Recommend: Best PSU for my Mid-Tower PC

[quantass]

A friend system just died and i suspect it is a failed PSU. Unfortunately i cant recall his exact system specs but i do know the PSU was an Enermax 350W. It lasted for several years used on a continual basis. Overall it was a good unit.

I just wanted your recommendation on new PSU with 450W+. It can be any brand. I want a unit that is well built, operates quietly, if it dies wont kill any parts of my PC (ie Mobo, Ram), and doesnt have a cheap fan that after 6 months sounds like a jet engine. I was considering the "CoolerMaster Extreme Power 500 Watt Power Supply (Model: RP-500-PCAR)" for $63 but read some nasty things about its fan noise after XX months. I would like to keep the price < $70.

This will be for a Windows based PC (ATX form factor, Mid-tower), 1 x SATA HDD, 2 x DVDRW, AGP Video, Soundblaster 16 soundcard, Athlon XP 2800 CPU, 1 GB DDR Ram.

[mr_raider]

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=30145&vpn=SS-400ET&manufacture=Seasonic%20Electronics

I assume he won't try to upgrade to a Phenom + gtx 280 next week.

[willy]

$36.77 AR ... http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=13220AC5582

If you don't like MIR, $44 ... http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11700AC6643

[sickcars]

Anything from Corsair will be High quality & low noise. They also come with 5 year warranty on their PSU's so your protected there.

[evanx]

Good suggestions here so far. I would also tout Enermax's Pro82+ or Liberty line.

[quantass]

What do you think of these 2 PSUs:

Corsair CMPSU-400CX 400W: http://www.corsair.com/products/cx400.aspx

OCZ ModXStream Pro 400W Power Supply (OCZ400MXSP): http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/power_management/ocz_400w_modxstream_pro_power_supply

Which would be the better buy? I can get either one for $64.99. There is MIR but no faith in that

[rimi]

I have a Corsair 620 watt PSU in my gaming rig and I think its perfect. No doubt that Corsair is a trustworthy and high quality brand. They're rebate service is also pretty good.

But for my HTPC I went with the OCZ brcause of the cheaper price. Its modular, have a 140mm fan and 80plus efficiency. I didnt get it yet so I cant say anything. But if you do get the rebate, I think its really good price for 36$.

If price isnt an issue, Id say the Corsair PSU.

my 2 cents.

[quantass]

The dead mobo in question, Gigabyte GA-7VT600-P, appears to have blown capacitors but the board still functions ok (with the exception of the infrequent black screen on bootup or fluctuating RAM values during POST). Now i dont know the cause for the blown capacitors but i've read that Gigabyte was a victim of bad capacitors in the early part of this decade when this mobo was created. But then again the user of this PC lets his box run 24/7 with mildly acceptable mid-tower case cooling. I'm wondering if the cause could really have been heat/thermo-expansion or a bad PSU?

I will be testing out the PSU (350W Enermax EG-365P-VE) with a multimeter. The BIOS shows the 2 rails within spec but the +5v seems very close to the min'm value (4.757).

My question is: if the multimeter test on the 20v line shows all 3 rails within spec would you still go out and purchase a new Corsair 400W or would you continue to use the Enermax? The Enermax PSU within his system has been running for about 5 years now.