Cheap 19.99 Power supplies. Good for anything?

camplo

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Feb 8, 2006
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I know that a power supply should not be skimped on BUT people still do it and get away with, while some do it and their house burns down. Either way my idea was that according to the power usage calculator I use, Im going to need about 290 maximum. So my idea was to buy a 500-600 watt PSU of cheapo 19.99 variety and being that Im only drawing a small amount of what its rated for, I should be OK? Any flaws in my logic?
 
Maybe it will work and maybe not. A lot depends on the capacity of the 12 volt output.

And maybe it will last a while and maybe not.

And maybe when it fails, it will fail gracefully and electronically shut itself down. Or maybe not.

Maybe it will fail catastrophically, explode or burst into flames. And destroy part of the computer it is plugged into. Or maybe not.

Say. How much is the rest of the computer worth? :)
 

binwhui

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Jan 22, 2009
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it also depends on the components that uses your psu..
two-cored cpus and strong gpus require a better psu..
what's your specs?
 

nerrawg

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Aug 22, 2008
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Spontaneous plastic BBQs?
Home insurance fraud?
Using up those extra postage stamps that are laying around on RMA?

Just some suggestions
 

camplo

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Feb 8, 2006
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point taken. This is just a means to an ends system so I might as well get something decent enough to power the next system that I build. Saving money in the long run? Well that makes too much sense!!
 
I have a 585w cheapo power supply that i pulled out of a case. It's been sitting on my desk for a few days gathering dust (it's good at that). Being that it's springtime and critters seem to come out this time of year i spotted a frigging spider about the size of my thumb on the wall behind my PC. I grabbed that 585w piece of garbage and squished it flat ! It was good at that also. So there's 2 good uses for a $19.99 power supply. When there's quality 400w power supplies from corsair selling for $30 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008
why use a garbage PSU that will have stability problems ?

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=71
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/534
 

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