I Need A New Psu

[taylub]

Hey i have a Alienware ALX
and to be honset its not worth the money but im stuck with it anyways its not a noisy system except for the PSU is so #^#@$*&# loud i can hear it through the house. So i was wondering whats a QUIET new one. please help me out

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Which one do u have? The Aurora or the Area-51?

 

[Tedster]

go to Tom's hardware and read their PSU reviews/ comparisons.

brand name / price DOES NOT MEAN QUALITY.

quality varies greatly.

google a PSU calculator to determine your wattage requirements. Add 30% on top for cushion.

 

[KingCody]

So i was wondering whats a QUIET new one

i have an Antec TruePowerII 380 PSU, it is a quality unit and it's almost silent

it's the quietest PSU i have ever owned (and to be honest, it can't get much quieter than it is now). mine is rated for 380watts with two 16A 12V rails. it's enough for most systems, but they also offer them in higher wattages up to 550watts
. also, the high wattage models have a fan speed controller too, so you can make it even quieter

I'm sure there are plenty of other quiet PSUs out there, but since I use this one and like it alot, I can personally recommend the truepowerII series.

cheers :wave:

 

[neild79]

thermaltake toughpower 750w psu

i would recommend the thermaltake toughpower 750w psu with 6 sata connectors, 2 pci express connectors, 2 floppy connectors, etc etc. it can run upto 6 sata hard drives + 4 ata hard drives at the same time is SILENT. you can find the review on techspots home page(i think) as i just read it + am thinking of getting it myself as im trying to build a gaming pc. the only downfall is the price: about £90. but consider the amount of connectors + the the sheer power you get + its worth it. HAVE FUN

 

[taylub]

Thanks for respondin, KingCody that PSU looks great but im 99% shur it will not fit into my case :-\ ill check out the toughpower one neild79. I have a 650 watt in it right now do i really need that much?

another note. I have to be shur that it is silent or near silent not just for me but for the people i live with

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Instead of the ToughPower, I would recommend the OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU. It's much more silent, not to mention cheaper and lighter. It comes with a 3-year replacement warranty which ensures that if the PSU goes bad during this period, it will be replaced by OCZ. I use it and it's truly superb. Worth ur money.

Check out this 8 PSU comparison from Legit Reviews and decide for yourself. It confirms what I said.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/348/1/

 

[Rick]

brand name / price DOES NOT MEAN QUALITY.

I disagree with this somewhat. A manufactuer that manufacturers low quality power supplies tends to manufacturer low quality PSUs. Manufacturers of higher quality power supplies tend to make... You guessed it... higher quality power supplies. This isn't chiseled in granite, but this is my observation.

But I do agree that you should not base you decision soley on brand. However, using brand as a guide might help you wade through the crap and find a good PSU quickly... Because there's a LOT of choices out there.

Interestingly, there is one trend that tends to be fairly consistent - Good PSUs are often heavier. The super cheap-o ones tend to be much lighter. If you're shopping for PSUs in a store where hands-on is possible, this might help guide you to what you should be looking for.

Price also means very little, but if you're paying $18 for a 400w PSU, I'll tell you right now its not a good one. Conversely, paying $150 for a 400w PSU doesn't make a good one either, but I'm willing to bet its better than the $18 one.

 

[KingCody]

Thanks for respondin, KingCody that PSU looks great but im 99% shur it will not fit into my case

well if that one doesn't fit then neither will any of the others that were suggested here. the reason being that they are all standard ATX power supplies (the are all the same size).

i googled a bit and from what i found, all the alienware desktops use ATX power supplies (although i have no way of verifying that). if it is indeed an ATX power supply than any aftermarket ATX psu should fit it fine. smaller PSU form factors like mATX max out around 250w. if it's not ATX, then what is it

:wave:

 

[taylub]

yeah i really took a closer look into the case and discovred that it will fit. But before i can buy anything i have to make shur that i can install it myself and if i voids my warrenty. So King Cody how many watts do you think i need

i dont know the specs off hand but i know i have SLI 7900gtx only 1 Harddrive pentium D 3.37 and a PhsyX card

 

[Rick]

if it's not ATX, then what is it :wave:

It's made by extraterrestrials... Who knows? :giddy:

 

[taylub]

haha well it is ALIENware hehe but anyways im a ***** and it will fit i just need to be shur its really silent and not to low of a power wattage and of course the 2 things i said in my last reply

 

[N3051M]

If you need help filling the blanks on your pc hardware specs, such programs like Everest Home or SIW can help you out. Just google em..

