Cheap PSU

I am in the market for a new mobo (8rda+ has leaking capacitors) and I am getting a new PSU to go with it (I think my crappy PSU might have caused the caps to leak). I am looking for the cheapest possible PSU I can get that won't cause any problems for my components. Computer is in sig but I will list specs here that are a little more updated.

Epox 8rda+
AMD Athlon XP 2100+ oc'ed to ~2600+
1 old DVD-RAM drive
1 old Sony 8x CD-RW drive
1 WD Caviar 7200RPM HDD
sometimes I'll hook up an extra HDD so it'll need room for that.
5000rpm CPU fan
4 80mm case fans
one SCSI card on PCI
geforce 2 mx400

My current PSU is a 350W from Premier. It seems like everyone likes Fortran so I was looking at the ATX300-PA. However, I'm not sure 300W would power this sytem. If so, would the ATX350-PA be the next best/cheapest choice?

okay the same thing happened to my epox 8k7a+. so it isn't your powersupply. Were your 5volt rails and 12volt rails good?

get a 24pin so you are future proof! they have a modular kind that will do both.

I think there is something definitely wrong with this PSU because the voltages seem to fluctuate about .01-.02 (this is during no load; only have openoffice and opera open). Also the Vbat fluctuates about .5 during no load.

I don't really care about future proofing because if anything is upgraded in this sytem it will be the gfx card (nothing like a mobo)(and even the gfx card is unlikely). I will most likely be buying a new system and leaving my current rig intact for others uses.

I use this one on a system that is similar and it works fine. I believe that mine is a single rail model.

if you're willing to pay the cost, you can have it recapped: http://www.badcaps.com/

R4z0r4mu5 Pr|m3 said:

if you're willing to pay the cost, you can have it recapped: http://www.badcaps.com/

Click to expand...

Or if you must get a new mobo, try to replace the caps yourself instead of junking it. It could be a fun modding experiance and if it fries no loss.

I think the 1st commandment of PC building is "Thou shall not use cheap PSU's". But if you're going cheap, the only choice is Fortron(Sparkle/FSP). I just picked up a nice 350w Fortron Aurora for $10 shipped on ebay.

I agree...fool around with the busted one. You might as well seize the opportunity to learn something new.

In regards to PSUs...I used to use this one in my old barton rig and it worked fine....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104953

Since you overclock I'd suggest you pay the price for a really good PSU so that you don't have to worry about anything and if you upgrade to a more powerful rig in the future you'll have one that you can use instead of buying another one. Just my 2 cents...

just in case you're wondering, check my sig

Some of the caps Epox used to use will leak if you look at them funny - it's not necessarily the PSU's fault. However, I'm not familiar with Premier as a brand either.

Unless you plan to replace the board with something 12v oriented (the 8RDA+ is 5v oriented), I would not use any dual 12v PSU with it. They often can't handle the 3.3v/5v loads older boards require. My suggestion for such older boards is the Fortron FSP350-60PN.

Oklahoma Wolf said:

Some of the caps Epox used to use will leak if you look at them funny - it's not necessarily the PSU's fault. However, I'm not familiar with Premier as a brand either.

Unless you plan to replace the board with something 12v oriented (the 8RDA+ is 5v oriented), I would not use any dual 12v PSU with it. They often can't handle the 3.3v/5v loads older boards require. My suggestion for such older boards is the Fortron FSP350-60PN.

Click to expand...

Very true...for some reason it slipped my mind that he has an older board.

I looked at the FSP350 but that was $47 shipped. Would the Sparkle ATX-350PN-B204 hold up just as well? It is only $35 shipped.

No - that's a dual 12v unit.

The FSP300-60PN should do ok too: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103485