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After my third psu died on me,  I think I need a better psu.
any suggestions? looking for something around $40-$60.

I don't want to spend too much though. should have just bought a really good one at the start but i have this generic 300w one that's for a powercolor 6950 and it has been running nonstop for over a month so I thought it would be fine.

The three I bought were 500w for a single sapphire 5830. All three stopped working. The worst one lasted a day before quitting on me.  This one 5830 is costing me so much now.  Is 500w not enough or is it just the brand?

Well, I have 13 PCs currently and each one uses either a PC Power & Cooling or an Enermax PSU.  Failures in the last 4 years.....one.  Generally those brands along with Antec are my favs.  Perhaps check dis out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=58&Description=&Type=&N=100007657&IsNodeId=1&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=40&MaxPrice=80&Manufactory=1516&Manufactory=9830&Manufactory=1400&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58401&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58402&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58404&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58405&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58406&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58407&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58410&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58411&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58412&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58413&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58414&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58389&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58390&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58392&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58393&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58394&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58395&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58397&PropertyCodeValue=1314%3A58399

Quick lil Newegg search under those brands within your listed price range.  I went with a range of 500-650watts I think. 

Really the PSU is one of those "gotta buy good to never see results" type of product.  You really HAVE to get a good one, but if you do, you'll never know it cause it will just run and not fail.  Not like a GPU where the better ones yield instant results in higher FPS and such.  Nope, the poor PSU toils in the background unseen and (hopefully) unheard, but man o man am I glad when I have systems up 24/7 that never miss a beat.

Like Kyle said, PSU is more about QUALITY than QUANTITY (watts) especially for 24/7 highly loaded 12v rail usage (GPU mining.)

Generally you stick to certain brands because they are made by certain OEMs (there are some outliers but if you post back or PM me I can help with the oddballs) and you should be safe with a mid-wattage unit from any of these manufacturers (most of whom don't actually make the innards):


Seasonic, FSP, Antec, Enermax, Corsair, PC Power & Cooling (some outliers here since OCZ acquired them), Silverstone, and to some extent OCZ.

500w is more than enough for a 5830, I have 3 5830's running on a 600w Seasonic (X series, one of the best units ever made) no problem.

Also keep in mind that for 24/7 operation, an energy efficient unit can easily pay for the price difference over a low quality unit (like a Raidmax, Sunbeam or similar) since it won't draw as much power from the wall to do the same amount of work.  Look for Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum 80+ rating to know it is efficient, or check reviews.  Best PSU review site by a long shot is JonnyGuru.com where he tells you how it is.

Most units will be rated Gold (or other level, just an example) for 20%, 50% and 100% load of rated power but some might only be Bronze at 100% but sufficiently effecient at 50% to be a Platinum unit, which would be ideal since you'll be pulling mid-range load, so it is worth finding reviews if you really want to make the best purchase.  Reviews should have efficiency ratings at various loads if done properly with a Sunmoon or similar tester.

thanks for the replies.  is this ENERMAX NAXN ENP550AWT 550W ATX12V Active PFC Power Supply good enough for two 5830s? how do you tell the 20%, 50%, or 100% load? would it be cheaper to buy one or two for 4 5830's? if I buy one can i rig it between two computers?  thanks in advance :)

oh one more thing how many watts do i need for a single computer with one gpu?  i have three old dell desktop that i want to mine with. what are the cheapest psu that I could run 24/7?

I personally like the Corsair brands.  They make very efficient PSU's.

Get an Antec Earthwatts 650: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=163 (http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=163)
or for two cards, an Antec Earthwatts 750 (four pcie power connectors).

Look on that jonnyguru.com site and you will see a lot of power supplies like Cooler Master and Thermaltake will just die when asked to actually deliver their rated power.

Depends on what GPU you are looking to run. PC Power & Cooling makes a nice 500W Dell compatible PSU for about $75 (model PPCS500D and free shipping from Amazon). Mine got changed out on Friday (on a Dell Optiplex 745) and has been humming along nicely with a 5770 since then.

5830 do i need a 500w for a single computer?  tools_462 is running three of them on a 600w Seasonic.

I use a Corsair builder series 600W 80+ psu and its more then plent to run two 5850s. Its cool to the touch even though its on 24/7. It was relatively cheap too. At the wall this draws about 430W so in theory a 500W psu may be enough, but since all the load is on the 12V rail, check the specs on the box of the psu to ensure that you have enough WATTS on the +12V rail. I would bet that 200W per card is pretty good, its more than plenty for the Saphire 5850s I run.

OCZ, Seasonic, Antec make great PSUs. Look for 80+ Gold certified ones - the highly efficient ones will partially pay for themselves in electricity bills, and also they don't heat up so much (high eff = low loss through heat).

Also use a PSU wattage calculator (eg. http://www.antec.outervision.com/ ) for your rig. Consider that for a rig that runs 24/7 you should leave a buffer of 100-200W. This will let the PSU operate in its optimal range - voltage stability, heat and power efficiency. Read some of the reviews online to see what I mean.

Also good PSUs cost a little extra, that's unavoidable - but offer better resale value.

I have  a 775w toughpower thermaltake, and it has been very good, and not that noisy also.

Yeah it all depends on what your trying to run with it. But quality is important, 80 certified is a must, and plenty of power on each rail is important, not to mention the warranty.  ANTEC25 is very solid for like 55 bux at newegg.  Can grab an HEC ZEPHYR 750 watt 80 certified PFC power supply, its efficient for like 60 bux from newegg.  The ANTEC NEO ECO 620 watt, pretty efficient and solid for 70 bux, those would all be good choices, of course corsair makes some good ones, thermaltake makes some good ones, I would go with the most watts, best fan, strongest rails, most efficient and best warranty combo for the best price you can find lol.  YOU CAN ACTUALLY BUY SOME WITH BITCOINS lol

I love my RaidMax RX630Z p/s, it's been cool quiet and clean running my single 5870 Eyefinity.
Plus you can't beat that I got a $40 rebate at Fry's for net cost $49 US.
cheers,
-glassine

The Coolermasters are an ok unit (mid-range). Ive got a CM Extreme power 700 running my rig with 2 x 6950's and it was able to power my rig up and mine where a lesser known brand 800W failed. You can pick up a CM 500-550W for about $60.