I like the Antec 380 suggestion from UTR. A company with a great track record and solid products.

I've always thought of Thermaltake as a lower-shelf product line, although finally, some PS reviewers have given the nod to their "ToughPower" series.

The thought of putting a Radio Shack PS in one of my boxes is frightening unless one could determine the actual manufacturer.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/370

It's been said that 30 - 40% of motherboard deaths are atributable to failed power supplies so don't try to skimp here.

I think that the antec would be better too. I agree that many of the thermaltake units are not the best quality. Some of their newer, higher end units are channel well built though (very good units). I could not find any decent info on this model though, including who it is made by so it is a gamble unless you find out more. IT may be a mute point since this deal is all over fat wallet, slick deals etc and they may all be gone.
Another thing about the thermal take? Has anyone seen this exact model anywhere but radio shack? It has a 90$ retail so you would think it would be at least decent (not one of the cheapo thermaltake's), but if it is a radio shack only model, the retail could be fake?

I wouldn't take any chances though, even if you are poor or just currently broke (right now I'm a little of both). The power supply is the most important part in your computer, and it has the capability of killing anything (like jflan said though, it mostly likes killing motherboards). I learned that lesson the hard way years back, and out of the last 3 dead computers I have worked on for people, two were dead motherboards with the psu as the likely cause, the other was the dumbass formated her boot drive).

If the 50$ up front for the antec is too much (or you dont like rebates like me), use one of the already recommended power supply calculators or ask and I'll find you a couple. Keep in mind that they rate theoretical maximum power (sometimes plus a little) so you can usually get away with a bit lower on a basic system. Check out some of the cheaper fortron or sparkle units on newegg. They are cheaper but decent.

For those needing a PS and/or a case I saw this, http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0265318 on sale for $59.99 at Micro Center. There is an Earthwatts 380 power supply installed in the case. I have this exact one and the case is very sturdy and well built. I paid $79 for mine at Best Buy and thought I got a good deal there. At this price, I might have to pick this up for a future build. The one thing I really like about this case and PS is the very low noise level. Also, the included 120mm rear fan has a three speed control switch and the hard drive mounts have rubber isolation spacers to further reduce noise from the case. For the price of $59.99 it can't be beat, IMO.

Here is a link to the case specifications on Antec's web site: http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=94002

the EA380 looks to be right in my price range. I was just wondering if there was going to be a better deal this weekend, i hate rebates. If i dont find anything better i might just order from newegg tomorrow by monday..everyone keep an eye out! I know we are all some bargain hunters

i ordered the ea380 from the egg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371005 glad i waited until tonight., another instant $5 off so it was $49.99 free shipping and $25 mail in rebate making it $24.99! now just waiting to get it and get the pos power supply out of my computer

Yo-

Smart choice -eh!!

Yeah that EA380 should do you well, efficient too. I got it as a backup late last year, 5 bucks after rebate, and the rebate came in, can't beat that deal.

With the efficiency of that power supply, and the good deal you received, you will probably save its cost in electricity over the next year verses a less efficient unit if the computer it is installed into sees a lot of running time.

Just for my information, how can you tell if a power supply is a rebadged Seasonic?

I've been using an Antec SmartPower 2.0 400W with push-pull 80mm fans for the last 2-3 years now. Super quiet, super-cool, I can put my hand on it inside the case and just feel cold metal, the exhaust fan never comes on (at one point I even thought it was defective and took it apart to test ). Very happy with it!

Please...I would also like this information...I am going to be looking for a new Power Supply between now and Fathers Day...5000watts or more...

Any one have experience with Corsair?? Seems to have good ratings on the egg. I think I would prefer one 12v rail as I heard this was better..if I can get a decent deal...I like antec (I have an old one 430 watts and believe it to be a seasonic rebadge..any way...that is what I had read)...I like because of reviews...Seasonic...and am wondering about the Corsair??

Any one see any killer deals...pls post or pm me...thanks

Just check Newegg 2-3 times throughout the day. They constantly have deals coming online for any variety of power supply brands and wattage ratings. Many times free shipping is included. If you are patient, and diligent, you will eventually find a screaming deal there.

I have two Corsairs, HX620 and VX450, all OEM'd by Seasonic, whereas the HX620 is the workhouse in the main computer. However, their newer ones seem to all be OEM'd by Channel Well (CWT), which are still very good from the reviews.

In general, all the reviews will indicate who the OEM is, thus, that's the only way to tell before buying the unit. Antec's older TruePower Trio have all been made by Seasonic (have the 650 as a backup).

If you want to find out who made a power supply and actually have the power supply already, in many cases you can just look up the ul number. Look for a symbol that looks like a backwards R and then a U (and the two letters are attached). There will be a number under it (typically an E followed by 6 numbers). You can look that up here and it will tell who made most power supplies.
http://database.ul.com/cgi-bin/XYV/t.../gfilenbr.html

Unfortunately, that wont work with antec. If What I have been told is right, the antecs are custom units built for antec by seasonic (older ones are mostly channel well). They are built by seasonic and have seasonic build quality but are models specifically designed for antec. I have also heard that they have lesser quality caps (still very good but not quite as good as a true seasonic). Regardless, antec is a big enough company to have their own registered ul numbers so even though someone else actually makes them, the unit is registered to antec. With may brands that just slap their label on someone elses power supply though, the ul number generally tells the oem.
Fyi I know at least some of the corsair units are seasonic.

