Thank you, Tom. This is my first homebuilt so I still have some rough 
spots. In the past, I have had to replace almost everything, at one 
time or another, but never a PS. Hence my ignorance, although I have 
started reading about them as much as I can. I know now that some of 
the better rated PSs are over  $100 and I am pretty sure I don't want 
to go there. It would be an overkill. Maybe for my future superbox 
creation. ;-)

Are you saying that "more is OK?" I used the calculator at eXtreme 
Power http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp and came up 
with 434W. I thought if I get a nice quiet PS that shows stable 
voltage output in the 450W range I ought to be OK.Tom's Hardware 
recommends Antec, Fortron And Zalman. 
<http://www.tomshardware.com/2003/06/09/high_power_for_power_users/page19.html>. 
I think I will look at these 3 brands.

What do you do if the new PS has fewer connectors than you need? Are 
there any power connector splitters and are they safe to use?

I think I'll buy another slot fan. I am not going to argue with MWave over $5.

Thanks for the reply, Tom. Appreciate it.

Andrew



At 1/15/2007 09:22 AM, Tom wrote:
 >Your Power Supply question will likely get a number of responses.
 >Although there are many sources, I normally buy power supplies through
 >www.newegg.com because they are reliable and have a wide range of power
 >supplies. Don't limit yourself to only 450W as there may be a higher
 >powered or better PS for less cost due to some promotional pricing. As
 >to make, Antec has served me well although there are other good brands.
 >Most recent PS's will work with multiple power needs directly or through
 >included adapters. You can try to match your current specs.
 >
 >My slot fan is on whenever the computer is on. There are adapters
 >available to change from male to female or female to male. If there were
 >directions with your fan, do they have any hint as to the cause of your
 >apparent problem? The fan could be defective.
 >
 >Tom Mayer
 >
 >Andrew J. Rozsa wrote:
 >> 1. I come to believe that my system's PS is suspect. I would like to
 >> replace it. How does one figure out which PS to get? What determines
 >> what specific model one buys: size of the case (desktop), type of the
 >> MB (mine is an 865), etc.? Do all PSs come with the same number of
 >> connectors? Any preferences? Since I may have to leave the box open
 >> for a while, I'd like one with a quiet fan.
 >>
 >> What's inside the box now is a:
 >>
 >> Powmax
 >> ATX Switching PS
 >> Model No. LP-8800D
 >>
 >> It's a 400W model and it's ATX 2.03 and ATX12V 1.1 compliant, whatever
 >> that means. I would like to go up a notch to a 450W.
 >>
 >> If there is primer on PSs, please point me in the right direction.
 >>
 >> 2. The slot fan I got has two power plugs: a male and a female. I
 >> connected the female to a connector from the PS. Nothing happens. Do
 >> these things start spinning if the temperature goes to certain level
 >> or am I supposed to find a second connector for the male plug,
 >> although I don't see any free ones?
 >>
 >> I will be grateful for your help.
 >>
 >> Andrew
 >>
 >>
 >
 >         PCBUILD maintains hundreds of useful files for download
 >                     visit our download web page at:
 >                  http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml
 >
 ><!D2S:[log in to unmask]>
 >
 > 

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