PSU compatibility

hennreh

hennreh

hennreh

Associate
Joined
19 Dec 2006
Posts
40
Hey guys,

I'm eventually going to be upgrading my setup completely, however for now i'm just looking at buying a new PSU as my current budget (:() PSU is causing problems.

My questions are...

Are PSU's compatible with anything? or do certain rules apply? I have no idea how it works to be honest... i.e do I need a certain PSU for a certain motherboard or doesnt it matter?

My current spec:

Thermaltake Tsunami Dream case
AMD Athlon X2 4400+
ASUS A8N SLi-Delux mobo
nVidia GeForce 7800 GTX
2GB Corsair RAM
Audigy X-Fi Fatal1ty sound card

I have funky lights and extra fans etc with my case - do PSU's generally come with everything I need to support stuff like that?

Also which PSU's would you recommend? A decent one, but not too pricey if possible...

Sorry for all the questions... Hope someone can help.

Thanks,

Henry
 
PSU's are kinda of compatible with anything providing that PSU has the right cables for what you want. We just need to make sure you have a powerful enough PSU for your upgrade, so what you planning to upgrade?
 
DJmartin said:
What tidusjar said is correct. However, the most likely outcome will be for this to be suggested:

Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply

At £49.99, it is great value and will most likely be fine for any single GPU builds. Even if it is a bit OTT for what you want, it is just future proofing and at a cheap price
Click to expand...

Not really, if he wants to SLi or xfire then that would be useless. Would need something in the 800-850W range.

Edit: Just re-read and seen you put Single GPU builds. But still.
 
tidusjar said:
Read my edit,
But he hasn't said what he's planning to upgrade :/
Click to expand...

Fair enough, I was just trying to be as helpful as possible without knowing all the information. You were probably more interested in making sure your answer would be correct. I just acted on the fact he didn't want it to be too expensive I suppose. I guess we should just wait for his reply :D
 
the main potential issues are splittable 8 pin connectors (if your motherboard takes 4 pin CPU power), and 20+4 splittable motherboard connector (if your motherboard takes 20 pin connector). Usually, PSUs with non splitable 8 pin connectors usually come wiht a added 4 pin connector, but worth a check. I'm sure you could get a 8 EPS -> 4 or 4+4 ATX adapter if it's a problem.

Going the opposite direction, the PSU may not have a 8 pin connector while the motherboard requires 8 pins. Sometimes the motherboards can accept a 4 pin CPU connector, but 8 pin is better if you gonna overclock / SLI.

PCIE connectors are always 6 pin / 6+2 pins. So that shouldn't be an issue.

Best PSU to get right now by a long shot is the Antec 620W. In the same category, you have the BeQuiet Pure L7, and the XFX Pro Core 550W.
 
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Thanks for your help so far guys.

When I upgrade I won't be going for anything state-of-the-art... Infact I wouldnt be looking at spending more than £300 (excluding the PSU) if that helps?
 
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So do you guys feel the Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply would be sufficent for my current setup and also 'future proof' as long as I don't want dual GFX cards?
 
Oh absolutely. That baby can take single GTX 580's or GTX 480's and still leave plenty of room for everything else. Could also take two 560ti or two 6950's.

Which is why it's such a cracking deal. Antec and Seasonic Quality, >570W on 12V, and all that for under £50? Sounds almost like a dodgy second hand car dealer advert, but it's not! It's almost too good to be true to be honest :) These babies must be selling like hot cakes. So much so that I am tempted to buy one for backup.
 
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The Antec is the best power supply that you just posted. It is good quality and of a higher wattage, meaning you are less likely to need to upgrade the PSU (unless you want to use dual video cards). It's not at that price for long though so I would order asap. It will go back up to £70-£80 once that stock runs out.
 
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Just unboxed my Antec HCG 620W and have a feeling this is one buy I definitely won't regret. This thing just oozes quality and has all the connectors you'll possibly need, and plenty of them.

I'll be hooking it up to a 2500k/212+, P8P67 Pro, GTX480, 4GB XMS3, M4 SSD & 1TB Black very soon (and I can't wait!). No plans for SLI unless I win the lottery.

Get one before they go up...
 
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