Power supply

im thinking about upgrading my graphics card and the required power supply is a minimum of 400 watts. i checked my power supply and its 350 watts...the card is already costing me a fortune, but i found this power supply that has 500 watts
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1108126220085

its pretty cheap compared to other power supplies, but i'm wondering if its too cheap...i want my bang for my buck, but i don't want to spend more than $50-$60 on this because it only has to supply my graphics card, i don't need all the bells and whistles. any suggestions/comments?

thanks

Hmm, I guess for the price that seems about right. I noticed it doesn't say anything about SATA or PCI-e connectors. For the limited selection at best buy, I would go for an Antec power supply, but they also cost a bit more.

I got a pretty good Antec power supply for free from a business that was getting rid of old computers and parts. Guess I got lucky.

But yea, I would check it out more, maybe even pull it out of the box to see if it has all the connectors included that you'll need. Also check the warranty.

dynex is usually one of those really cheap brands that appear in big electronic departments stores like bestbuy.
i dont know if you want to order online or not but look for these brands:
antec
seasonic
pc power & cooling
fsp group
enermax

sometimes you may find a cheap 500w powersupply for $50 compared to $100. they may be good or bad, best to do some research on the reliability of the Power supply if they are cheap like that.

I would stay away from the Dynex brand. Try looking at newegg.com. They have a better selection of power supplies to choose from. You get a better deal there too.

That Dynex one looks a pile of crap, it's just as bad as a generic no-name PSU! The manufacturers stated above are the best makes, but personally I swear by the one that wasn't mentioned, namely the Hiper TypeR which I use in all my PC's.

http://www.hipergroup.com/English/pr...hpu-4b580.html

here is an example of 10 dollars above and something you can depend on

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103928

that is way to cheap and it is powering the whole pc not just the card

What graphics card are you upgrading to? Find out what's the +12V rail "requirement" for your card. It's better to look at the +12V rating first before you look at the overall wattage.

If you can't find it, then you can estimate it. My 7600GT's "requirements" are 400W with 18A on the +12V rail. If your new card is faster than mine, then it probably wants 20A to 24A.

The brands listed above within your $50 to $60 price range should do fine. The "requirements" for the video card are exaggerated (higher than they are in reality), but you should still buy a power supply that meets or exceeds them.

True, but keep in mind that your video card isn't the only thing drawing power form your PSU, the more fans you got, the processor you have etc will influence on your power consumption. Therefore always meet or exceed the requirements as eggrolls said, also having a bit more might be useful if you wish to upgrade some components later.

I spent $80 in a local computer store (non-national brand that actually is worth its salt) to buy a nice 500w power supply that has power connections that you can change out right on the unit itself. The only permanent connections on this one are the motherboard power supply and the P4 connector. This way if I move away from my PATA drives and add a bunch of SATA drives

I'd give you the brand name on it, but I'm at work at the moment. Also, it's always better to have a more beefy power supply than what your computer actually requires - The computer will only draw what it needs, and gives you more power to play with when future devices come out down the road.

the ^ poster has a modulated PSU. Good for large cases, can be problematic in smaller ones.

The best brand of PSU is Fortron. Buy a 400 watt Fortron, and it will perform like a 700 watt of whatever the brand is that you picked out. Don't skimp out on the PSU, it is the single most important component of your entire computer.

Never buy cheap PSUs, that is a recipe for disaster and/or blowing up the computer. Some people have already listed good brands, you could probably go with some of the others just by noting their price, if it's not dirt cheap, they're probably ok, e.g. apevia, thermaltake, etc.