A few questons about power supplies...

[Mazza558]

I want a GeForce 6600 GT for my system but i found out I have a really bad power supply (Bestec ATX-250 - 250w). I don't know how my PC has been running all the components in my pc. The specs are:

-AMD Athlon 64 3400+
-1GB DDR SDRAM
-Radeon 9600 (vanilla)
-XP home

Here are my questions:

1.) would an increase of power to 450w increase the performance of my pc?
2.) Is my current PSU a bottleneck to any components in my pc?
3.) Is this a good power supply / brand? http://www.qtec.info/products/product.htm?artnr=14029
4.) How do I know whether this PSU will fit or work with my PC?
5.) If I wanted to upgrade again from a 6600GT to a 6800U or similar, would a 400-450w PSU be enough?

Thanks in advance

 

[sllewe]

Here ya go

1.) would an increase of power to 450w increase the performance of my pc?
2.) Is my current PSU a bottleneck to any components in my pc?
3.) Is this a good power supply / brand? http://www.qtec.info/products/product.htm?artnr=14029
4.) How do I know whether this PSU will fit or work with my PC?
5.) If I wanted to upgrade again from a 6600GT to a 6800U or similar, would a 400-450w PSU be enough?

1. No. It would be needed to run the 6600 though.

2. Not really, but it could be the cause of reboots and errors. (if you have them)

3. No. You get what you pay for as far as PSUs go. Brands like antec enermax OCZ are good brands. I would not skimp out on a jip-o brand. (see question above)

4. Unless you PC is an OEM rig, it sould fit. Now older boards use a 20 pin P1 connector, and new ATX2.0 use a 24 pin. If your not sure what your board supports, you can always count the number of pins (its the biggest connector, going into your MB. Even if you buy the wrong one, adapters are very cheap.

5. It really depends on the brand of the PSU. But if it is a reputiable brand, 450 should be enough.

Sean

 

[IronDuke]

PSU link

Have a look here for plenty of info on PSUs.

 

[Nukey]

...the amount of issues I've had with power supplies have been shocking.
(no pun intended.)

What you need is a power supply thats capable. I have a similar CPU and I got through 5 PSUs only to find the right one that will actually work.

For an Athlon 64 3400+ you need a power supply that has a 12v DC output of >17A.
It needs to be at least 450w.

They may be hard to find, and with the proper stability I suggest an X-Power 500.

It's a 500w psu with very high outputs so as new parts come out, it'll be good for future use. (I think it's 20A or something).

And they're really cheap too. Worth a look.

 

[patio]

A 500W PSU that sells for twenty bucks is going to give you nothing but headaches.

patio.

 

[sllewe]

and you do not need 450 watts to run a 3400. Also 20A on what rail?


I say put as much as you can into a good PSU.

 

[Nukey]

Well thats according to my manual here. I dont know if the requirements are generally the same when it comes to processors, but I found that out the hard way - having to take the PSUs back to the stores over and over again is a total nightmare! but oh well :]

Ans it was about £30 ($50) and anyway you'll always find the cheaper stuff always does a better job anyway. :]

 

[settalb]

I'm going throught the same this, I have just recently bought a eVGA PCI-E e-GeForce 6600 for my computer and realized that i'm going to need to upgrade my PSU. I have the occasional system shutdown while playing games but usually have a blink in my usb wireless network adaptor but the adaptor works fine on other comps.

Been looking at PSU's under 50$ cause that's all I can afford atm. This looks like it should do the job: Thermaltake PurePower / 430-Watt / ATX
with these Specifications
AC INPUT

115V/230V - 60/50Hz
DC OUTPUT

+3.3V / 20A

+5V / 30A

+12V / 18A

Would this do the job ?

 

[beerabuser30]

Someone earlier was talking about pins. I have a 24 pin connector on my mobo and my 20 pin connector from the power supply works fine. Also I wouldn't go cheap on the power supply, kind of an important thing just get a 500w power supply from a good company no weird off brand stuff.