Power Supply Shopping

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contrapositive

Hi. I have an AMD machine housed inside a middle tower ATX case. Nothing
fancy going on -- 80GB harddrive, 1GB memory, CD, ZIP and floppy. The 300W
power supply is making noise now (the fan, in particular), and I'm ready to
replace it. But will any ATX power supply of 300 watts or more suffice?
Should I make sure it says that it's AMD compatible? Anything else I should
look for (or avoid)?

And how involved is it to change a power supply? I built the machine myself
a couple years ago.

Thanks in advance.

-jk
 
contrapositive said:
Hi. I have an AMD machine housed inside a middle tower ATX case. Nothing
fancy going on -- 80GB harddrive, 1GB memory, CD, ZIP and floppy. The 300W
power supply is making noise now (the fan, in particular), and I'm ready to
replace it. But will any ATX power supply of 300 watts or more suffice?
Should I make sure it says that it's AMD compatible? Anything else I should
look for (or avoid)?

And how involved is it to change a power supply? I built the machine myself
a couple years ago.

Thanks in advance.

-jk
Click to expand...

I like Antec power supplies. Not all power supplies are created equal so
don't just buy any cheapo. If you built the machine then changing the PS
should be a piece of cake for you. Unplug everything and remove the
screws and the old one is out. You had to plug everything in when you
built it so that shouldn't be anything new to you.
 
Hi. I have an AMD machine housed inside a middle tower ATX case. Nothing
fancy going on -- 80GB harddrive, 1GB memory, CD, ZIP and floppy. The 300W
power supply is making noise now (the fan, in particular), and I'm ready to
replace it. But will any ATX power supply of 300 watts or more suffice?
Should I make sure it says that it's AMD compatible? Anything else I should
look for (or avoid)?

And how involved is it to change a power supply? I built the machine myself
a couple years ago.

Thanks in advance.

-jk
Click to expand...
Go with Antec True Power or PC Power & Cooling ...either are top
notch...
Glenn M
A GREAT DAY FOR FREEDOM...Pink Floyd
 
Since many computer builders don't even understand basic
power supply functions, then overseas manufacturers have
discovered a profitable market. Remove essential power supply
functions and sell it for well under $80 retail. $40
supplies missing essential functions even required in Intel
specs can be so profitable. How do you identify an inferior
supply? One symptom: inferior supplies provide no numeric
specs since many North American computer builders only look at
one spec - price.

A properly built supply will claim to meet many criteria
such as:
Specification compliance: ATX 2.03 & ATX12V v1.1
Acoustics noise 25.8dBA typical at 70w, 30cm
Short circuit protection on all outputs
Over voltage protection
Over power protection
100% hi-pot test
100% burn in, high temperature cycled on/off
PFC harmonics compliance: EN61000-3-2 + A1 + A2
EMI/RFI compliance: CE, CISPR22 & FCC part 15 class B
Safety compliance: VDE, TUV, D, N, S, Fi, UL, C-UL & CB
Hold up time, full load: 16ms. typical
Efficiency; 100-120VAC and full range: >65%
Dielectric withstand, input to frame/ground: 1800VAC, 1sec.
Dielectric withstand, input to output: 1800VAC, 1sec.
Ripple/noise: 1%
MTBF, full load @ 25°C amb.: >100k hrs

Notice what a properly built supply will withstand. This
sample even withstands over 1000 volts on the 120 AC line.
Again, functions that were defacto standard even 30 years
ago. But since so many recommend without technical
knowledege, then inferior supplies have been sold even in
CompUSA.

Two simple requirements will quickly eliminate many inferior
supplies. A retail full list price of less than $80 (not to
be confused with what some discounters will sell it for - ie
$60), AND a detailed list of technical and numerics specs that
include the above information.

If the supply is providing honest specs, then 300 watts will
probably be more than sufficient. Less expensive supplies
that are dumped into North America at higher profit are
exposed by these requirements:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/02q4/021021/powersupplies-15.html
 
No, not ANY power supply will do. The cheap 300Watt power supplies are not
really capable of 300Watts. Pay enough to get a high quality name brand
power supply. You'll be happier over the long run.
 
Check this place out...

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=22&osCsid=d77426c3a424bc78d1225c3bcf31d42f

They sleeve all the wires. You can even pick the colors. Can even get
acrilic covers with LED fans for some power supplies. Great look for clear
cases or a case with a window. It's a little higher priced, but well worth
it for the time that goes into them. I love mine. I have a clear case and
got an Anted Truecontrol with an acrilic case and two LED fans. All the
wires are sleeved in chrome silver. It looks great!!!

The whole reason I got it was because you can control the power on this one.
I kept getting low voltages on my 5v. With this one I can just turn it up
to where it's suppose to be.
 
contrapositive said:
Hi. I have an AMD machine housed inside a middle tower ATX
case. Nothing fancy going on -- 80GB harddrive, 1GB memory,
CD, ZIP and floppy. The 300W power supply is making noise
now (the fan, in particular), and I'm ready to replace it.
But will any ATX power supply of 300 watts or more suffice?
Should I make sure it says that it's AMD compatible?
Anything else I should look for (or avoid)?
Click to expand...

