Should I return this power supply? ThrTakPurPo420w

[thebladeroden]

So once I bought my Nvidia Geforce 6800 GT I figured I would need to replace my power supply since the one I had was only 250W. So I got a 420watter. But once I started comparing the two there doesn't seem to be an apparent difference in performance. They both got 55,000 in Aquamark and load UnrealEd in 30 seconds. So I wonder if I should just return the PSU and put $60 back in my pocket, or maybe there's another PSU out there that would make a difference.

So for reference here's my specs
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP
Processor: Athlon 64 3000
Graphics Card: eVGA NVidia 6800 GT 256MB
Sound Card: SB Live! Series (WDM)
Memory: 1GB Corsair DDR PC-3200
Motherboard: Chaintech VNF3-250
Direct X: 9.0c
Hard drive: Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 160GB + Western Digital WD800 80GB

And here are the power supplies in question
Newton Power Ltd. NPS-250CB A 250W
Thermaltake Purepower HPC-420-302 DF 420W

So what must I do?

 

[Robc1880]

Are you saying that you were able to get your system to run with the 250W? Either way, the PSU would not make a difference on your benchmark scores. I would suggest you stick with the TT 420 Purepower just for reliability and stability.

 

[Crashman]

First of all, better power supplies don't give you better benchmarks, no, instead they prevent your system from crashing due to load-induced voltage dips, resetting due to power supply overload, or going "boom" with sparks and flames.

Second your Newton Power unit was probably HIGHER QUALITY than the Thermaltake. I know for certain my Newton Power 200W power supplies provided better voltage at ~160W loads than my Antec 250W units. Newton Power isn't a retail brand, but it's a darned good OEM supplier.

Third, 250W is shabby, even if the one you had was better than a lot of retail-brand 300W units, 300W would still be shabby for your system. So I'd stick with the 420W power supply, just to reduce the chance of overload.

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