A word On Power Supplies

I have noticed a very disturbing trend lately. There have been a lot of posts about video failures with a variety of Video cards and not just one manufacturer but several. Most of the times these problems can be fixed with simple driver updates or just spring cleaning of the pc. Then there are the occasional proiblems that cannot be fixed even though a rather large community of helpers has tried.
Here is where this post comes in. Most players (including myself a while back) do not even bother to ensure that the existing power supply within their computer can handle a new more powerful video card. This is a problem that we all need to address. Several PSU manufacturers offer a service on their website that will calculate the minimum wattage required for what you have within your computer. All it takes is a little research and finger work to get the proper information.
Enermax www.enermax.com has one such service that I reccomend. Using this service is free and will give you the needed knowledg to avois problems that insuficiant power to your computer can cause. I personaly destroyed 2 ATI video cards before going to Enermax and seeing what the actual minimum wattage for my computer was. After using their service I was shocked that what I though was enough wasn't.
Most video cards have a recommended minimum wattage for the PSU on the box. But that figure can be missleading in that it usualy gives a figure on the lowest number of factors that can be within your computer. Examples of what can cause a perfectly good PSU to be the problem are: a ram upgrade, going from 1 gig to 2 gigs will pull twice the power, CPU upgrade, again depending on the speed of the new CPU it may pull twice or even more power from the PSU, adding more hard drives, the more hard drives you have the harder the PSU must work again. Their are a lot more things that will push a power supply too hard and create problems. What I am getting at is the PSU sends the amps to whatever calls for it and if the needed wattage is excedded it will cause one or more of the rails to drop beyond the wattage needed for another part. This can cause a one problem especialy with video cards in a voltage or amp loss can cause the card to overheat and die, leaving no indication that the PSU was the culprit.
In conclusion whenever upgrading check to be sure that the power supply can handle the new components before any problems crop up.
If anyone else has more to say feel free to add.

Happy gaming

Mega Mouse

It's also worth noting that not all power supplies are created equal. An off-brand power supply for $40 that's rated at 600w is not the same as that $100 600w PSU made by a solid company like Antec, OCZ, PC Power & Cooling, Sparkle, Hiper, Enermax, etc. (the list goes on).

For one thing, carrying and regulating power reliably requires high-quality components in the PSU. There's a reason that the $100 PSU weighs 2-3 times as much as the $40 model. Heavy duty components usually = more reliable PSU. I've seen cheap PSUs rated at 600w that have problems driving 450w systems. Ratings can also be misleading in other ways. My 600w OCZ is rated at 600w, but it can sustain 700w (peak output) for short periods. The junk PSU (which was never used) that came with my last case was rated at 550w, but can only sustain 475w. See, the cheapo-PSU manufacturer chose to list the PSU with its peak rating, whereas a better company lists the sustainable rating. I'll take a 500w Antec over a 600w cheapo any day of the week.

Another thing to consider is amperage over particular rails, particularly with video cards. Some video cards demand 18 amps or more over the 12v rail. High-end cards want up to and over 22 amps. Take a look at some of the cheaper 600w PSUs. You might think that 600w is plenty for your 8800 GTX, but a lot of those cheap 600w PSUs only output 12 to 15 amps on the 12v. Not good.

The PSU is the "heart" of your system. Don't skimp. You'll regret it.

People watch the labels on the boxes way too often. Don't judge the PSU by the wattage. Pick it up and weigh it with your hands. If it feels like a cardboard box, put it back. If it feels like a hunk of solid iron, then that's the psu for you. Personally, I would take a heavy 500w psu over a light 600w psu anyday.

The higher quality namebrand use better materials in their PSUs, hence the excessive weight of it. Makeshift companies use garbage raw materials that can't handle much, and are therefore lighter.

Ps. I just read the post above and you made a really similar sentence to mine about the 500 over 600 watts. I find that really creepy. haha.

Just remember, you're getting a quality PSU if it feels solid and heavy, because it's made of better materials.

I couldn't agree more. The thing most people, by that I mean those who don't understand how the insides of a PC work, don't realise is that a generic no-name PSU can quite easily total their entire system.

Getting a good quality PSU can save you a hell of a lot of money and headaches down the line if the worst was to happen. Myself, I swear by the Hiper TypeR, but the other brands mentioned above are just as solid, well built and dependable.

The "Power Selector" page on Enermax's website seems a bit limited. If you want a power supply calculator, here's one with many more options:

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

Be sure to read reviews on reputable websites (i.e. not retailer customer reviews) before buying a power supply. I recently bought an Antec TP3, which is built by Seasonic but sells for ~$30 less. Some people say the quality is worse, but I bought it anyways since I found a really good deal. Point is, knowing these things can help you decide whether you should buy a certain PSU or not.

Cheapo ones seems to also burn out after a while of use due to the dust settling inside the PSU and me unable to vaccum it out because the dust is stuck on whatever glue/lubricant/whatever they use in there to coat the components. Changed to Antec PSU and Case cleaning has never been easier.

Whoa, that's just not a good way to judge a PSU at all.

My Seasonic M12 700w weighs lots less than my Thermaltake Thoughpower 700w. M12 is also a lot smaller in terms of dimensions. But the Tt is cheap and crappy and undervoltage, whereas the Seasonic is the exact opposite.

The Corsair 620HX and 520HX are also quite lightweight when you lift em up. Based on the weight=quality theory, they'd be worthless. But that's hardly the case.