, and/or running a huge amount of HDD's/ROM's etc..
It's also been a way of "futureproofing" your pc over the past 5 or so years, as new components became more power hungry..

The bigger PSU's also comes with more connectors (to be plugged in) and as you go more expensive, things like modular wiring is also included :)

Hope this starts to help an explanation?
 
Sorry - read your question wrong

AFAIK, with a higher rated PSU you will be able to power up more devices simtaneously (Eg more HDD so u can run RAID.) Also, SLI will use more power than a single card.

Correct me if i'm wrong.....
 
Ahhhh ok, makes more sense now. Thanks guys! I guess i wont really be running a huge load of stuff, and no Sli so I safetly say I wont need a monster PSU. ;)

Thanks again.
 
There's lots and lots of magic smoke inside a PSU.

If it leaks out (usually accompanied by a loud BANG! sound) then it doesn't work anymore :D
 
Tell me something, I was quoted R795 for a thermaltake 500W PSU.....Seems like one hell of a lot of money for a PSU dont you think? Is it worth spending a bit more on a brand name PSU?
 
YEs branded only! Dont trust a generic! They will go "bang" very quickly! :D
 
From what little i kno, I tried not to skimp 2 much with much with my PSU, i tried to find best bang for buck according to my power requirement. Im by no means running a monster gaming machine, but tis what i have:
q6600
8800gt
2gb ram
750gb + 250gb SATA
dvd-rw

from what iv reasearched, a 500w was adequate for my needs.
my criteria then became, i wanted an efficient psu, so one that worked close to what power it offered, when it says 500w, it doesnt actually give u that as a constant. so more efficient = less heat n there4 an overall cooler machine..
modular was another, less clutter n there4 better internal airflow = cooler machine...
n mayb its gimmicky, but the multiple rails options and the various protection devices which probably normally wudn be an issue, but considering power outages, the possiblity of surges might play a factor...
I agree with Mephisto_Helix and Just_Ice, in that iv seen people's psu's fry boards n hdd's n sum whose non-branded have served them well for years..
For me, a gud PSU was within my budget, so i opted for it as a safety measure considering the little extra it costed compared to risk of frying much more expensiv equipment.
Also mayb u'd want a 8pin connector for a PCI 2.0 gfx card, but 6-8pin converters are common, so that not a biggie.

in case u wondering, i took a Coolermaster real power 520w, but my 1st choice was the Zalman ZM500HP (they had no stock). Thus far, im satisfied with it.

im no expert tho, i suggest u budget, research, assess ur needs n then find best bang for buck...

im no xpert, just my 2c

g'luck
 
Grimspoon said:
Tell me something, I was quoted R795 for a thermaltake 500W PSU.....Seems like one hell of a lot of money for a PSU dont you think? Is it worth spending a bit more on a brand name PSU?
Click to expand...

I have had a very bad experience with Thermaltake (The PSU popped), and Antec has been very unimpressive also (recommended the brand to my brother 1 year later it's broken, he replaced it with a codegen, 3 years later the codegen is still working :rolleyes: ), so I say stay away from them but in the end it's up to you.

The brands I personally think are the best are: Enermax, Seasonic, AOpen in that order, Enermax has impressed me the most but AOpen is great also just not as silent as Seasonic. For cheap I always use codegen (supplied by Cyberdyne systems), they are cheap, loud and the design is nothing special but for some reason I have yet to see one die :eek:

@Mephisto_Helix: Gigabyte is branded :p
 
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