Which PSU should I buy?

Just grab it now and you'll have it ready for your next build too. It’s way more cost-effective than replacing it all over again later.

If your motherboard can still handle the load, just pull it out and swap it back in later. That chirping sound isn't necessarily a dealbreaker; even an XFX card might start doing that if you get unlucky.

https://www.amazon.com/evga-power-supply-units/b?node=162435211

If you're just sticking it in an old PC... I guess that's probably your most cost-effective bet.

I'm originally from Pittsburgh, so I think I'll hit up a few more local shops around here to see what's on the shelves..
As for this MS unit, it actually started humming along perfectly again after I took it apart and blew out all the dust....it's running fine now..
Honestly, people just spooked me by claiming this power supply is total junk. They kept saying it's a miracle it even lasted three years and warned me that if it pops, it'll fry my entire rig..

This power supply is absolute garbage, but that doesn't mean it's going to die immediately; it'll probably hold up just fine in an office PC.

I honestly think you just blew some good luck his way, kind of like when your wife blows on the dice at a casino table...

Haha, I think I'll pick something up soon. As long as they give me a solid 2-3 year warranty, I'm happy. I'll head out and check around town to see what's available.

I saw they have a used LC Power Silver unit for $63 over at Best Buy... It’s "used" only because they used it for testing in-store, so it just has a few minor scratches, but they're still giving you a two-year warranty on it.

I'm running into a major issue. I just installed a brand-new power supply, but when I plug it in, there's absolutely no sign of life. The CPU fan spins for maybe half a second and then everything just dies. To make matters worse, I swapped my old power supply back in, and I'm getting the exact same result. It's like the computer won't even attempt to boot up.

You likely have a connection error somewhere, because I find it hard to believe that both components are faulty at the same time.

Wait a second... is it enough to just plug in the small 4-pin connector and the large 20-pin one to get the PC running? I'm worried I might mess this up. So, I have a 24-pin slot, but I only plugged in the 20-pin part, leaving those 4 pins free... and then I plugged in the little one too. It won't show any signs of life. It’s weird because instead of 20 wires, there are only 19; one hole is just empty without a wire.

That definitely isn't going to cut it 😬

The 20+4-pin is just for the motherboard... after that, you've got the 4+4-pin for the CPU, then you'll need to budget for SATA power and cables for your hard drives, and if your GPU needs it, you'll also need a 6-pin or 6+2-pin PCI-e connector.

True, I just hooked everything up exactly how the old power supply had it—those 20 and 4 pin connectors were plugged into the hard drive and that was it. Nothing else was connected, I promise.

EDIT: Haha, my bad... crimsonstag84, thanks for clearing that up for me.🙂 I was trying to force that 4-pin connector in instead of using the 4+4 setup...

EDIT 2: One more quick question... there are 24 pins on the motherboard. Should I just plug in the 20-pin one, or should I connect that extra 4-pin too? It seems to run fine with just the 20-pin plugged in... I'm not quite sure what those extra 4 pins are actually for.

If your power supply comes with a 24-pin connector, just go ahead and plug it in like this...

Everything is sorted out now, works like a charm! 😁

I have a quick question for the group.
I recently put together a retro gaming rig—Pentium III, an ASUS P3B-F motherboard, a GeForce 2 MX 16MB, plus a sound card and LAN card. I’m planning to add a USB controller, a hard drive, and an optical drive to the mix. Since I need to swap out the power supply, I want something reliable that won't buckle under the load. Are those entry-level Corsair's units actually decent enough to handle this setup reliably?

Though, these two specifically caught my eye:

And this one, which is even cheaper despite having a higher power rating:

Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

Ronald Myers81 said:Got a quick question for you guys!
I just put together a retro gaming rig—Pentium III, ASUS P3B-F motherboard, GeForce 2 MX 16mb, plus sound and LAN cards. I'm planning to add a USB controller, an extra hard drive, and an optical drive. Since I want to swap out the power supply for something newer, I need a reliable unit that can actually handle the load. Are those cheap Corsair's units good enough to get the job done without issues?

This one caught my eye the most though:
https://www.amazon.com/power-supply-unit-450w...

Let me know what you think or if you have suggestions!
Thanks in advance!

It's solid and quiet. I've got one and it works fine. 👍

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Fine, quiet power supplies exist—I have one myself and I'm satisfied enough 👍--if you can find them.

Since we're dealing with a prehistoric motherboard here, I need to know if the main power connector—the ATX connector, if my memory serves—is actually compatible with the PSU.

PHOTO OF MOTHERBOARD

I mean, if the PSU has a 20+4 pin setup, you just pop off those extra 4 pins and you're good to go. I guess.

Hey everyone

I'm looking at picking up a new Corsair power supply—either a 750W or an 850W unit. Is it actually worth stepping up to Gold over Bronze? Also, is 750W enough to handle a pretty standard build

What else is in this build? For an "average" PC, a decent 450-500W power supply from somewhere like Corsair or EVGA is more than enough...