Advice for an older PC

[Buraddo23]

Hello everybody, so I will begin with a background of the PC I am currently using, I bought it nearly 2 years ago custom-builded, I gave some orientation on what components I want and some guy builded it from me. It surely isn't the best PC, but it can do everything I need.

 

The specs are here:

Intel Core i3 540

4 GB DDR3 RAM

ASRock H55M-LE Motherboard

Nvidia GeForce 430

500 GB HDD

!! Delux 450W PSU !! (no name PSU)

 

The thing is that I didn't really picked the pieces, I wanted one with mid-range components and an affordable price, so the guy put this shitty 15 euros power supply and was hoping that it will be ok. After about 1 year problems started to appear, random errors and BSODs. Nothing major because the computer was still under warranty, turned out that the PSU has been faulty and it took down with it the RAM and the HDD. Fortunately the warranty covered everything and even if i couldn't have any confidence on that type of power supply anymore, I accepted it because at the time i felt that it was a good choice, I got the new parts for free and (I was hoping) maybe a "non-faulty" psu.

Now, after another year in which I didn't have any problems, I noticed the boot time was getting longer and the computer started to be more unstable in the start and when using resource-intensive software. I don't want to repeat the last year's adventure and I started documenting about a good power supply, turnes out they are more important than i thought initally and now I really want to give my (possibly already damaged) pc the good psu that it deserves. I now regret the choice to put this PSU on it and I know that this might not resolve my problems but at least it will not make them worse.

Unfortunately, the psu choices are not that varied on the market in my country, but I managed to isolate some (as far as I know) quality power supplies. My ultimate choice would have been an EVGA 430W, but this week when I checked there were none in the stock. I now moved towards an Corsair VS450 which seems pretty ok. but my request from you is for advice toward whether should I buy it or move toward another PSU, maybe even lower wattage or another manufacturer, I noticed some Cougar, Corsair CX series, be quiet!, Aerocool, Enermax or even Cooler Master supplies at good prices and I will be forever thankful if you give me some feedback and some recommendations on what to buy.

 

TL;DR I want to buy a new PSU for my PC, I'm not sure what model to buy, but I want one that is reliable and wouldn't further damage my pc.

[phillrulz]

 

TL;DR I want to buy a new PSU for my PC, I'm not sure what model to buy, but I want one that is reliable and wouldn't further damage my pc.

Welcome to the Forum, stick with big names, i used a CXM600 on my build people recommend corsair or EVGA really both are good some people dont like the CX series however they are good enough for your needs. The CX series is silent IMO.

 

PS click follow topic top right you will get a notification when someone replies.

[Dive5885]

Hello everybody, so I will begin with a background of the PC I am currently using, I bought it nearly 2 years ago custom-builded, I gave some orientation on what components I want and some guy builded it from me. It surely isn't the best PC, but it can do everything I need.

 

The specs are here:

Intel Core i3 540

4 GB DDR3 RAM

ASRock H55M-LE Motherboard

Nvidia GeForce 430

500 GB HDD

!! Delux 450W PSU !! (no name PSU)

 

The thing is that I didn't really picked the pieces, I wanted one with mid-range components and an affordable price, so the guy put this shitty 15 euros power supply and was hoping that it will be ok. After about 1 year problems started to appear, random errors and BSODs. Nothing major because the computer was still under warranty, turned out that the PSU has been faulty and it took down with it the RAM and the HDD. Fortunately the warranty covered everything and even if i couldn't have any confidence on that type of power supply anymore, I accepted it because at the time i felt that it was a good choice, I got the new parts for free and (I was hoping) maybe a "non-faulty" psu.

Now, after another year in which I didn't have any problems, I noticed the boot time was getting longer and the computer started to be more unstable in the start and when using resource-intensive software. I don't want to repeat the last year's adventure and I started documenting about a good power supply, turnes out they are more important than i thought initally and now I really want to give my (possibly already damaged) pc the good psu that it deserves. I now regret the choice to put this PSU on it and I know that this might not resolve my problems but at least it will not make them worse.

Unfortunately, the psu choices are not that varied on the market in my country, but I managed to isolate some (as far as I know) quality power supplies. My ultimate choice would have been an EVGA 430W, but this week when I checked there were none in the stock. I now moved towards an Corsair VS450 which seems pretty ok. but my request from you is for advice toward whether should I buy it or move toward another PSU, maybe even lower wattage or another manufacturer, I noticed some Cougar, Corsair CX series, be quiet!, Aerocool, Enermax or even Cooler Master supplies at good prices and I will be forever thankful if you give me some feedback and some recommendations on what to buy.

 

TL;DR I want to buy a new PSU for my PC, I'm not sure what model to buy, but I want one that is reliable and wouldn't further damage my pc.

Enermax and Lepa are good power supplies. 

[Buraddo23]

Thanks guys, I didn't expect you to reply this fast.

I have time to think more about it until tomorrow evening because the courier doesn't even work in the weekend.

But right now I would buy a Corsair CX430, people seem to prefer it to the VS series and it is at a pretty good price too.

The alternatives I would have to it would be:

 - an Enermax NAXN 450W (but according to the site, the stock is very limited and I'm not sure if it will come fast enough)

 - or a be quiet! System Power 7 (they are surprisingly good quality for their prices and they seem to be well regarded over the internet (be quiet! exists only in Europe as far as I know), but i want to hear your opinion about these supplies and, as I could do it, if I should go even lower with the wattage these go as low as 300W and it seems enough for my pc)

 - or a seasonic S12II-430 (that didn't really catch my eyes at first, but they seem pretty good as well)

[Buraddo23]

Thanks guys, I decided to buy a be quiet! System Power 7 300W, it has good performace, but I have chosen it more because of the wattage, imo what it delivers is on par with Corsair CX and slighly worse than Seasonic, but I didn't want to get an overkill supply, my computer will not use more than 200w and I don't plan any upgrade.