Attached Link: http://www.amamax.com/psspecial2fnlp6100e.html

Hey guys...I've been researching power supplies so I'll be able to drive all the crap I got in my tower. I read that the Radeon 9600 Pro needs at least a 350-watt PS and I only have a 300W currently. What do you think of this PS (check the link above.) $18 is a great price for a PS, but I know PS's are so sensative sometimes. I don't wanna go above $25 for one and if I could get one w/ dual fans in >450W would be even better (or will the extra 50W really make a big diff in my electric bill...) Ugh, too many questions, I'll leave it here for right now. MD

MD Not knowing what components are in your system, it would be difficult to say, but, I will say this, the power supply is the last place a person would want to get tight fisted with when it comes to money. In short you get what you pay for. :) Antec and PC Power and Cooling make excellent power supplies. A good power supply does more than just provide power, it needs to regulate the input and output as well as cool itself and protect your motherboard and components. Take a look at the two above sites and hunt up some reviews, I believe that Tom Pabst did a smoke test on a load of power supplies earlier this year. Some of the power supplies did actually catch fire. BabaLouie

Thanks Baba...just need those links you were referring to. :) I will take a look into the Antec's and PC Power...I remember seeing those listed on Pricewatch. Thanks for the tips. In reference to what's in my system: 2 HDDs (1-7200, 1-5400) CDRW DVD Vid Sound Network 5 case fans (2 in front, 2 in back, 1 in side) PCI Fan Cool Cathode Light Floppy 1.4 GHz AMD T-Bird w/ 256 DDR2100 Basic CPU HS/fan...gonna upgrade next spring. MD

dang..I'd go with the 450W, just to power all this..;) The 450w is just a fraction of what a hair dryer or stove will pull, so I wouldn't worry too much..why so many fans? just curious..I don't know what computer stores they have down there, but a dedicated parts store might have a few good, cheap models (Intrex is what I use in the triangle area..might see if they have one down where you are). Caveat- it's always a danger to walk in one..I usually come out with more than I went in for..;) good luck.

Not sure if I've heard of Intrex but I'll have to check. :) I have a lot of fans b/c I've had cooling issues in the past, plus when I bought this case, it came with them all in the price so I figured heck, more cooling the better. Even now it still gets a tad warm on those nice SE NC summer days. :) I love heat, but my computer doesn't! For some reason though, it seems like Wilmington lacks a fair amount of computer hardware stores...it's kinda weird. I've yet to really find a good one in the phone book. MD

and it a university town and all..maybe Bert's surf shop, or Angels..kidding..;)

hehehe...hell, Bert's doesn't even have those 'ILM' stickers or license plate things I want...surprised me! MD

Md Here ya go .. took a bit, but I found 3 articles, they make interesting reading. BabaLouie Http://www17.tomshardware.com/column/20011012/index.html Http://www17.tomshardware.com/howto/20030609/ Http://www17.tomshardware.com/howto/20021012/

MD Well, I can not find the article I was really looking for. The basics of the article dealt with the fact that not all power supplies would output the wattage as specified and when tested under a load, some of them failed from slightly to severly, severly being the power supply caught on fire. I do recall that the Antec and I believe a unit named Vanta did quite well. I have used 5 or 6 Antec power supplies and have been quite satisfied with them. www.antec-inc.com www.pcpowerandcooling.com BabaLouie

BabaLouie, Thanks for all the great help! I'm gonna be sure to check out all these links and reviews as soon as I can. I really wanna get this new PS ordered so I can go ahead and get the video card upgraded in time before Half-Life 2 comes out. If anyone else has things to add, feel free! MD

Well, if you have some extra money. I'd always go with an enermax. That's what I've always used, and a 350 watt performs at 430 watts. a 300 is about 370. They are high quality too and won't burn out on you. I had one powersupply go on me, some cheap crap, I thought I had died because a capacitor blew... Sounded like a shotgun going off a few inches from my head. Since then i've been scared straight. Only enermax for me.

On my 350 watt enermax I am running: -Radeon 9600 pro agp 8x -Audigy Platinum pci -Athlon 2600+xp overclocked -2 512 sticks of ddr400 -3com lan card -dialup 56k modem -1 plextor cdrw -1 cdrom -1 40gig wd hd 7200 rpm -1 80gig wd hd 7200 rpm -2 60mm case fans -1 90mm case fan -1 120mm top case fan -Volcano 11 xaser proc fan/sink -floppy drive -all on an Asus Nforce 2 ultra - delux motherboard. And it's running perfectly for me. Haven't had one problem yet.

Always go for the most beautiful wife, the smartest dog, and the biggest power supply;) I was running 3hd a 40 speed cd a 16 speed CDR and an internal ZIP. Started having troubles with the beast dying every time I printed. I went from a 350 that cooked to a 450 and also got a surge supressor outlet to isolate the computer power from monitor and printer. So far three years, no problems.

Damn Ornlu! You've got me beat as far as hardware, but I have a CABLE modem, and it takes just a few secs to download your grass files! ;-P

One of the latest things I bought was a new case with 400W power supply, which came in at 50 or $79, mind you that was for the case as well. The reason I had to get a new power supply was because my new mb needed at least 350W and with having a pretty hot graphics card, 120Gb hd, dvd writer, a dvd player, 1Gb ram and a floppy, I thought I better err on the side of more is better. So it does really come down to what is going in your case either now or in the near future. Catlin

the english verison of PC Format just ran a whole section on this exact thing.... let me see..... they recommend: PSUs QTEC 400w gold - www.kustompcs.co.uk - 22.99 Fans Enermax 120mm Blue Varible Fan Kit - www.thecoolingstore.co.uk - 17.49 Zalman CNPS - www.overclockers.co.uk - 40 Cooling Systems www.vapochill.com www.chillblast.com www.koolance.com I'm a qualified Geek, so I have a fairly decent knowledge of all things computer so feel free to drop your most technical problems my way if you need any help. john@geekandproud.co.uk John PS: if that sounded too smug, sorry i didn't mean it like that.

Don't worry John even geeks are allowed to blow their own trumpet now and again..................8)

fixes his pocket protector slides his inch thick glasses back up his nose I have no idea what you're talking about catlin...

ROFL.............................hehehehehe 8D

Hey Ornlu, I did a geek rating test online and my score was supergeek, which although surprising, was great. I didn't think I was a geek even though several of my friends and family have called me one. So I guess I'll just have to accept it, lol 8) Catlin

Welcome to the dark side. Now just go download some GOA trance and join the party.

May I suggest Astral Projection - Ambient Galaxy. I always listen to trance/goa when I bryce, I find it very inspiring. You might see some resemblance of it in some renders.

I'm rather fond of trance too..................8)

Yeah, it get's a lot of flak for being stoner music, but us non druggies can like it too. I find it very fluid, which probably explains my abundance of fluid models.

Thanks Ornlu, now I know where I'm going wrong with my images, Gog scuttles off to buy some trance music :)

Attached Link: Geek And Proud :