Questions/Recommendations

[Guest artmartin]

I've been suffering from problems with the initial boot on my homebuilt computer and I'm beginning to suspect that my lack of funds at the time of construction and the purchase of a cheap case with a 300W power supply is the main problem. The board is a DFI UT 250GB NF3 with a 3200 64 Athlon chip with a gig of PC3200 memory. Reading a few forums it seems that the 300 watt supply needs to be at least 350 and preferably more. I also had to go cheap on the graphics card although for the price (around $40) it's been surprisingly efficient. It's an ATI 9200 Radeon with 128m of memory. I now have some funds to upgrade and will be going to get the new power supply today and can probably spend around $100 on a new graphics card. Any recommendations in that price range? Thanks,Art Martin

[Guest SoarPics]

Hi Art,More important than the wattage is the regulation of a PSU. The industry standard is 5% (that's a percentage plus or minus the specification of each rail; 3.3V, 5V, and 12V). Most PSU's will meet the industry standard, but cheaper examples will meet it only if conditions are perfect (and they rarely are). A top of the line PSU will regulate within 1% in even the toughest conditions, but that breed isn't cheap. A good choice right now is the Antec Neopower 480. It's received numerous great reviews and offers good bang for the buck (regulates at 3%). Another good choice is the UltraX Connect series. I've been quite happy with mine since installing it six months ago. Regulates on my system at 2-3%, although I'm not placing alot of demand on a PSU (minimal peripherals).Far too many gamers place too little importance on their PSU. It is one of the most important pieces of a computer, especially a computer that sees high performance demands. Evenso, $100.00 will buy a very good PSU.Performance-PC's offers a number of choices. Prices are very competitive and they have top notch service and shipping options. http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.phpCheers,Greg

[Guest artmartin]

Thanks Greg. Good advice. Never knew the regulation factor to be so important.Art

[Guest baksteen33]

Hi Art, adding a bit to Greg's great explination; AMD recommends PSUs with 24 Amps on the 12 Volt lead for AMD64s. Quality 350W PSUs sometimes have a little less than that (22-23A) - which can be fine provided you're not running a lot of 'exquisite' hardware and gimmicks (case lights etc) or a 6800-Ultra, which also draws power from the 12V string (2x!). What does the sticker on your PSU read for 12V? Your guess about the PSU not being efficient enough is most likely spot on. Generally put and depending on your upgrade intentions, a quality PSU with a sufficient 12V lead starting at 22-23A should solve your current troubles. Please make sure you sort this out ASAP, because powers surges and alike can severely damage your most sensitive (and usually deerest) components. I've seen cases where only optical drives survived a PSU burnout. So please watch out. Good luck and kind regards Jaap