I have a standard psu (what i mean by a standard psu is that, its not a branded name like antec). Im running a geforce 6800 gs,asus-a8n sli deluxe,maxtor 160 s-ata 7200rpm hdd, nec dvd-rw,amd athlon 4200 duelcore,512 ddr 400 corsaid and 6 fans in the system one being the cpu and 5 being case fans(the 5 case fans have blue leds in as well). i wany to put 2 cold cathodes in my system could anyboady tell me if i have anuff juice left in my psu ? or am i best buying a better psu all 2 gether a branded name just to be on the safe side (it is my new system and i took a long long time 2 get) . any help thnx
Personally, I would NEVER use a generic PSU. Here are two good examples (off the top of my head). http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=81780&highlight=generic+psus http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=104553&highlight=magna+encer Two good examples of how generic PSUs are bad. I've never built a PC (in fact, nobody in my house has) with a generic PSU unless I had one lying about (which we do). All the computers we care about are running on Antecs, old PCP&C, or some other good brand. Now, back on topic. To answer your question, you probably are stressing your PSU to the limit right now. My 430W Antec is a great PSU, but when I hook any more load up to it, it chokes. This Antec would equal a 500, maybe even 600W generic in reliability and ability to produce power. My specs are much lower than yours, so I would definitely advise getting a new power supply. Although brand names may be more expensive, they are usually worth it. A nice Antec would be cheap yet reliable. Anybody want to support me on this?
Use the following two PSU calculators to get a rough guide of how much juice you're using: Calculator 1 Calculator 2 Always err on the side of caution however
As NoahFuLing said, basically - that PSU is junk. Bin it before it takes something important out. You should be able to replace that with a quality unit of about 450W, but if you're looking for upgradability then 500W+ would be a better idea. Since you have an SLI board, it would be nice to have the capacity for future upgrades if you wanted to add another graphics board in the future. Good brands include Antec, Tagan, Zippy, Forton, Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling and Hiper (whose 580W supply is very good value).
thanks for replies i have decided to replace the psu and get one of these http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=98564
