Looking for suggestions about new computer power supply

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Wed, Dec 19, 2012 at 01:52:20PM -0500, Kevin Cozens wrote:
> Greetings, all.
> 
> The power supply in my 4 to 5 year old HP m7680n seems to be on its
> way out. Usually I need to replace the supply due to the fan
> bearings wearing out. This time it is more than a fan problem. It
> won't turn on via the front power button and I've had occasional
> system lockups (and kernel crashes).
> 
> The details of my computer can be found at http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00739902&cc=ca&dlc=en&lang=en&lc=en&product=3230688
> The mother board has a 24 pin (main power) and a 4-pin connector on
> it. I need 4 SATA power connectors (2 SATA HD drives, 2 DVD drives).
> There is also a built-in memory card reader and removable drive bay.
> I will have to open the machine to see what type of power connection
> they use.
> 
> The original supply was only a 300W supply. I would like to get a
> new supply with a rating in the range of 500W to 650W continuous. An
> 80 plus supply would be good, and price in the range of $50 to $100.
> I'm looking for something that will last quite a few years as I
> don't buy new computers that often. My previous machine had a
> Pentium II and I used it for 9 years before replacing it with the
> current machine. It had a few upgrades along the way and two power
> supply replacements (due to fan issues).

I picked up a 400W pc power & cooling silencer at NCIX for something
in that price range.  They have a 500W as well in the same range, and
I think a $20 Mail in rebate at the moment.

Very good quality, very quiet, and from one of the best power supply
makers out there.

> I'm looking at the various power supplies available online via Best
> Buy (http://tinyurl.com/BestBuyPowerSupplies) as it will be easy to
> do a return if what I get isn't right for my machine. The supplies
> available at my local store are made by Dynex, and Rocket Fish. I
> wasn't impressed by what I read about the Dynex one and the Rocket
> Fish one can vary depending on who actually made it.
> 
> A message in the BB forum mentioned that Corsair and Cooler Master
> are good supplies. I know about Thermaltake but I'm not that
> familiar with some of the other brands listed.

There is no brand that universally makes good power supplies.  Not sure
there are any brands that only make bad ones.  PC power & cooling being
the only one I know of that has never made a bad model.

Each brand has good models and bad models, all depending on the design
and options they choose and which company they went to to get it made
(there are only a handful of actual manufactueres it seems).  Most power
supply companies just brand things they get made.  Some also design,
while others just spec what they want and have the manufacturer design it.

> I'm interested in suggestions, things to watch out for (ie. get or
> stay away from supplies with APF), which brands may be better or are
> best avoided.

-- 
Len Sorensen
--
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