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PC hardware: If you had to pick a powersupply...
Yes selecting the supply has gotten
by Ray Harinec - 2/11/06 4:50 PM In reply to: correct power supply by macnut2much more complex when one gets a newer mobo. The 20/24 pin is no longer a problem because the new supplies give a connector in which the extra 4 pins can be easily detached and not used.
The connectors for the newer SLI and such type mobos may require 8 pin aux connectors, and maybe two. These were not available on supplies made just about six months ago, so be careful.
If you had to pick a power supply...
by BluesRenegade - 2/12/06 7:30 AM In reply to: If you had to pick a powersupply... by jrmar07I suggest you start by visiting the site of your CPU maker (Intel or AMD, whatever's in that machine). By doing a Google search or site search it shouldn't take you long to find the list of compliant power supplies.
I checked out geeks.com and those power suppliers are scarily inexpensive. Let me tell you--when a cheap supply fails, it's not a pretty picture. You're only thinking that they break and stop working, I bet. As I have seen on many HP Pavillions, sometimes they break and let excess voltage and/or current through, which fries the entire system--including the hard drive electronics. Talk about screwed blue, that's it!!
Don't be cheap on your power supply--buy a good one. Magic Flower makes some decent, cpu-maker approved power supplies for reasonable prices ($35-70 retail).
Don't buy bigger than you need unless you have stock in your electric company. It's a waste of your money on electricity you don't need. 450 watts sounded like a good number to me. 680 watts is definitely excessive!
Hi Blue,
by R. Proffitt
- 2/12/06 7:53 AM
In reply to: If you had to pick a power supply... by BluesRenegade
Having used dozens of those from geeks, I'll share that we never had such an event. But then again we head for the large Watt ratings where some will go for less.
Bob
Cheap PSU's
by jrmar07 - 2/12/06 8:01 AM In reply to: If you had to pick a power supply... by BluesRenegadeWell those power supplies surely don't make 680watts. It is, however, more than I need. I will not be straining these units in any way, so I do not see a scary situation in the future. If I was running an AMD X2 4800 with 2 7800GTX in SLI I surely would not buy a $20-30 psu.
What I am running is a AMD Athlon XP 3200+, 2 optical drives, and a ATI X1300Pro AGP. All I would need is around 350watts, which hopefully these units can provide being advertised at 680 or 580. The OEM psu I have in my Emachine now is also a cheapy and has been reliable for me and my experiments.
If these units have been reliable for Bob, who uses PC's everyday for work and play then surely they will be sufficient for me. Mom always taught me that the heavier the better, for powersupplies 
. Shipping weight is over 3lbs so it's not like these are tin cans. An Antec 380 watt power supply is around 2lbs.
I searched for your Magic Flower power supplies and came up with nothing. Maybe they changed their name to Echo Star? lol.
The Fallacy...
by VAPCMD - 2/12/06 7:30 PM In reply to: Cheap PSU's by jrmar07you're not Bob and he has plenty of stuff to pick from and probably plenty of spares when disaster strikes. And for that matter I do too. But that's not practical for most.
You on the otherhand have only one. Your situation couldn't be any further from Bob's or mine for that. You asked for help, we're furnishing it and you wanna quote Mom ? Does she know about PCs or more specifically PSUs? I've got a Mom too and about PCs she knows Zero...my daughters are probably older that you...they listen to me but then I've only been building and repairing PCs as a hobby and key part of build team for a large PC Group for 20 years.
By the way...the PSU I recommeded previously the FSP AX450-PN lists as 5lbs shipped at AxionTech.com and this one comes in at 8lbs. ENERMAX EG701AX-VE SFMA 2.0. Re Magic Flower...maybe the poster meant Super Flower...AxionTech carries those too.
If money was not an issue... PC Power and Cooling.
by R. Proffitt - 2/12/06 7:48 PM
In reply to: The Fallacy... by VAPCMD
Really nice supplies. We've used them in the past on servers that we put into closets and they run for years.
Today, at office and home we just toss in the biggest wattage we can get for 30 bucks and forget about them. Yes I keep 1 or 2 of that 680 Watt PSU around, but as you guessed, its because there is always a neighbor, friend or someone that has a bum or overtaxed PSU and their paper is due the next day.
Bob
(NT) PC Power and Cooling..the epitome of PS excellence !
by VAPCMD - 2/12/06 10:01 PM In reply to: If money was not an issue... PC Power and Cooling. by R. Proffitt
Memory failure on PSU brand name LOL
by BluesRenegade - 2/15/06 11:25 AM In reply to: The Fallacy... by VAPCMDI've also been building PCs over 20 years... and your message cracked me up... ("and you're quoting Mom?" LOL).
