Wich Power Suply should i use?

mesa · 11-05-2009, 06:40 AM

I have a old PC. Around 4 years old. And a friend gave me his PC cause he bought a new one. And i noticed his power supply has more MAX W then mine.

This is my old Power Supply.

And this is the power supply i noticed on the "new" PC.

Both have 4 normal Legacy plugs for DVD-ROMs / HDD.
Mine has 2 aditional plugs that i dont use.
Both have the normal Power Supply for the MoBo and both have the normal Aux Power Supply.

**greenbrucelee** · 11-05-2009, 06:57 AM

If you post your specs including the graphics then we could advise you on what is better but to be honest a lot of people discount the power supply when getting or building a new computer because they don't understand what a PSU does.

what your concerned with when getting a power supply is amperage. If your system runs but your pushing it with the limits of the power supplies amperage then you will eventually destroy your system. The system may seem fine and could last for a year or two but eventually it will die.

The best power supplies are corsair, seasonic and PC power and cooling.

That picture you have posted isn't a very good psu

Phædrus2401 · 11-05-2009, 08:31 AM

They both have the same amperage on the +12V rail (20A) and so both are effectively the same wattage. The first one is slightly more honest, the second one tries to inflate its power rating with an overspecced 3.3V rail. Neither is good enough to run a gaming PC.

mesa · 11-05-2009, 09:03 AM

Thanks for the reply

I am using a GeForce 6600 256 mb video card. 2 SATA HDD's and a DVD writer. 1GB of RAM.

Phædrus2401 · 11-05-2009, 09:10 AM

Do you know if the card is AGP or PCIe?

mesa · 11-05-2009, 09:13 AM

AGP with this video card.

On the other hand i am changing my MoBo tommorow. To a PCI Express, not a very good one but a better one than i have atm. And from reading trough the Stickies on PSU i need a ~800Watt PSU. Ill be lookin into that.

Ill still use this MoBo on another PC... so its a good idea to know wich PSU to keep.

**Tyree** · 11-05-2009, 09:21 AM

I doubt if you will need an 800W PSU. Post ALL of the specs (Brand & Model) for the new hardware and we can direct you to a PSU.

mesa · 11-06-2009, 04:10 AM

Today i traded the second PSU with this one.

This one has Power Plugs for SATA drives directly from the PSU.

So is this one better then the VIKING one above?

Manufacturer: VIAK8M
Processor: AMD Sempron(tm) Processor 3000+, MMX, 3DNow, ~1.8GHz
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT
2 SATA HDDs. PICS here: WD800JD - 1.5gb Transfer Jumper

mesa · 11-06-2009, 06:53 AM

Update: I chose the Last one to place it in. Seems more efficient then the VIKING i had.

I fixd the problem with the WD800JD HDD problem i had also. It seems it was from the PSU.

PSU's are that important it seems.
Curious thing is that the new PSU... has lower Watts then the VIKING but works better under my circumstances.

Thanks for the help.

**Tyree** · 11-06-2009, 07:45 AM

Yes, the PSU IS very important! Insufficient power can very easily cause damage to the PC hardware.
All of the PSU's you have posted are very low quality units.
If you add a PCI-E GPU you will most likely experience more power issues with any of those PSU's.

mesa · 11-07-2009, 12:27 AM

I didnt change the MOBO to PCI-E. So i still use the AGP one.

My PC is running a little low atm after the changes i made to the hardware... Do you need to reinstall a OS after you change the PSU? ... Is it recomended or not?

**grimx133** · 11-07-2009, 01:45 AM

No need to do anything with the OS after a power supply change. A motherboard change usually requires a repair install, but everything else doesn't, aside from the odd cmos clear for the bios to reacquire hardware after a change.

As everyone else is saying, none of those psu's are much good, you can run most agp systems on them, but not suitable for any pci-e video cards at all.

Phædrus2401 · 11-07-2009, 03:38 AM

Agreed with Grimx. The LiteOn one (I didn't know they made PSUs) is most honest, the label is very informative and even includes information about at the rate it derates with temperature. Still not a very good PSU though; just labeled honestly.

11-05-2009, 06:40 AM	#1 (permalink)
mesa Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 12 OS: XP SP3	Wich Power Suply should i use? I have a old PC. Around 4 years old. And a friend gave me his PC cause he bought a new one. And i noticed his power supply has more MAX W then mine. This is my old Power Supply. And this is the power supply i noticed on the "new" PC. Both have 4 normal Legacy plugs for DVD-ROMs / HDD. Mine has 2 aditional plugs that i dont use. Both have the normal Power Supply for the MoBo and both have the normal Aux Power Supply.

