Do PSUs work for all PCs?

hirobo2

Member
Do I need a specific PSU type for my mobo, meaning do they all come with connectors that fit with most modern mobos (ie. circa 2012 and later)?
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
You don't want a generic psu as the power supply is the backbone of your system. For entry level machines with a low end video card such as the gtx 750ti or similar or onboard video, a 430 watt unit is the lowest I would recommend. Good units in that range is the corsair cx430 or evga 430 watt. It also depends on if you have a slim tower case or a regular midtower case. Slim cases require sfx/tfx power supplies which only go up to say 350/400 watts max.
 

hirobo2

Member
Like how mobos have different sockets, do PSUs come in different connector types so they wouldn't work with older mobos?
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Some OEM power supplies have proprietary connections. What are you trying to do? What model of motherboard do you have? I'm assuming this is a custom built pc?
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
There is an ATX standard for pinout, for pcie they added 4 pins to the connector, if you look at really old PSUs the main connector only had 20 pins.

Some vendors like dell were rude and changed the pinouts on some boards leading to hardware damage with aftermarket PSUs.

Otherwise it should be all the same, but as stated don't cheap out on some garbage shenanigans. A cx430 can be had easily for $25 on many occasions.
 

hirobo2

Member
Some OEM power supplies have proprietary connections. What are you trying to do? What model of motherboard do you have? I'm assuming this is a custom built pc?

I want to power a generic desktop MSI mobo with socket type LGA 1155.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
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