[Triple Ace]

I want to replace my 300 watt power supply with something better. I have never replaced a power supply and would like to know which company has the most reliable power supplies, but wont cost me over 100 dollars. I know some of you have wisdom to share.

[ZmaN]

AFAIK, These brands are good:

Enermax
Thermaltake
Antec
Coolmax
Enermax
Enlight
Rosewill
Linkworld (ive used these, they work good)
Seasonic



For what you want I would go with this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153023

[Scooby_Doo]

Don't forget Fortron and PC&C  (although their usually way too overpriced)

[CP5670]

That list is rather misleading. Only Enermax and Seasonic are genuinely good among those (and possibly Enlight, but I don't think they sell anything under their own brand these days). FSP, Enhance, Zippy, Etasis, some Topowers and all the rebranded ones like PCP&C, OCZ, Silverstone and several others are also good.

The best deals around $100 or less are easily these:
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-E5150GH
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-EN0555
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-EN0565&show=p

The 600W one also used to be a great buy but ewiz raised the price on it recently.

[Descenterace]

Antec's high-end supplies are rather good (and expensive). They generally live up the spec (and they're expensive).

Did I mention that they're very,very expensive?

[WMCoolmon]

Every single source I've seen has said to disregard the wattage, and look at the amperage. Higher-quality power supplies will have higher amperage on the different voltage lines. Amperage on the individual lines is what fuels the video cards, CPU, and so on. So don't be fooled into thinking that every 300W PSU has an equal capacity; they don't. One expensive 300W PSU might very well be able to provide more power to a video card than a cheap 400w PSU.

[Triple Ace]

Right now I just need something to run my new EVGA GeForce 7600 GT. Anything more is a bit overkill as I can't run SLI due to having only 1 pci-e 16x, although eventually I hope to buy another motherboard with more pci-e 16x slots and ddr2 slots.

[Triple Ace]

Sorry for the double post, but I have another question. Instead of upgrading to something like a 450w supply, would it be worth it to go with a 600w or higher supply so that I would have it for future upgrades? Also, do power supplies use the same amount of electricity all the time, or does it change depending on what you are running?

[CP5670]

They only draw the amount you use, although it has to be adjusted for efficiency.

I think your best option would be that 500W Enhance for $70 I linked to earlier. It's comparable to many $100+ power supplies rated 550W or more and will leave a lot of room for upgrades.

Antec's high-end supplies are rather good (and expensive). They generally live up the spec (and they're expensive).

Did I mention that they're very,very expensive?

I'm not sure what you're talking about. They are fairly cheap at least around here. (which is just as well, as their quality is spotty these days)

[Triple Ace]

Ok, I'm thinking abouth the Enhance PSU posted above. This would more than likely hold me over for a year or two until I'm ready to get a new motherboard and or a Geforce 8 or 9 series card (when the price goes down) which may or may not even need a more powerful power supply. But between now and then, I may want to upgrade my sound from this onboard Realtek sound to something better. Would the Enhance 500w work for both a graphics card and a decent sound card? Or should I hold off another month and get something like a OCZ Gamexstream or Powerstream at 600w or higher? Also, how well does Enhance supplies do? I don't want to buy a supply, have it fry and take the rest of my system with it.

[redsniper]

I don't want to buy a supply, have it fry and take the rest of my system with it.

Been there, done that.

[CP5670]

Ok, I'm thinking abouth the Enhance PSU posted above. This would more than likely hold me over for a year or two until I'm ready to get a new motherboard and or a Geforce 8 or 9 series card (when the price goes down) which may or may not even need a more powerful power supply. But between now and then, I may want to upgrade my sound from this onboard Realtek sound to something better. Would the Enhance 500w work for both a graphics card and a decent sound card? Or should I hold off another month and get something like a OCZ Gamexstream or Powerstream at 600w or higher? Also, how well does Enhance supplies do? I don't want to buy a supply, have it fry and take the rest of my system with it.

Yeah, easily. It should be able to handle anything except multiple 8800s or large (10+) hard disk arrays, and two X19x0s may be a borderline case. Enhance is the OEM for Silverstone's PSU line and the ST50EF+ unit reviewed here is identical to that 500W Enhance, although it costs more.

The 600W Gamexstream is another nice one for the price, but it has a minor voltage fluctuation issue at heavy loads that would make the similarly priced Enhance 650W a bit better. Avoid the 600W Powerstream though; it's too expensive for what it is and is actually outperformed by the 520W model.

[Descenterace]

I'm not sure what you're talking about. They are fairly cheap at least around here. (which is just as well, as their quality is spotty these days)

My 550W TruPower supply set me back 80 pounds two years ago. The high-end units are all around that price.

[Taristin]

Ive not had a single problem with either of my antec PSU's. I had a truepower 330 for 2 years that was $70.00 cause I bought it at CompUSA, and my newest case (also an antec) has an antec 380w psu that has served me just fine thus far.

[Triple Ace]

Ok, before I dish out 80 or 90 dollars for this, can I expect to see better power supplies drop in price in the next year or two? And how much better is that 550w than that 500w? It might be worth the 10 to 20 dollars more.

[ZmaN]

i highly doubt it.

550 over 500.  it depends on the brand.  Ive never sued Enhance so I dont know.

[CP5670]

Ok, before I dish out 80 or 90 dollars for this, can I expect to see better power supplies drop in price in the next year or two? And how much better is that 550w than that 500w? It might be worth the 10 to 20 dollars more.

Almost certainly, but "the next year or two" is a very long time. That being said, I think it will be quite a while before anything matches the price/performance ratio of these Enhances.

The 550W one is very slightly better, capable of supplying a continuous 38A on 12V instead of 36A for the 500W one. Although the 550W has a different rail distribution and is also a server PSU, so it may be louder due to its smaller fan.

[Triple Ace]

I'm going insane, I can't decide what to go with. I can't decide whether to buy this 500w from Enhance or wait and get one from a better know company. Seeing how Enhance is an OEM company, I can't find many reviews for it, and because it is OEM it has no box or manual and I can't tell if it is new or used. I will not buy used parts.

[Herra Tohtori]

i highly doubt it.

550 over 500.  it depends on the brand.  Ive never sued Enhance so I dont know.

That is one of the best typos I have ever seen.

[CP5670]

I'm going insane, I can't decide what to go with. I can't decide whether to buy this 500w from Enhance or wait and get one from a better know company. Seeing how Enhance is an OEM company, I can't find many reviews for it, and because it is OEM it has no box or manual and I can't tell if it is new or used. I will not buy used parts.

They will definitely be new, but most likely white label units with generic boxes. There is a lot of information about them on the manufacturer site at http://www.enhanceusa.com .

You could buy one of the Silverstone units instead. They're the exact same things for $40-50 more, but have retail branding and are still fairly decent deals.