11-05-2009, 06:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
greenbrucelee Mentor Hardware team Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 1,773 OS: XP SP3 My System	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? If you post your specs including the graphics then we could advise you on what is better but to be honest a lot of people discount the power supply when getting or building a new computer because they don't understand what a PSU does. what your concerned with when getting a power supply is amperage. If your system runs but your pushing it with the limits of the power supplies amperage then you will eventually destroy your system. The system may seem fine and could last for a year or two but eventually it will die. The best power supplies are corsair, seasonic and PC power and cooling. That picture you have posted isn't a very good psu __________________ Microsoft certified professional, Network +, A+ certified

11-05-2009, 08:31 AM	#3 (permalink)
Phædrus2401 Hardware Tech Team Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,706 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 + Ubuntu 9.04 My System	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? They both have the same amperage on the +12V rail (20A) and so both are effectively the same wattage. The first one is slightly more honest, the second one tries to inflate its power rating with an overspecced 3.3V rail. Neither is good enough to run a gaming PC. __________________ Good PSU brands: Corsair, SeaSonic, CWT, PC Power and Cooling, Thermaltake Toughpower, CoolerMaster Real Power Pro On 80+ Certification - PSU Information and Selection - Power Supply Myths You don't get what you don't pay for.

11-05-2009, 09:03 AM	#4 (permalink)
mesa Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 12 OS: XP SP3	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? Thanks for the reply I am using a GeForce 6600 256 mb video card. 2 SATA HDD's and a DVD writer. 1GB of RAM.

11-05-2009, 09:10 AM	#5 (permalink)
Phædrus2401 Hardware Tech Team Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,706 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 + Ubuntu 9.04 My System	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? Do you know if the card is AGP or PCIe? __________________ Good PSU brands: Corsair, SeaSonic, CWT, PC Power and Cooling, Thermaltake Toughpower, CoolerMaster Real Power Pro On 80+ Certification - PSU Information and Selection - Power Supply Myths You don't get what you don't pay for.

11-05-2009, 09:13 AM	#6 (permalink)
mesa Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 12 OS: XP SP3	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? AGP with this video card. On the other hand i am changing my MoBo tommorow. To a PCI Express, not a very good one but a better one than i have atm. And from reading trough the Stickies on PSU i need a ~800Watt PSU. Ill be lookin into that. Ill still use this MoBo on another PC... so its a good idea to know wich PSU to keep.

11-05-2009, 09:21 AM	#7 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,356 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? I doubt if you will need an 800W PSU. Post ALL of the specs (Brand & Model) for the new hardware and we can direct you to a PSU. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.

11-06-2009, 04:10 AM	#8 (permalink)
mesa Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 12 OS: XP SP3	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? Today i traded the second PSU with this one. This one has Power Plugs for SATA drives directly from the PSU. So is this one better then the VIKING one above? Manufacturer: VIAK8M Processor: AMD Sempron(tm) Processor 3000+, MMX, 3DNow, ~1.8GHz Memory: 1024MB RAM Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 2 SATA HDDs. PICS here: WD800JD - 1.5gb Transfer Jumper

11-06-2009, 06:53 AM	#9 (permalink)
mesa Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 12 OS: XP SP3	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? Update: I chose the Last one to place it in. Seems more efficient then the VIKING i had. I fixd the problem with the WD800JD HDD problem i had also. It seems it was from the PSU. PSU's are that important it seems. Curious thing is that the new PSU... has lower Watts then the VIKING but works better under my circumstances. Thanks for the help. Last edited by mesa; 11-06-2009 at 06:55 AM.

11-06-2009, 07:45 AM	#10 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,356 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? Yes, the PSU IS very important! Insufficient power can very easily cause damage to the PC hardware. All of the PSU's you have posted are very low quality units. If you add a PCI-E GPU you will most likely experience more power issues with any of those PSU's. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.

11-07-2009, 12:27 AM	#11 (permalink)
mesa Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 12 OS: XP SP3	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? I didnt change the MOBO to PCI-E. So i still use the AGP one. My PC is running a little low atm after the changes i made to the hardware... Do you need to reinstall a OS after you change the PSU? ... Is it recomended or not?

11-07-2009, 01:45 AM	#12 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,123 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? No need to do anything with the OS after a power supply change. A motherboard change usually requires a repair install, but everything else doesn't, aside from the odd cmos clear for the bios to reacquire hardware after a change. As everyone else is saying, none of those psu's are much good, you can run most agp systems on them, but not suitable for any pci-e video cards at all. __________________

11-07-2009, 03:38 AM	#13 (permalink)
Phædrus2401 Hardware Tech Team Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,706 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 + Ubuntu 9.04 My System	Re: Wich Power Suply should i use? Agreed with Grimx. The LiteOn one (I didn't know they made PSUs) is most honest, the label is very informative and even includes information about at the rate it derates with temperature. Still not a very good PSU though; just labeled honestly. __________________ Good PSU brands: Corsair, SeaSonic, CWT, PC Power and Cooling, Thermaltake Toughpower, CoolerMaster Real Power Pro On 80+ Certification - PSU Information and Selection - Power Supply Myths You don't get what you don't pay for.