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What should I look for when upgrading my power supply unit?
I'll be getting a Gateway DX4320-19 system which comes with a 300w power supply which I realize is simply not up to the job. So i'll probably be upgrading the PSU to 650 or 700 i guess. Any specific things other that the wattage of the PSU to look out for when upgrading the PSU?? detailed answers would be appreciated thanks!
>Any specific things other that the wattage of the PSU to look out for when upgrading the PSU?
This pretty much sums it up.
http://compreviews.about.com/od/cases/a/PSUWattage.htm
TLDR; 12 volt rails are important. Rails are specific wattages that your power supply gives out. Each PSU has a number of rails, the three most common ones are +3.3V, +5V and +12V.
the 12v rail is what juices up the majority of the components in your computer, like your graphics card and hard drives. Since GPU's are what sucks the most power in a gaming / high end system, you want to make sure you have plenty of current on this specific rail.
Lets take a look at this picture.
http://www.hardwarelogic.com/articles/reviews/PSU/Antec_Neo_HE_550/psu_badge.jpg
You will notice that the +12v rail has an amperage rating which tells you how much current flows through that rail
Some power supplies have more than 1 +12v rails, in this case, you can see a total of 3 +12v rails on this Antec power supply, and each rail having 18 amps for a total of 54 amps. 54 amps is generally plenty for most people who use single graphics cards.
For those who are looking to use ridiculously high end cards such as a Radeon 5890 or have more than 1 graphics cards, you'd probably want a bit more and should have at least 80 amps on that rail.
The number of rails has nothing to do with quality (it was widely believed that the more rails, the better, but nowadays you can buy top quality power supplies with only 1 +12v rail. So ignore that).
You generally can't go wrong with any of these brands:
Antec, Corsair, Enermax, Seasonic, and OCZ.
Converted Computer ATX Power Supply to Lab Power Supply Unit