I'm replacing some computer parts for christmas. A Question

[DarkBlade325]

So with Christmas right around the corner, I've decided to give my machine a bit of an upgrade. Specifically, 4GBs of ram, and a new 750 Watt power supply.

However I have a question about the power supply. I've tracked down a type of ram stick that is comparable with my motherboard, but I'm not really sure how to tell if a Power Supply's cables will work for my machine. I'm a bit of a newbie when replacing and even just installing computer parts, you see. Although I know how to install sticks of ram.

So can anyone give me some advice how to track down a new power supply that will work for my system? This has been my only hurdle that has had me on edge when trying to track down some new parts on Amazon and such. And the main reason is that I recall some power supplies have different types of cables that go into the motherboard, card, hard drives, so on and so forth. And I don't know which ones my current power supply uses.

Any help would be appreciated  ;)

[ARTgames]

Well I'm not sure why your getting a new psu anyway. Your not going to need it if you are just getting more ram. Unless your old one died or your getting new parts that need more power. More info on the system would be needed but if its a modern system and a modern psu than you should be fine. It will have all the connectors you will need.

[Chaos]

Assuming your computer is relatively modern, the PSU is going to have every cable you will need.  The power cables of a PSU are pretty standardized.

Incidentally, as ART said, upgrading your PSU is ultimately meaningless unless you're intending it as a step to further upgrade with a new GPU and such.  A high end GPU is just about the only thing that's going to need a beefy power supply.

Also, do some research and put some consideration into what brand of PSU you're purchasing.  Don't be cheap with a power supply, or you may find yourself with a lot of fried, useless computer components.  If I recall, some good brands are Antec, Corsair, Cooler Master, and have also heard XFX and OCZ are supposed to be good too.  I personally have an Antec 650W and have never had a problem with it.

[T-Rok]

To further Chaos information, I have always bought Cooler Master PSU's and they have never let me down. My 1000W does it's job quietly and at a cool temperature and I'm not about to complain about the price.

As with what they've said, you won't need a new PSU if you're just buying ram. You just pop out the old stuff and put the new stuff it in and good to go. Reason I say pop out the old stuff is because generally you won't want to mix and match ram.

Edit: Also you'll wanna make sure you put it in the right slots if you're not going to fill up all 4(or 2 if it's older) slots. Otherwise you can experience a decrease in speed or your computer just won't turn on. Depends on the motherboard.

[DarkBlade325]

Ah, alright.

Guess I should explain. I was thinking about getting a new power supply because I was talking to a buddy of mine who works as a computer technician at a local radio station, and I talked to him about a blue screen problem I had been getting on certain games where it would give me blue screens occasionally if the game was relatively modern. Stuff like Crysis 2 and such, hell this even happened on older games like TF2.

He said the problem might not be anything in my computer thats fried or anything, but it might be that the power supply is too weak. Atleast, that's what I gathered. Made sense to me, how it couldn't supply enough power for certain games that require alot. See, my power supply is only 450 or so watts, and my machine was built back in 2009 (I think. For all I know it could be 2007 / 08). But, I've been upgrading my Graphics Card without messing with the power supply for reasons already mentioned. Like Chaos mentioned, my old power supply might just not be enough to power this new one to it's fullest. Its a GTS 250.

He also said that power supplies can hold the answer to why a computer could be having extensive problems. He mentioned he eventually saved up for a nice beefy power supply, and those problems hadn't shown up since. So that's basically my reason for wanting a new one, especially nearly doubling the wattage.

My reason for getting more memory is actually quite embarrasing: I've only had 2GB all this time, and that obviously could be causing issues as well. I just wanted to cover both bases, you see.

@TRok mind explaining why it's not a good idea to mix ram? Just curious

@Chaos yeah the PSU I was looking at is a Corsair, same brand I was recommended. I heard some good things about them, so thats the one im shooting for.

I also appreciate the help guys  ;)

[T-Rok]

I used to have an article explaining why bookmarked. Going from memory, nothing bad happens as long as the are the same speed. If they are 2 different speeds, the higher speed ram will throttle itself down to the lowest speed installed, thus well, yeah. Obvious loss. Now when it comes to different brands, quite often they are designed to work with the same brand far better than they are another brand. Just like how if you install an Intel LGA 1155 processor on an Intel motherboard you'll have higher speeds than if you installed it on some other board that accepted LGA 1155. I mean it's not going to be HUGE in most cases, but it's always better to match stuff up. They want you to buy from them, so they give you a minor incentive to buy from them.

[DarkBlade325]

Ah I understand. Is there any harm just trying to see how mixed ram sticks work out before taking out the older ones? Or will it cause damage before I can see the results?

[ARTgames]

For best practice and performance its better not to. But you can and you will be fine. I have mixed different types of ram before. Going from 2 to 4 will most likely help you more than any performance hits you may get. I think all around your new PSU and ram should be fine.

[DarkBlade325]

Indeed. I also did do a check on the type of ram I'm getting as I mentioned, and it's capable with my board from the get go. So I don't imagine having much trouble with the ram it's self. I believe before I was using two 1GB sticks, which obviously shows the age of my machine, although I wasn't running into much trouble with gaming until later on in the years, and it has only been then that I've noticed the importance of my memory. The ones I'm getting now are two 2GB sticks, and I was hoping to keep the ones I had now so I could have 6GB of ram all together, which is more than enough for my needs. If not, I can always replace the old ones.

As I said, my biggest hurdle here was the power supply issue, as I remembered different types of cables for power supplies that might not be compatible with the parts in my machine, and I wasn't sure how to go about sorting out any problems of wrong types of pins in the wires. But if what Chaos says is true, I shouldn't have any troubles.

Cheers for everyone's help, once again.

[T-Rok]

There is one thing you'll want to watch out for when you buy a PSU, it just came to mind. Make sure it's a single rail. You don't want a double or quad rail PSU.

[DarkBlade325]

May I ask what's the whole problem with the rails? Not sure of their purpose.

Edit: I decided to not be lazy for once and just look it up. If I understand correctly, single rails are easier to install correct? If so then yeah- the one I've placed an order for is a single rail.

[T-Rok]

Easier to install? No. Having a single rail as opposed to multiple rails reduces the chance of it breaking, but also removes a feature that (is useless) exists in multiple rail builds.

Single 12v Rail 1000w PSU supplies 1000w across a single metal rail.

Dual 12v Rail 1000w PSU supplies 1000w across two thinner metal rails, each providing 500 apiece.

Quad 12v Rail 1000w PSU supplies 1000w across four even thinner metal rails, each providing 250 apiece.

Now in the Quad, say 1 rail breaks, your power supply has just dropped from a 1000w to a 750w. Since the rails inside multiple rail builds become thinner, the chances of them breaking increase.