the fan on my power supply stoped workin and it gets really hot and shuts down so today i am goin up to best buy or someplace to get a new power supply and i want to know wat should i take up there so they know wat kind i need, like my computer model? something about the mother board?

id take up my motherboard type, ie ATX etc.. you PSU type (should be same as ure motherboard), along with ure case type (again, same as your mobo and PSU). After this, take this info and get a PSU that matches it, ie, if ure mobo and case is ATX (2.0) then go buy a PSU that is ATX 2.0

You can always replace the fan with another stock one, but always have in mind that the capacitors inside can keep enough power to shock you, even when unplugged.

If you're gonna replace the whole PSU, they need to know if your mobo is AT or ATX, preferably, take your motherboard make and model to the shop.

AT form factor is for older computers and is obsolete these days and it's gonna be a bit hard to find them, nowadays all computers have an ATX form factor, another thing you might consider is how much power you need, I recommend anything from 400watts and up, the more the better so you're prepared for future upgrades.

Later, Luis.

Why not just take the broken PSU? That'll let them know everything you need for a new one....

i'll probally do wat he said and take the actual power supply up there
also why more thatn 400 wats? and how do i know wat i have now?

On the side of the PSU there should be a reasonable size sticker and it'll tell you what wattage it can take!

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Originally posted by guanako
i'll probally do wat he said and take the actual power supply up there
also why more thatn 400 wats? and how do i know wat i have now?

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Originally posted by msg_plus_freak
On the side of the PSU there should be a reasonable size sticker and it'll tell you what wattage it can take!

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The wattage output is always stated on the PSU (it's a mandatory thing to put on PSU's).

EDIT: ay caramba, I forget, again, to refresh before posting... oh well...

250W is for many current basic systems critical and can be a case of just hitting the mark or just failing...
(although I never had any problems with my 250W PSU and P4 with 2 CD/DVD's, 2 big HDD's, normal graphics card, two big fans and a monitor plugged into it; but this can be a matter of quality of your PSU, not all PSU's of the same wattage have the same quality and there is more then simply the wattage variable, but this is something you shouldn't worry about when buying a +300W one)

300W is for many current basic systems relativly enough.

400W and you have plenty to go on for additional components...

450W seems like a lot IMO and for many current systems (even seriously power machines) more than enough with plenty to spare...

It depends on the price. But I certainly wouldn't go lower than the one you currently have...

Yer and it depends what you get and use, like with my pc i bought a £30 case and it came with a 450watt psu, but if you buy seprate you can get software ( ithink) which you can control them more and you get mre quality. Like some now a days they have surge protected built in etc...

A PSU is a "dead" piece of hardware AFAIK. There is no software for it; it converts AC to DC, period, you can't control anything.
And about those surge protectors, search the forum to read what I've said about them (it aint pretty )...

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
A PSU is a "dead" piece of hardware AFAIK. There is no software for it; it converts AC to DC, period, you can't control anything.
And about those surge protectors, search the forum to read what I've said about them (it aint pretty )...

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
450W seems like a lot IMO and for many current systems (even seriously power machines) more than enough with plenty to spare...

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Originally posted by msg_plus_freak
Oh i think i put it wrong i ment sometimes on the bios it letsyou change the voltage of everthing and stuff if you get on that supports it. i no this as my mum has it on hers, i wouldnt like to fiddle anyway, i've blown up a PSU before and i dont exectly want to do it again

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Originally posted by brian

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
450W seems like a lot IMO and for many current systems (even seriously power machines) more than enough with plenty to spare...

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I don't think so, with the all current technlogies, I don't think for a FX-57 and two 7800GTX's with SLI, will have enough for 450W, they eat alot of power, they even require their own source for better power.

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Originally posted by XBitslabs
To load the graphics cards with work we launched the most complex of 3DMark05’s tests, that is the third one, and had it running in a loop in 1600x1200 resolution, with enabled 4x full-screen antialiasing and 16x anisotropic filtering.

