Need a value for money PSU

mamazaac

Need help in choosing a PSU for an older Athlon 64 X2 3800+ system in an Acer desktop computer. I have been told 350-400 watts would be plenty and I want something reliable but reasonably priced. Would appreciate recommendations of where I can I get one. Many thanks in advance for any help.

JasX

Options:

You can get a 500-600w one for £20 that would do you, will be on the less reliable side so chances are it'll blow up other parts of the PC if it fails.

That being said an old 3800+ system is probably only worth about £20-40 on ebay as it is.

A well built reliable PSU of similar wattage will cost £80-100, prove more reliable but crucially be likely to leave the rest of your hardware in good working order if it fails.

Probably not worth spending £80+ on a 'good' PSU for such an old PC unless you plan to build your next PC from scratch and re-use it.

The best option would be to find someone with an old PC they're scrapping and see if the PSU is still working that can be scavenged for free.

Final note -before buying any PSU check the number and type of connectors it has will be sufficient to run your PC. (tho ebay is good for picking up extra splitters/ converters for about £1 if you find one that's 'close')

esuhl

I got a 400W Corsair PSU for about £35 or £40, which got some great reviews. I can't remember which model unfortunately (CX or DX range rings a bell...). Might be worth a quick search...

It was for a mate on a budget - seemed like a good compromise between >£100 overkill and <£20 cheap & nasty!

jaydeeuk1

This one is excellent for those on a budget. Used these hundreds of times and never had a duff'n.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124922

nice and weighty, which is a good sign imo.

mamazaac

JasX wrote: »

Final note -before buying any PSU check the number and type of connectors it has will be sufficient to run your PC. (tho ebay is good for picking up extra splitters/ converters for about £1 if you find one that's 'close')

Thanks to everyone for their advice. Can I just ask how I check the number and type of connectors that my PC and the prospective PSU have please? Also, whether the PSU in post number 4 would have the right number and type?

totalsolutions

>how I check the number and type of connectors that my PC
count them? Oh, remove case side and look. Or remove complete PSU, with cable loom.

JasX

As above, open the side of your PC and count the number of each type you have connected

macman

For an older system like this, any standard ATX power supply should have sufficient connectors. All you need to do is match (or, for safety, slightly increase) the power rating of the existing PSU. So if the old PSU is 350W, fit a 400W.
For an old system like yours, it's simply not worth spending more than about £25 on a PSU, if that. A secondhand one of the correct rating will do the job perfectly well.

mamazaac

JasX wrote: »

As above, open the side of your PC and count the number of each type you have connected

Gosh, I don't seem to have anywhere near as many as that, unless there are some inside the PSU box itself. I have taken photos of the ones I can see which are shown below. I didn't take a pic of the mains connector as I recognised that. I think number 4 below is a SATA and number 3 a P4 and possibly 1 is a molex (EZ-GRIP), but I don't recognise number 2 at all from the above pics. There is only one of each too. Is this what you would expect?

mamazaac

Bother, uploaded my photos to photobucket and then used the "add image" button to post the link. Can anyone tell me why they are not showing up?

mamazaac

mamazaac wrote: »

Bother, uploaded my photos to photobucket and then used the "add image" button to post the link. Can anyone tell me why they are not showing up?

Just found out if you right click the little box in the bottom left corner and select open image in new window it works!