Power Supply: An invisible risk for your computer.

[Wayne]

As seeing technology is advancing, stronger processors, video cards are comming in... and these parts will require more power, now, everyone thinks processor, video card, memory and motherboard is enough, then they're forgetting the most important part The power supply

What is a power supply?
It is a part that is usually located upper in your desktop, it is considered the heart of the computer.
It is responsible to deliver power and adjust voltage, which is crucial to keep your parts running fine, on load, idle or normal usage.

What happens when a power supply is not enough for the computer?
This happens usually in load tests, where processor/video card is at the top of their perfomance, they'll require more power, and when the power supply is not enough will happen the following:

• Shutdowns
• Performance drops
• Application crash
• Damage to your parts

An example below:
http://www.youtube.com/user/hardwaresecrets#p/u/9/SM2nBiJTEds
here shows a "350W" PSU delivering 219W, see what happens.

Notice that the average wattage needed for a computer is usually 100-300W
This explosion can offer a serious danger for your parts, it is just one video showing what you should NOT buy.

How can i choose the best PSU's?
Choosing a PSU is not cheap, comes at cost, you should not bargain these, because the PSU is the heart of the computer.
Keep in mind you will have to spend extra bucks... however, it comes at cost, the cost of saving your parts, energy bill, etc...
This site shows a list of best PSU's available, since they have 80 plus certificate, means they are great power supplies.
This calculator can show which PSU you're going to probably need, depending on your needs.

Conclusion
NEVER ignore power supplies in your buylist, you should read reviews about power supplies, aswell computer parts, you don't want get fooled, there are LOADS of power supplies in the market that says it delivers X but it doesn't even deliver half of it.
Don't go by the manager words, you should buy something you are conscient it is a good piece and it will do well.

[Norrage]

Sounds intresting.. Though mine is good =)

[Bilbo]

Your power supply is the last part to bargain on. (go for quality, not quantity)

[Wayne]

Fixed, now it is way better.

[Boozman]

I actually just upgraded my Power Supply a few weeks ago. Not only is my computer quieter, but it will also put less strain on my current parts, and future ones as well.

Never ignore the Power Supply, it's the heart of your PC.

[Salmonella]

I actually bought a 600 watt ocZ Stealth 2 Xstream PSU for 10 bucks recently One of the best, uses the same printplates( translated from dutch directly, might be the wrong word) as the coolermaster PSU's and such

[shitix]

I belive mine dosent delive enough power to my video card, its like 350W power suply and my video card needs 400W or 450W, thanks for the heads up ima get a new powersuply!

[StrikeFreedom]

750 Watt covers me fine.

[FastSh00T]

750 Watt covers me fine.

* FastSh00T falls down on the ground.

I could buy ATI 5770 HD but the guy in the store told me that it needs another power supply and I didn't have the money so I bought 5570, and I didn't know that 5570 sucks and 5770 pwns. Yes, I am stupid ;(

[Wayne]

A lesson you learned: never buy a computer piece without looking at reviews, feedbacks, etc...

[FastSh00T]

A lesson you learned: never buy a computer piece without looking at reviews, feedbacks, etc...

Aigh' Mista  :hit:

[Todor]

Defo. Was over at a mate this Sunday, one that despite everything I told him bought a 480 and whacked it on with an i5 in a new case with an old, brandless 450 watt PSU. Result was that the 6 and 4 pin molexes on the GPU had soldered themselves to it, Mobo connections were toast and that's around 350 GBP down the drain... Now he's running my 3870x2 for the lols  until he can get more cash 

[Leon.]

An exploding power supply actually fried one of my entire circuits...

Follow Wayne's advice, and you'll be likely to not have problems.