Then use a PSU calculator such as this and like tedster says, add the headroom for comfort..

If you dont have one of those "Warranty Void if broken" stickers covering the screws/back of the pc case type of thing then it should be ok to DIY. Try and find the noise/sound (dB) rating for the product. Less than 18dB is pretty much as silent as one can get, 20-27dB is still quiet untill you get about 1 meter to it, anything above that is noise that can cause insanity with prolonged use

Installation instructions:
1. Power off the pc, unplugg the wall outlet, ground yourself
2. Unscrew the opening side of your case (screws usualy located at the back), slide the case open
3. Locate 4 screws that hold the PSU onto the case, and unscrew them
4. Remove the PSU, taking care not to damage any other components etc. You may need to remove a few PCI/Video/etc cards or cables to get it out
5. Install your new one, fit the screws back on
6. Trace the cables from the old PSU to the components its connected to, and replace it with the same type plug from your new PSU.
7. Clean up the cables, use the velcro (if supplied) or a cable tie to hold them together, so airflow to cool the pc is maximised as much as possible.
8. Double check everything you've removed have been put back in again (cables, cards etc), then pack up (which is just putting back your pc together etc..)
9. Dont forget to turn the switch on at the back of the psu.. it happend to me once.. '

 

[KingCody]

how many watts do you think i need

to find out how much power you need, look at the PSU that you're replacing (the label on the side will give the specs). but you can't go by just the wattage alone, the most important spec is the amperage on the +12v rail, make sure you get a PSU that meets or exceeds your old one.

If it's not ATX, then what is it

It's made by extraterrestrials... Who knows? :giddy:

lol :haha:

 

[taylub]

well here is the specs of my PSU now

Type ATX 12V 2.0

Continuous Power 650 Watts

Maximum Power 710 Watts

Output +3.3V@33A, +5V@24A, +12V1@13A/18A, +12V2@18A, +12V3@16, +12V4@8, -12V@0.5A, +5VSB@2A

Noise Leve 29 dB (A) minimum

PFC Active

Protection Over Current Protection, Under voltage protection, Over Voltage Protection, Short Circuit Protection, No Load Operation

MTBF 100K hours at 25ºC, full load

 

[taylub]

honestly i have no idea what any of that means except for the fan its small and loud

 

[KingCody]

wow, those PSU specs are pretty impressive.

who makes it?

 

[taylub]

its alienware made but is the one you showed me quieter?

 

[N3051M]

Type ATX 12V 2.0

Kinda self explanitory, PSU for an ATX compatible case

Continuous Power 650 Watts
Maximum Power 710 Watts

Thats how much power its able to produce, and can bump up to 710W if the need arises (doing something intensive)

Noise Leve 29 dB (A) minimum

Now that's loud.. think of it this way: A person can hear the difference of 1dB, so every 10dB means its twice as loud, 20dB is even louder etc..
Outputs just tells you how much amps it produces on the various xVolts lines
And that last bits is just showing you what fault protections it has, just like a surge protector on a power strip..

EDIT: The Antec KingCody showed should be considerably quiter (KingCody, do you know how much dB it produces?) than your existing one. However, after showing your Alienware PSU, you may want to consider getting a bit more grunt from a bigger psu, seing that 380w may not be sufficent..

 

[taylub]

yeah i was not going to get the 380 i was looking at at least 650 or 700 as long as it is quiet which in a above post somone said OCZ GameXStream 700w Power Supply would be a good one it seems to me like it will be the quietest

 

[Tedster]

few PSUs (hardly any) actually run at their rated specs. Every PSU loses efficiency due to heat loss. Really crappy PSUs can have 50% efficiency.