PSU question

[JewishIntent]

Hey guys got a quick, at least i hope its quick, question about getting a new psu for my comp.
Basically computer A's psu died, and i took the psu out of computer B to use in it temporarily. I need a new psu for computer A but don't know what watt i need. I threw out the old psu before checking it to see its wattage, and i can't find any of the paperwork that came with that comp, it was either lost during my move or it's still at my mom's house. The computer consists of 512mb RAM, 2.2 Ghz proc, and a PCI 256 vid card. Would a 300 watt psu be sufficient? Thanks in advance for all of the helpful replies i know i'll get

[dmorgan]

As I recall, you can go as high as you want, the computer is only going to draw as much as it needs. You could get a 1kw PSU and it won't damage anything. I would recommend going with 300+ depending on how many periperials you have. You cant over-power it, but you can under-power it.

[JewishIntent]

I am aware that i can't get too powerful of a psu besides just having one thats retardedly overpowered for my system, i was wondering more of what would the smallest one be, and therefore the cheepest, that i could safely put in that box without fear of straining the psu.

[The Duck]

Well, with the specs you provided, I would say a 300-350 watt PSU would be enough, but I would be sure and get a 400 watt and a good quality name brand. I understand you're jewish and you want to go the the cheapest route , but let me warn you right now, the PSU is NOT something to go the cheap route on!! If you go the cheap route, not only could the PSU die out again, but bring other components with it, like the motherboard, therefore costing you even more...

When it comes to computers, it's pretty safe to go the cheap route with ram and HDD's, sacrificing performance for saving the extra couple bucks... But I can't stress this enough, do not go the cheap route with the PSU.

[JewishIntent]

Sounds like a good reason to not go jew-cheep on the psu, what brands would you suggest as being reputable and reliable?

[The Duck]

Well, I personally like Antec and Coolmax, but there's loads of others that are good quality as well. Toms hardware did a stress test on a number of PSU's and can be found here:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/200507111/index.html

Another good resource is newegg.com and/or tigerdirect.com and looking at buyer's reviews...

[vanman]

Psu..??500Watt..Price difference is not worth the trouble and these days you can buy a complete empty box with psu for just about the same price as a psu alone so...I rest my case..

[JewishIntent]

Well i got home last night and gave my little brother a call to see if he could find any paperwork on my comp, and found out the box came with a 250 watt psu. the only thing in that box that isn't "stock" is the vid card so im thinking that a 350 watt psu would be more than enough to handle it at the moment. I appreciate all of your help once again and will definatly not go skimpy on the psu. Heck the Jew in me may even spend a little more to get a new box & psu as long as it turns out to be a good enough deal.
AO ROCKS!