Typically I will try searching on the over clocker sites for info on power supplies. If you have some info, you can also usually Google the model and the brand you suspect it to be. For instance I googled "earthwatts 380 seasonic" and this was the third link down (gives a bit about antec and cosair).
http://forums.anandtech.com/messagev...&enterthread=y

Thanks ripit..that helps...

5th post down on your link:

Earthwatts 500 is the best deal. Unit often sell for $30 AR.

That is what I would call a deal......$30 for earthwatt 500..I will be looking for that...but I have not seen them even close to that.

i got the power supply today from the egg! talk about fast shipping. i have not installed it yet, but just by feeling the weight, it weighs about 3 times more than my current ps. Now off to install it!

got it installed and works great so far. on a side note, my computer has always had problems turning on after i have it turned off for any amount of time. I can push the power button and it wont even turn on the monitor, none of the front panel buttons will work at this point. i have to turn off the ps with the switch and then on again. Sometimes it takes 7-8 times of doing this and then It boots up like nothing was ever wrong. Even with this new ps it still does it. its a gigabyte ga-k8n51gmf-9 mother board with an atholon 64 3200+ processor. Any thoughts or should i post in another forum about this???

Yo-

The Hardware Forum would be the place for that kind of help question-eh!!

If you can get your hands on a 2 pin wired connector to plug to the motherboard, you could bypass the case power switch temporarily. I would suspect that you could get one at an electronics supply, but I have never bought one (I have parts like that gutted from old computers) so I'm not sure what it is called. All you need to do is momentarily touch the wires to power it up. If doing that works reliably, then its probably a bad case power switch. If it has problems too, then I would suspect either a bad connection to the motherboard somewhere (like in the 20/24 pin power connector), or damage to the motherboard. The power switch on the front of the case doesn't actually turn the computer on or off. The motherboard must constantly receive a little bit of power from the power supply, even when the computer is off. The computer actually sends a signal to the power supply, telling to fully power up, thus turning on the computer. You can actually just momentarily short the two pins on the motherboard with a screw driver if you are careful to power it up. If you could find a wired connector it might be easier though (and no risk of shorting something else with the screw driver). Look at the manual
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/M...ProductID=1939
to see which pins are the power on pins.

If it won't reliably turn on when you bypass the power switch, then either the motherboard isn't reliably getting power from the power supply (bad contact from pin 9 here or its ground)
http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/ATX_Pinout
or the motherboard is damaged (you have already ruled out the power supply as two different units are doing it). Is your motherboard still under warranty?

If you can get your hands on a 2 pin wired connector to plug to the motherboard, you could bypass the case power switch temporarily. I would suspect that you could get one at an electronics supply, but I have never bought one (I have parts like that gutted from old computers) so I'm not sure what it is called. All you need to do is momentarily touch the wires to power it up. If doing that works reliably, then its probably a bad case power switch. If it has problems too, then I would suspect either a bad connection to the motherboard somewhere (like in the 20/24 pin power connector), or damage to the motherboard. The power switch on the front of the case doesn't actually turn the computer on or off. The motherboard must constantly receive a little bit of power from the power supply, even when the computer is off. The computer actually sends a signal to the power supply, telling to fully power up, thus turning on the computer. You can actually just momentarily short the two pins on the motherboard with a screw driver if you are careful to power it up. If you could find a wired connector it might be easier though (and no risk of shorting something else with the screw driver). Look at the manual
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/M...ProductID=1939
to see which pins are the power on pins.

If it won't reliably turn on when you bypass the power switch, then either the motherboard isn't reliably getting power from the power supply (bad contact from pin 9 here or its ground)
http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/ATX_Pinout
or the motherboard is damaged (you have already ruled out the power supply as two different units are doing it). Is your motherboard still under warranty?

I got a great PS at Micro Center.
550 watts for about $30 with 24 pin + 4pin 12v to work with newer motherboards. Check them out.

Newegg has the OCZ StealthXtreme 600 Watt PSU for $69.99 after promotional code #EMCAGAFCC. A $30.00 rebate makes it $39.99.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...L0C-_-17341010

Newegg has the OCZ StealthXtreme 600 Watt PSU for $69.99 after promotional code #EMCAGAFCC. A $30.00 rebate makes it $39.99.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...L0C-_-17341010

That might seem like a good deal but its not listed as being 80-plus certified. they claim 80 percent at a typical load which is read as being 50% power, no one draws 50% at idle which is where most people are most of the time. Also there are too many complaints of the rebate getting rejected. I would not buy it.

First, welcome to the forums.
Second, you haven't been listening (reading)...not all 550 watt power supplies are created equally.
There are more junk power supplies out there than good power supplies.
Do not buy a power supply solely based on advertised wattage.

Good find, slytrans69.
That Ocz PS looks like the deal of the week, if not month.
It's possible that it's made by PC Power & Cooling, since Ocz owns them now.