Power Consumption - Which PSU to buy?

[jlor...@hotpop.com]

I have a generic 450W PSU and it's been working flawlessly for over a
year now with the following specs:

Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo
Athlon XP 2400+
2 Seagate SATA 120 GB 7200rpm HDs
1 Seagate ATA 120 GB 7200rpm HD
1 CD-RW / DVD player combo
Geforce FX5200 256 MB video card
2 case coolers
HP Photosmart 7260 USB printer
Occasionaly connect a Sony USB digital cam

I want to *add* an additional ATA HD (120 GB 7200 rpm) and a DVD
recorder. Will my current PSU support it? How can I measure the average
(or max) power consumption of my system and each individual part. I
don't know much about electronics...

Here's another thing. I've read many posts suggesting that "generic"
PSUs are bad and should be avoided.. I'm an IT consultant and I have
*always* used generic PSUs on all the computers I manage (over a 200 by
now), and although very few PSUs did present problems (simply stopped..
all I needed to do is replace them), the rest is still working for
*many years*. Why pay for PSUs that are over 3 times the cost of a
generic one?? Is it really worth it? From my experience, I really don't
think so..

Thanks for your help..

[DaveW]

One of the major differences between Major brand (Antec) PSU's and
off-brands, is that if you sufficiently overdrive an Antec the PSU will
quietly fail and the rest of your computer will be fine. With the cheaper
components in a no-name PSU, if it fails it often will take the motherboard
with it.
Yes, I've experienced this and will only use Antec's now.

--
DaveW

<jlor...@hotpop.com> wrote in message
news:1111956889.7...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

[DaveW]

One of the major differences between Major brand (Antec) PSU's and
off-brands, is that if you sufficiently overdrive an Antec the PSU will
quietly fail and the rest of your computer will be fine. With the cheaper
components in a no-name PSU, if it fails it often will take the motherboard
with it.
Yes, I've experienced this and will only use Antec's now.

--
DaveW

<jlor...@hotpop.com> wrote in message
news:1111956889.7...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...