The results are quite interesting: the GeForce 7800 GTX with its 302 million transistors, 24 pixel pipelines and 430MHz frequency consumed 80.7 watts under that load, while the much simpler GeForce 6800 Ultra had a consumption of 77.3 watts. There’s less than 3 watts of difference! So, the 0.11-micron tech process really helped NVIDIA to keep the power consumption of the GeForce 7800 GTX on the same level with the previous-generation model. By the way, the RADEON X850 XT Platinum Edition has a result of 71.6 watts which is slightly less than the consumption of NVIDIA’s cards, but it consumed much less than the GeForces on the 12V line (31 watts against 39-40 watts) and more on the 3.3V line (5 watts against 2 watts). The power consumption on the external line was similar with all the graphics cards, being about 33-35 watts."

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
Ah I see... Yes, but those settings have got nothing to do with the PSU. They are settings for your motherboard and how much voltage it will transfer to your CPU and what not... (also, you don't need extra software for this, if your mobo supports these settings, it will be in your bios)

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If you have the option of two US$29.99 PSU's like the following:

Powmax 480W ATX Power Supply PSDE480
and
ALLIED 300w Pentium 4 / AMD Power Supply - ATX

Which one would you get? I mean, the 300w and lower are really old technology, the 480w has dual ball bearing fans, one 120mm and one 80mm... talk about much lower noise, voltage overload protection and SATA connectors.

See my point? It's not just the wattage, it's the technology... why get the a PSU that already failed in your system again? A newer PSU obviously is going to be more reliable and with all those features virtually free, you're already prepared for future upgrades. A 480w PSU is not going to increase your energy bill if it is in the same system

Exactly my point , although not the best example...


guanako, the point is not to choose the fanciest one with the most options for the same price. But the point is that often (not always) the higher you go in wattage, the more quality is build in... But IMHO, the example just shows the opposite though. Nevertheless this is actually a good thing as it is a nice example of how "bigger" PSU's can also be bad.

Thus, as for me, personally, I would never buy that 480W one in that price range from that company.

In that price range I wouldn't be surprised at all if that "simple" 300W one is actual far better quality in the long run and much more solid than the fancy 480W.

Because for the cheap price of the 480W they had to put in all the fancy stuff. Compare this to the normal price of the 300W. Because they have far less fancy stuff, they could invest in better quality components. And because it is much simpler it is far more solid.

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Remember that, when the price looks cheap, it quite often is cheap quality also...

This can also be "somewhat" tested by yourself in the store, although it also needs some practice. A decent power supply relativly weights a lot! If it seems like it weights almost nothing, leave it immediatly and buy another...

Cheap components means stripping down on stuff. True you can get 400W out of something very small. But the question is for how long? This also often goes hand in hand with how much heat the PSU produces (but you can't test this in the store of course). The more heat, the less quality. And since PC's are often ditched for a new one every 6 months on average and since many people like flashing lights and many big fans, companies often strip down on their quality components since it will be of no use anyways for the average user's PC lifetime and/or people like those big fans on the PSU, which often actually are also needed because it will heat up a lot because of the low quality of components.

Also, despite new technology, for a PSU, the smaller doesn't not mean the better. In fact it is the opposite for a PSU: the bigger and heavier it is the better (again comparing same classed PSU's with same wattages here)!.

An comparisson example I'd always like to use are batteries (and my car again ). A car battery of 12V is much more robust, has a much longer lifetime (even without the accumulator connected to charge it), much more steady output and can take much more load than a small 12V battery for some toy racing car... And if you think this comparisson is a bit unfair, then compare an AA battery with a smaller AAA battery. The smaller one has a far less lifetime because it can't take as much load over time, despite they provide the same voltage and thus the same power.

In short: simply invest in an equaly or higher "wattage"'d PSU than the one you had (but as D:Frag rightfully suggests, from a different brand), which is normally priced for its class range. A simple looking but decent PSU... And avoid the cheap "to good to be true" budget PSU's...

Yeah, I must say that I agree, I could use better examples, just wanted to support Cookie's previous point.

I read some good and bad reviews on that PSU being used in high end machines... but even if the components aren't the best quality, their design intent was for a 480w system... putting it in a machine that's not going to exceed the 300w means that it's not going to be stressed out like a 300w one... 

Personally, I would spend a reasonable amount more on a higher quality PSU that's going to be ready for my future upgrades.

I only want to add that when you go buy your PSU... don't get the same or similar as the one that already failed you (Where's captain obvious?)

Later, Luis