Choosing your Power Supply
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When choosing a power supply for your system, you have two decisions. First is what type of power supply you would like to buy. There are currently two main types that you should consider: ATX and ATX 12v. The power supply type used will be largely based on the motherboard type that you use.
Additionally you will need to decide how many watts you want your power supply to produce. Common numbers are 300 watts up to 600 watts, and beyond.
Power Supply Types
First lets look at the different types of power supply. Table 1-1 summarizes them.
Table 1-1: Common power supply types
| Type | Description |
| ATX | Older and more established power supply that has a 20-pin main connector. Unless you are going to be using this system as a high-end gaming machine, ATX should be fine. |
| ATX 12V | Newer power supply that has a 24-pin main connector. The ATX 12V was added to support motherboards that need PCI-Express cards. In general, if you are going to be using this computer as a high-end gaming system, you should use ATX 12V so that use a PCI-Express motherboard. |
These two power supplies are NOT compatible with each other. You can see their main power plugs side-by-side in Figure 1-2.
Figure 1-2: Figure 1-2: ATX (top) and ATX 12V Main Connectors
Because of this it is very important that you buy the correct power supply for your motherboard. Nothing is more frustrating than realizing your new motherboard and power supply do not match!
You are probably now wondering if you should go with ATX 12V or ATX. Right now most computers are ATX. But as time progresses ATX 12V will become the standard. If the price point is close, I would go with ATX 12V. The cost for ATX 12V will continue to drop.
If you are trying to keep costs to a minimum, and you do not care about using PCI-Express cards, which you will only need for high-end games, you are fine with ATX.
Power Supply Capacities
Power supply capacities are rated in the number of watts they can handle. If you exceed the number of watts your power supply can handle your system will become unstable. It is unlikely that you will damage anything, but your computer may start locking up while your using it.
For most of the computer systems that I build, I use a 450 watt power supply. Table 1-2 summarizes some power supply capacities.
Table 1-2: Common power supply capacties
| Capacity | Notes |
| 300 watts | This is the entry level power supply. If you are building a basic ATX computer with a common video and sound card, this should be fine. |
| 450 watts | This is the power supply I usually use. Its good for most systems, with medium-end video cards and multiple CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drives. |
| 600 watts | High-end power supply. Good for computers with high-end graphics cards and multiple hard drives and CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drives. This power supply is overkill for most systems. |
Now that you understand the type and capacity of power supplies, lets look at the power supply manufactures.
Power Supply Manufactures
Antec is my favorite power supply manufacturer. Mainly because I have used them often, and have never had a problem. However, other common, and trusted, manufactures include:
- Antec
- Cool Master
- Enermax
- Powermax
You may also elect to buy a case that already comes with a power supply. This will often give you a good price on the power supply. Just be sure that you are getting the power supply you need and want.
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