PC Part Shopping 1: PSU

Welcome to my blog! The first article is about the power supply unit, which powers your PC. Buying a good PSU isn't easy for most and requires some time to determine the best for your case. Cheap PSUs tend to conk out easily, and there is an easy way to tell how good the quality is: weight. The heavier the power supply is, the better. Also, you will need to find the amperage. The more amps, the better. You can find this information on the side or back of most PSU boxes. For example; my Corsair 650TX (650W) PSU has 52a on the +12V rail(s), usually the most critical rail. It is rated at 50 deg. C.
Most "cheap" power supplies are rated at 25C or lower and ones with questionable quality at 25C or higher and the best are rated 40C or higher. Here are some brands/ lines of power supplies that are very good in my honest opinion. There will be a star next to the best of the best.

Performance: For the ultimate gaming rigs and workstations. Also for people who hate fixing computers.

Corsair (all)*
Enermax (all current)
PC Power and cooling (all)*
Tuniq (all except for ensemble)
ThermalTake Toughpower*
Antec (all exept for basiq)
Seasonic (all)
In Win Commander*
ULTRA X3*
Mushkin (all)

Value: Quality Units at a good/great price

OCZ (all)*
Sunbeam eco
Coolmax Green Power
FSP Blue Storm
Sparkle Power Inc. also known as SPI (most)
Topower (most)

Mostly any PSU with 80+ certification is a quality product as 80+ tests not only operating efficiency but also quality and stability.

Power supplies with high amperage on a single rail are more stable and more efficient than the equivalent with multiple rails, but this is only minor, so don't let this steer you in the wrong direction.

Here is a power supply calculator. Remember that it assumes that you have at least a decent quality PSU.

http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

Use that to determine the approximate wattage of the PSU to use, if the power supply is rated at 40C. (Most good brands)

NEVER go cheap on a power supply or you could fry multiple components if the case is severe. Keep in mind though, even in the best power supplies, rough shipping *cough* UPS *hack* could dislodge caps and other things in the PSU. Test it with the wiring technique; with a wire, on the Mainboard 20/24 pin header, connect a black wire (GND) with the green wire. Then, you should be able to use the power switch on the back of the PSU to turn it on. You can use a PSU tester or old fans, an old PC, etc. to test it. Once you think it isn't DOA, start building your PC, or repairing it, and have fun!

Some good places, in my opinion, to purchase PSUs are:
TigerDirect.com, Newegg.com, Zipzoomfly.com, compUSA.com, Frys Electronics, and Micro Center, among others.

Thanks for reading!

Stay tuned for more guides on technology in the future!

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