Media Tech Review

So you read my last article ( Planning A Computer Build ) and you have decided that your are going to build one. If this is your first then you have a lot to learn before you build it but like many before you it can be done. With a little research you can build a computer with the quality parts that you want for a good price. Now a lot of the parts in a computer get focused all over the internet on the popular sites but one part that doesn’t get as much exposure is the power supply. Every now and then your favorite website will have a PSU shootout where they compare the latest and greatest but other than that the lowly PSU gets little attention. Well in this article we will discuss how to decide how big of a power supply that you need, what to look for in one, and a few favorite name brands that I prefer.

How Big Should It Be?

You can go over board very easy when buying a PSU. That can be costly in more ways than one. Not only will a more powerful PSU cost you more but it may eat more electricity and it could also be less efficient than that smaller PSU. Now I would like to tell you that there are rules of thumb for typical computer builds but in all reality there isn’t. Each computer will have a different power load if the sum of it’s parts are different. It is best to buy a PSU based on how many watts and amps your setup will require. To find that out you will need to make a list of your parts. As an example I will list the parts for one of my computers;

• Motherboard: ASUS A8NE
• Processor: AMD X2-4400
• Video Card: Nvidia 7900GT
• Memory (RAM): 2-1GB Sticks of OCZ DDR 500
• Hard Drives: 3 SATA @ 7200 RPM
• Sound Card: SB Audigy
• Disc Drives: 1DVD, 1 DVD-rw
• Fans: 1 120mm, 3 80mm
• USB Devices that draw power: Keyboard and mouse
• Other: card reader, floppy drive

Once you have made your list you can go to eXtreme Power Supply Calculator and just input the information you have in the easy to use calculator. Pay close attention to each box and make sure you read them correctly. For most of you when you are entering system type it will be a single socket even if you are building a quad core system. It will allow you to enter your processor further down.

When I entered all of my information it told me that I needed a 410 watt PSU. For most, if you went by this and got a 500 watt, it would suffice and probably last for quite a while, For me because I not only overclock my processor but I also overclock my video card plus run the PC at 100% for extended periods of time I try and get a little bit bigger PSU.

Which Brand

Now that you have a base line to start with you should look for a good brand PSU and a good outlet to buy it from. Remember, the PSU is an important part of your system, if it goes out it can and will take out other parts of your PC. A few of the name brands that I trust are;

• Tagan
• PC Power and Cooling
• OCZ
• Corsair
• SilverStone

Now this isn’t a complete list of good PSU’s by far but these are some that I have heard good reviews on or have personally used and had good fortune with. I currently have two OCZ power supplies and one Silver Stone that has served me well for a few years. One of the OCZ power supplies was purchased back in 2004 and has seen some very hard duty and still stood up. Now I have also heard good things about Enermax so I purchased one to try it out. I am not sure what went wrong but my wife’s computer went out and when I went home on leave (currently in Afghanistan) I found that the PSU had went out and I believe it also took the processor with it and no telling what else. Now I am not sure what happened exactly, could have been a power surge or anything else but at this time I just can’t recommend them.

When  choosing a PSU from one of these manufacturers, you may notice some like SilverStone offers PSU in the lower price range (below $50). Don’t go there! It may be a quality PSU but you want something better.

Where To Buy

I personally shop from two places, Newegg.com and Tiger Direct. They are not the only two places out there but they are who I use for all of my computer parts. They usually offer the best prices and service. They also get the stuff to you in a timely manner.

Reviews

Make sure that once you have pinned down a couple of different products check the retailer for reviews on that product. You can also check out Tom’s Hardware, Bittech, and Hardocp for reviews on certain products. Don’t forget to google them either, you may dig up some good or bad stuff on what PSU you are looking at. You also want to look for consistency in the product reviews. The PC world is full of fanboys and they will down grade a product they don’t like just because they like another better.

Sum It Up

If you do your homework and follow these steps you should find a PSU that will serve your needs for years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you have any questions or just want more information on computers I would suggest you drop by one of the forums that I like, Blazing PC, you will find a lot of friendly people there willing to help you with any computer problem (or some non computer related problems) you may have. Until next time thanks for reading Media Tech Review.