Ok, Im getting a whole new computer, but I need some advice on how big of a power supply i should get. Heres what I'td be running:

2 CD Drives (one 52x read, one 52x/24x/52x)
40gb hard drive, not sure about specs, its the only part thats not coming new with the comp
Biostar M6VIG Pro motherboard
AMD Athlon XP 1700+ (probably not gonna OC)
512mb stick of DDR PC2100
Radeon 7500 PCI
A few cheap case fans
A cheap floppy drive

thats what itd be running, how big of a power supply do you think i need to get?
thanks,
Jesse

300-350 watt PSU. Make sure it's a name brand unit, not cheap generic junk.

has to be a good psu. vantec / enermax, etc. I think everyone here will agree, a cheap psu will kill a comp.

Lateronmly hit it correctly. For your configuration you will only need a 300-350W PS. But like MDK stated, stick with a quality PS. Ask here if you don't know what a quality PS is.

hey good link AntiM havnt seen that before

Thank Zennzzo, he found that one.

ok, right now theres a 350w coming with the case...its probably generic, and the in the reviews people had trouble with the psu, which of these three options should i do?

use the one that comes with the case
use a 250w from my old comp thats worked for years with no problems
buy a 300-350w power supply for $25-35 off of newegg

?

Quote: Originally posted by Myystical1 ok, right now theres a 350w coming with the case...its probably generic, and the in the reviews people had trouble with the psu, which of these three options should i do? use the one that comes with the case use a 250w from my old comp thats worked for years with no problems buy a 300-350w power supply for $25-35 off of newegg ?

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Buy a Quality PSU off newegg to avoid stability issues which are common with crappy power supplies, such as the Enermax 350w for $43 @ NewEgg.Com.

Grab yourself one of these puppies. Cheap and they will go way over their rating.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...tby=14&order=1

I have the Antec True Blue 480W power supply. I'd say get more power than you need right now, because the second you pop in some lights, extra fans, and high-end video card, and maybe water cooling ....you'll need more than 350W.

is it actually dangerous to any parts of the computer to use the generic psu that comes with the case?

Sounds like they have you well covered, but heres a list I saved from one of Duck's posts that may give you some ideas on the power needs of typical items:

Add up only the components below that your system has to determine wattage:
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````
AGP video card -----------------------------35-50W

PCI video card --------------------------------35W

AMD Athlon 900MHz-1.3GHz ------------------50W-65W

AMD Athlon XP 1.47MHz-1.73GHz --------------60-75W

AMD Duron 1.0MHz-1.3GHz -----------------------50W

Intel Pentium III 800MHz-1.4GHz -----------40W-55W

Intel Pentium 4 1.4GHz-2.0GHz -------------65W-85W

Intel Pentium 4 Northwood 1.6GHz-2.0GHz ---60W-75W

Intel Pentium 4 Northwood 2.2GHz-2.53GHz --80W-90W

Intel Celeron 1.0GHz-1.1GHz -------------------35W

Intel Celeron 1.2GHz-1.8GHz ---------------45W-65W

ATX Motherboard ---------------------------40W-65W

128MB RAM -------------------------------------10W

256MB RAM -------------------------------------20W

24X or higher IDE CD-RW Drive -----------------35W

32X or higher IDE CD-ROM Drive ----------------25W

10x or higher IDE DVD-ROM Drive ---------------20W

SCSI CD-RW Drive ------------------------------17W

SCSI CD-ROM Drive -----------------------------12W

5,400RPM IDE Hard Drive -----------------------13W

7,200RPM IDE Hard Drive -----------------------18W

7,200RPM SCSI Hard Drive ----------------------24W

10,000RPM SCSI Hard Drive ---------------------30W

15,000RPM SCSI Hard Drive ---------------------45W

Floppy Drive -----------------------------------5W

Network Card -----------------------------------4W

Modem ------------------------------------------5W

Sound Card -------------------------------------5W

SCSI Controller Card --------------------------20W

Firewire/USB 2.0 Controller Card --------------40W

Case Fan ---------------------------------------3W

CPU Fan ----------------------------------------3W
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ````````
The wattage numbers above are estimates and may be rounded to the nearest 5 watts. The given wattage may only reach the specified level during power-up or during peak usage. Always purchase a power supply with a bit more wattage than you calculate you'll need, to make room for future upgrades.
PS Dont forget anything

ok the case's PSU is a "Tigerpro 350w TP-350", and the replacement im looking at is an "Allied 400w ATX400P4". Is it worth the $36 to get the Allied to replace the Tigerpro?

Go cheap and you'll for sure have stability issues,which will in turn give you head aches you don't want...
Never go cheap on your power supply. there are inexpensive quality units ot there like the ones listed above.
I myself got the Fortron FSP350-60PN Aurora Series 350W for 55.00 and couldn't be happier.
It allowed me to reach clocks that my previous PSU couldn't handle. I thought I had topped out, but the PSU was holding me back.
My point is the PSU is the 1st most important part of your computer, if you start cheesy, you can only expect cheesy results.

i went cheep and it went almost a good year then it died, it blew out a socket in my powerstrip with it when it died. so save yourself the trouble and get a good one instead of geting a cheep one and having to get a good one and a new powerstrip later, or new computer parts.

I need a new power supply for my wifes computer. I added two more fans and the computer wouldn't boot.

so it can be harmful to use a cheap psu? I was just wondering whether it would be dangerous to use the cheap psu for a week or two while i saved up for the allied 400w

Why people are willing to skimp on a PSU and put all of their components on the line is beyond me.

I'd save up and get a quality PSU.

is allied a good brand of psu? its got bunches of good reviews on newegg, i just wanted yo know all of your opinions