PSU power

[birney29]

I was wondering if it is safe to put a more powerful PSU in pc's. For example, a friend of mines (not me, honestly ;-) ) psu blew up last night, Vaporising everyone for miles around. only joking. no-one was hurt. If the old power supply was, for example a 250, can i put a 300 or 350 in, if i get a hold of one cheap?

Kenneth Birney
User Interface Programmer
Scottish Police

 

[edfair]

You can go larger with no problem. But cheap generally will fail sooner.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[jpger]

More is better when it comes to PSU wattage. Shouldn't be a problem finding one at a reasonable price.

 

[traycee]

More wattage is no problem, but I agree with the earlier post about the cheap power supplies. Go with at least a mid range power supply or better. Also, oddly enough, the heavier a power supply is, the more expensive it is, and the better it is made.

 

[ceh4702]

I would be careful buying a new power supply. Dont get too cheap. Sometimes many places have a deal where you get free shipping on a more expensive power supply. Since weight is an issue for a power supply, then shipping costs should be figured in. Generally speaking, lighter power supplies have cut corners and are cheaper.

Some Computer manufacturers do not use standardized power supplies so be careful and make sure you know what you have before your order or buy something.

I have had good luck with Antec Power Supplies.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[jurgen36]

Get the highest power you can find. You will congratulate yourself later on. All the new chips use a hell of a lot of power. Some motherboard companies even fit a 150 amp secondary supply as a plug in on their boards. Try to make sure it is of good quality. You will not hurt your system with a bigger supply. Usually the opposite is true and you will have less undefinable problems. Greetings

Jurgen

 

[1quickdraw]

What type of system did your friend have? If it is an older system, make sure you get the right power supply (i.e. AT or ATX. ATX being the newer) AT and ATX are not interchangable. I agree with the others, get a good quality power supply. It will keep the headaches down and give you more consistant voltages and smoother power.

Also check your friends mother board and CPU to be sure they did not fry.

Remeber: "where ever you go, there you are"!