I can remember when hotrodding a PC meant removing the Intel 8088 and replacing it with a NEC V-20 (which was a basically a clone 8086).
And then there were those Orchard 286 on a board to drop into an 8088 motherboard. It alls seems funny now, but we thought it was the cat's meow back in those days. Many ppl don't realize that this industry is still in its infancy, when compared to the auto industry, etc.
Oh well, I digress. To the one that asked, buy a GOOD power supply--look for quality not cheap price.
Blues
Hey Blue... My V20 was hot dang fun except...
by R. Proffitt - 2/15/06 11:33 AM
In reply to: Memory failure on PSU brand name LOL by BluesRenegade
I needed to find a patched FORMAT.COM to format diskettes.
Ahh, the memories and the 8087s.
Bob
Thanks...you can almost always find humor in something said.
by VAPCMD - 2/17/06 7:46 PM In reply to: Memory failure on PSU brand name LOL by BluesRenegadeMy approach . . get something good at a good price.
Hopefully it will be more reliable, more stable, last through one upgrade cycle and still be worthwhile to pass on to the kids or grand kids. Gotta have some way to rationalize those new, faster MBs, processors and RAM !
Yes....and I had a Leading Edge Model D...4.44Mhz switchable to 7.77MHz. And then there was the bare bones AST286 ...upgradable to a 386 with an add-in board that only cost $1,300.00 (or whatever the outrageous number was). Or the MFM, RLL, ESDI hard drives ...30MBs...WOW !
'til next,
VAPCMD
Oops... is Super Flower AKA TTGI, NOT Magic Flower
by BluesRenegade - 2/14/06 2:59 PM In reply to: Cheap PSU's by jrmar07Super Flower cases, power supplies, etc.
http://www.super-flower.com.tw/english.htm
http://www.ttgitech.com/index02.html
The ones I've bought also say TTGI (Traditional Technology Group Inc.) on the box--I assume they're a distributor.
A review of one of their quad fan PSUs
http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/cases/ttgi_520ss_QuadFan_1.html
I've used several of their power supplies, the quad, triple, and single fan PSUs. My fave so far is the single 14cm fan PSU because it performs well, cools well, and is the quietest to my ear.
http://www.super-flower.com.tw/english/14cmfan-psu.htm
Hope this helps!
Guessed as much
by VAPCMD - 2/14/06 9:20 PM In reply to: Oops... is Super Flower AKA TTGI, NOT Magic Flower by BluesRenegadeand posted same above....
http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7591-0.html?forumID=26&threadID=156363&messageID=1739385
There ought to be an adapter..
by MartyLK - 2/12/06 8:20 AM In reply to: If you had to pick a power supply... by BluesRenegadea person could plug into the 20/24 pin motherboard connector that would limit the amount of electrical discharge to the system in the event that a power supply failure occurs.
Just a thought.
sorry, but.....
by Jakesty - 2/17/06 11:44 PM In reply to: If you had to pick a power supply... by BluesRenegadeJust because a PSU is 450 watts doesn't mean it uses all 450 when on, that's dumb. Where does it all go then if your peripherals are using only 300 of it? Don't tell me it's heat either, because that's like saying then if all the peripherals used all 450 watts there would be no PSU heat...ummm, yeah...
Back to the subject...
Easily accessible PSU's can be purchased from your local shop if you really need it fast like Best Buy and Comp USA. Antec makes the True Blue line which is very reliable, I have never had a failure with them.
There are a few more things also to consider for your Emachines PSU.
1. The heat made from and around the PSU decreases the efficiency of the unit. Higher the heat, less wattage.
2. In addition to heat, most inexpensive units are only 65-70% efficient anyways
3. Many Emachines use Micro ATX PSU's too, some with strange orientations on it. So be aware of how it looks and order appropriately.
If you're not sure how to pick the size of your next PSU, and don't plan on expansion, then the choice is simple, 1. why swap it out, or 2. get the same size unit because more likely than not you won't use it over again in a new case.
Lastly, if it is a standard PSU size, I would also recommend ones with 120mm fans. Cooler Master makes some 140's too, which move a lot of air, very quiet and have outside slider controls for L-low, A-Automatic, and H-High.
Hope that helps, Jake
How about this one?
by jrmar07 - 2/13/06 11:56 AM In reply to: If you had to pick a powersupply... by jrmar07Ok so since the generic PSU will start smoking once I hook it up, how about this Rosewill 400watt?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182018
Looks better than what I bought.
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