Bought the wrong PSU....... Apparently !!!

pyramus

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Joined

Mar 9, 2004

Location

Dublin, Ireland

• Mar 12, 2004

• #1

Hi all,

I am in the process of building myself a new pc. I have bought some of the components already and waiting for the good old postman to bring the others.

When I last posted a thread on here with my spec so far. I got like a billion people telling me stay clear of my PSU.

I bought a Q-tec 400WP Dual Fan Gold PSU.

Q-Tec seems to be a bad word on these forums!!

I didn't realise. I should have asked you guys before I bought it.

Is my PSU really that bad? If so, what do you recommend?

Thanks

 

Oklahoma Wolf

Senior Warranty Validity Sealed Stick Remover

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Joined

Mar 18, 2003

• Mar 12, 2004

• #2

I don't think Q-Tec is the devil's power supply to the point Deer is, but they are certainly leaving a lot to be desired for many of their owners. I definitely wouldn't buy one if you paid me though - to not even have UL approval is a big no-no for me.

For a replacement, I would suggest Fortron/Sparkle 350w and 400w w/120mm fan, Fortron 530w, or Antec/Channel Well 430w or better.

 

Sophisticated

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Joined

Oct 15, 2003

Location

Missouri

• Mar 12, 2004

• #3

yes as he said the Antec 550w will last you for awhile and give you all the volts you need

 

OP

pyramus

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Joined

Mar 9, 2004

Location

Dublin, Ireland

• Mar 12, 2004

• Thread Starter
• #4

Thanks guys, I think I will go for one of them instead. Just in case the q-tec screws up everything.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the benefit of higher watts?

 

boffin2163

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Joined

Jun 15, 2002

Location

U.K

• Mar 12, 2004

• #5

it allows the psu to supply more or higher draw components such as more hard drives etc

 

CCW

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Joined

Nov 8, 2003

Location

UK

• Mar 12, 2004

• #6

A higher wattage power supply is not everything, a 470w PSU can be better than 550w, stable voltage rails are what comes with quality, they seperate the cheap from the expensive i.e. good from the bad

 

Tismedt

Shadow ÒÓ's after me!!!

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Joined

Jan 13, 2002

Location

Suisun City Ca. I love this Town

• Mar 12, 2004

• #7

CCW said:

A higher wattage power supply is not everything, a 470w PSU can be better than 550w, stable voltage rails are what comes with quality, they seperate the cheap from the expensive i.e. good from the bad

Click to expand...

And stable voltage increases system stability. Especially when Overclocking. ATX standards allow for 5% fluctuation. Most cheap PSU's start at the low end of that percentage and get worse as you add loads.

The psu supplies the life blood of your system, don't be bled by a cheap PSU.

 

OP

pyramus

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Joined

Mar 9, 2004

Location

Dublin, Ireland

• Mar 13, 2004

• Thread Starter
• #8

Ok,

But my Qtec box doesn't say "maxium" is 400watt. It says 400watt. Are they lying to me?

 

OP

pyramus

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Joined

Mar 9, 2004

Location

Dublin, Ireland

• Mar 13, 2004

• Thread Starter
• #9

Thanks for the replies guys!

I am building a P4 3.2ghz system with a P4C800 Mobo and a high end grafx card (undecided) with Audigy 2.

What PSU should I be looking at?

 

Oklahoma Wolf

Senior Warranty Validity Sealed Stick Remover

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Joined

Mar 18, 2003

• Mar 13, 2004

• #10

See my post above, but take out the Fortron 350w - it would struggle with a P4 that speed

 

OP

pyramus

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Joined

Mar 9, 2004

Location

Dublin, Ireland

• Mar 13, 2004

• Thread Starter
• #11

Cheers, thanks!

Now to find somewhere that ships internationally

 

Clutch_Head

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Joined

Feb 6, 2003

Location

up state NJ

• Mar 13, 2004

• #12

Antec 430/480/550 TruePower are great. the fortron 530 is another
good one.

as Oklahoma Wolf stated, the fortron/sparkle 350 is not enough power
for > 3.2Ghz (P4). add a graphics card that requires a molex connector and
it will really be swamped. my sparkle 350 got me to 3.2Ghz @ 1.5v but
that was before i purchased a 9800.

good luck with your build/OC.

rich

 

S

sandman001

Just Freeze It

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Joined

Mar 11, 2003

• Mar 13, 2004

• #13

Get the fortron 530. Every bit as good as a truepower550, and cheaper.

 

S

smerko

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Jan 20, 2004

Location

Scotland, UK

• Mar 14, 2004

• #14

i wouldnt say its fair to say q-tec = bad and that power supply would most likely have been fine powering that system. ive had my 550w version for around a year and a half now and its never let me down. the only thing thats been faulty is one of the cooling fans which started to buzz and that was cured with some new led fans. i would certainly consider letting one power my next machine no matter how good. i know power supplies are all about quality but i do believe that for the 550w at least it is up their with the better brands. rant over