Have you considered changing just the fan or, if it has sleeve
bearings, oiling it (sewing machine or other 5-10 weight oil only, not
WD-40)?

I've never heard of AMD compatibility, just AMD approval, but this and
Intel approval don't seem to be very strict because all of the Deer
brand PSUs (model number usually starts with "DR" or "LC") are
approved, and they're considered to be junk.

Fortron/Sparkle PSUs are some of the best, and www.newegg.com,
www.directron.com, and some other places listed at www.pricewatch.com
sell them very cheaply, but the brands may be different, like Hi-Q,
PowerQ, or Powerman.
 
Check this place out...
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=22&osCsid=d77426c3a424bc78d1225c3bcf31d42f

They sleeve all the wires. You can even pick the colors.
Can even get acrilic covers with LED fans for some power
supplies. Great look for clear cases or a case with a window.
It's a little higher priced, but well worth it for the time
that goes into them. I love mine.
Click to expand...

The acrylic cover voids all the safety certifications and presents a
fire hazard since regular acrylic is one of the more flammable
plastics. But one company, maybe Aspire (Topower?), makes power
supplies with acrylic windows already installed, meaning the safety
approvals are still in effect, and they claim to use fire-resistant
plastic.
The whole reason I got it was because you can control the
power on this one. I kept getting low voltages on my 5v.
With this one I can just turn it up to where it's suppose to be.
Click to expand...

There's no reason for this because a good power supply regulates its
output voltages adequately, regardless of any load that doesn't exceed
maximums. I hope you're at least measuring the voltages with a meter,
not through the motherboard, which can sometimes be grossly
inaccurate.
 
w_tom said:
Two simple requirements will quickly eliminate many inferior
supplies. A retail full list price of less than $80 (not to
be confused with what some discounters will sell it for - ie
$60), AND a detailed list of technical and numerics specs that
include the above information.
Click to expand...

It will also eliminate some very solid power supplies. You can get an
Antec SL350 PSU AND a high-quality Antec case AND a 120mm case fan
DELIVERED with three-year warranty for under $70:

http://www.accupc.com/search_result_k.jsp?keyword=slk3700&x=0&y=0

http://www.antec-inc.com/specs/sl350_spe.html

The PSU alone is $50 delivered.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-103-913&catalog=58&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0

w_tom, maybe you could look at this supply and indicate to us whether it
is good enough.
 
The full retail price for a minimally acceptable supply may
have recently fallen again - since all products drop in price
as innovation makes the product less expensive (a concept lost
on drug companies). Previously, minimum price was about $100.

Antec is highly regarded. However they certainly do fear to
inform computers builders (whose eyes typically glaze over
when exposed to technical information). Missing information
is reason to be suspicious. Even specs for Americans in
www.antec-inc.com are woefully insufficient. They cannot even
list input voltages and frequency limits. Even European
versions provide almost double the amount of information. But
again, such information may only lose a sale where American
computer builders cannot be bothered with technical facts.

Two specs simply leap out and say, "I am a properly
constructed supply." SL350 list overvoltage and overpower
protection. It does claim EMI/RFI protection to meet FCC
Part 15 Class B. But it does not claim (unlike its European
version) Power Factor Correction. It does not even claim to
meets Intel's ATX specs for power supplies.

Overall, the Antec is probably a sufficient supply, but one
most certainly could not say so from the pathetic
specifications provided. The don't even list Hold Up time
under full load nor list how high transients can be without
damaging the supply.

A seasonic.com supply does list better specifications.
Even sparklepower.com provides more specs AND also claims to
meet ATX12V standards and even lists input voltage, current
and frequency. Antec does not.

Based only upon specs, I would completely reject Antec. But
Antec's advantage is widespread respect among users - and that
it does, at least, contain functions routinely missing in
inferior supplies - overvoltage and overpower protection.
 
w_tom said:
Two specs simply leap out and say, "I am a properly
constructed supply." SL350 list overvoltage and overpower
protection. It does claim EMI/RFI protection to meet FCC
Part 15 Class B. But it does not claim (unlike its European
version) Power Factor Correction. It does not even claim to
meets Intel's ATX specs for power supplies.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply.

It's not clear which two specs you mean.
 
Posted previously:
One spec from that web site:
Over Voltage Protection +5V trip point < +6.5V
+3.3V trip point < +4.1V
+12V trip point < +14.4V
 
w_tom said:
Posted previously:



One spec from that web site:
Over Voltage Protection +5V trip point < +6.5V
+3.3V trip point < +4.1V
+12V trip point < +14.4V

Matt wrote:
Click to expand...

I still have to guess:

The two specs in question are overvoltage protection and overpower
protection.

And the Overload Protection (latching protection) spec is what you
referred to as overpower protection.

And so the SL350 has the two most important specs and seems to be "a
properly constructed supply", but lacks enough of the other specs to
make you reject it.
 
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