do i need a new pow supply?

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uiucguy99

New Member
ok i have a 4 year old dell computer in a stock case with one REALLY noisy case fan. i've noticed that the fan seems ineffective and the computer gets pretty hot. so i've decided to buy a new case which comes with 3 80mm case fans.

i took apart my current setup and found as follows:
P3 800MHz
30gb hdd
128mb rdram
dvd-rom drive
cd-rw drive
zip100 drive
floppy drive
32mb nVidia graph card
pci 10/100 net card
sound card
2 integrated usb1 ports

all running on a 200W OEM power supply.

now, i plan to increase my ram by 256mb to 384, and there is a possibility of adding a usb 2.0 bus and 64mb/128mb video card in the distant future.

i'm pretty sure you're gonna tell me i need a new psu.... so my next question is... which of these 2 is better as far as reliability and quality.... i know one is 400w and one is 300w.... but i'm worried that the 400 is a piece of crap:

Ultra ATX Dual 80mm 400W PSU - 29.99

Ultra ATX 120mm 300W PSU - 29.99

is ultra a decent quality brand??? please help because the rebate on the 400W one only goes til tomorrow!!
 
Cromewell

Cromewell

Administrator
Staff member
The 400 is the better of the 2, it has a lot higher max load on each rail. I have no experience with Ultra but I heard they were an ok brand.
 
Praetor

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
i'm pretty sure you're gonna tell me i need a new psu.... so my next question is... which of these 2 is better as far as reliability and quality.... i know one is 400w and one is 300w.... but i'm worried that the 400 is a piece of crap:
Click to expand...
You dont need a new power supply, ive got more running on a 200W and 250W PSU ... granted they were nice Forttrons but still

I have no experience with Ultra but I heard they were an ok brand.
Click to expand...
Very nice PSUs in general, surprisingly so for PSUs originally marketed based on bling-bling factor
 
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krazykarl

New Member
if your going to grab a new PS, check your case first, and make sure it fits standard ATX PSU's ive known a lot of OEM(dell, hp, etc..) models to have thier own stupid non-standard PSU shapes/mounts.
 
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ecomp401

New Member
it depends which video card you get, you can run the ram upgrade on the psu u have now, however the video card might need more power, i know that the geforce 3s require at least a 350w i think it is... however you would want to upgrade your psu if you are planning to upgrade beyond it. I would recomend that you buy all your parts first and if it wont boot with them in, then buy a new PSU, its not like its going to cost you any more...
 
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