New to PSU's and need a upgrade

colin2238

New Member
Hello all....
Im pretty well educated in the other hardware components that a computer uses but not to fluint on power supplies. Right now Im using a "come with case" 450w no name powersupply and was told to get rid of it immediatly and have even see my computer turn off in intense gaming apps. Right now my rig is as listed below except im now using 2gigs of RAM. I plan to change my CPU to a X2+6000 AMD and bump my video card to a 8800gts 610mb video card. I dont plan to go SLI and im only looking to spend a maximum of 125 us dollars. The only thing i want is easy cable organization cause my psu uses a crap load of wires that are all over the place. Any help would be appreciated so if any of you have any good PSU suggestions lemme know :)
 
Since you said gaming and $125- well $.99 more plus S&H would be the Corsair HX520 520w model seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001

But there are some other good ones in that price range to look at as well. Most good supplies of 450W or more start at $70+ despite what others usually claim. The Silvestone model seen at the link is the next step down for $119.99 seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817163108

The Antec NeoHE 500w seen for $99.99 at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103940 doee offer modular cable support which may help you there.
 
The OCZ Model should work without issues. It's standard ATX size, so compatibility shouldn't be a problem. I'd consider the Corsair to be the better buy, though, especially if cable management is an issue. A modular PSU will be a huge help in that area, particularly the Corsair unit which features stiff flex force like cables which can be easily routed.
 
I heard though from a couple people that modular connectors can corrode and sometimes wont supply effecient power. Whether thats true or not i didnt like the idea so i opted for netted cables. My current rigs issue is that the wires are all over not kept together....with the netted cables on the OCZ i will be 100x easier to organize. But thanks ceewi for the help and im gonna buy the ocz :)
 
Ironically I was going to mention the OCZ moel as well earlier as OCZ is a premium brand for memory as well as supplies. The OCZ does offere one other thing not always seen on other makes namely the universal connections for not only atx but BTX server type connections.
 
I heard though from a couple people that modular connectors can corrode
Any additional contact point (like a modular connector) is a potential failure point. A quality modular connector should easily outlive the power supply, though.
and sometimes wont supply effecient power.
Modular Power Supplies: The Reality of the Resistance.. To summarise, that's not the case.

The OCZ does offere one other thing not always seen on other makes namely the universal connections for not only atx but BTX server type connections.
Could you provide a little explanation on that one? BTX connectors are the same as ATX ones. That OCZ unit does provide an EPS connector, but that's more of less standard on most high end PSUs these days.
 
OCZ ConnectAll™ universal connectors: http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/power_management/ocz_gamexstream_power_supply-nvidia_sli_ready_

Balance Technology Extended(BTX) http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/BTX_Specification%20v1.0a.pdf

For different formats, http://www.formfactors.org/

A power supply 101 can be looked over at http://www.motherboards.org/articles/guides/1487_4.html

With OCZ the bottom model starts off being a little more high ended then seen with a good many other makes.
 
With everything now 24pin is standard while you generally use a 20+4pin type seen on most supplies for allowing use on older boards the btx was generally 24pin mandatory while the older atx boards were 20 or 24pin depending on need. As for OCZ they were ahead of everyone by providing a universal setup on every model not just a higher end one by many. Newegg has since changed their own product description on OCZ models.
 
20+4 pin is perfectly acceptable for BTX. And it's Topower who provided (and hold the patent on) the 20+4pin breakaway connector.
 
It doesn't take longer for others to catch on there. The P4 Intel boards were the first boards needing the 24pin type while some are still able run a 20pin supply in some cases. The whole idea behind the 20+4pin is never having to keep manufacturing 20pin supplies for replacement use. You simply slide the 4pin section off for use on an older system. You certainly wouldn't want to cut four pins and four wires off for that on a new supply!
 
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