I previously bought a 550w generic power supply thinking that my computer may require more power. After installing it, I realized some things did run better. But after 1 month the power supply went dead, so I got it exchanged (unfortunately for the same kind). Something like this happening to a power supply while the computer is running I would think could have some kind of negative effect on your computer. After reading various articles and magazines I realized just how important a quality power supply is. So I decided to get this Antec PSU. I've seen their ad in magazines and it seemed pretty good, plus Antec is supposedly a very good brand name. One of the main points of the power supply is its silence. Previously, after buying the generic 550w my computer's noise was annoying, it just kept too much noise. After installing this Antec, I was absolutely amazed at the silence of my computer. The only way I could tell it was on is by coming within 3 feet of it. There is hardly a difference in noise between it being on or off. This is more beneficial than you think, with less noise circulating in the room, you can hear sounds, such as the speakers, better. The power supply also works very well. It has allowed me to overclock my system to a much higher stable speed than before. Everything also seems to work perfectly now. There are also many different power connectors, including two fan specific power connectors that control case fans depending on the temp, plus SATA connectors and the standard ide. With all the connectors the system can become a bit crowded but its not a serious problem. I was also a bit short on ide connectors, but thats only because I have seven devices which use ide connectors. Many people think of a power supply as one of the least important components of a computer but its actually one of the most important, so do you and your system a favour and buy a quality power supply. Try to overlook the price, a high end graphics card is way more anyway. Plus after spending alot of money on your system I'm sure you want to protect it. You can't go wrong here.

Antec PS has one of the best reputation. You can verify this by checking out their various reviews. When they rate their power supply, they give you the actual operating voltage for each connectors. This is not like the other PS that label a certain wattage, but are the maximum allowable load - not nominal (real-life) handling. While Antec really has more reserve power than their announced 550W.

Why this much? These days 550W isn't overkill anymore. Don't starve your peripherals with the needed power. You'll be keeping this for a long time.

The motherboard and CPU is the heart of the PC. So if you consider that their operation depends on the amount of power supplied to make them function, then you'd have to think again. Giving them CLEAN, CONSTANT energy means STABILITY for your system.

This unit has all the necessary connections you can ever think of, and you can't possibly fill up. But do heed their warning on the allowable maximum connection per strand of wire, which is 3 each. If you need to connect more peripherals, just use another strand. That's to ensure each component gets their proper voltage.

The only thing this power supply lacks is the new Serial ATA connection which isn't a problem since there are cheap 4-pin to Serial power adaptors in the market - also included with retial Serial ATA hard drives and motherboards.

Lastly, the PS is very quiet. The only sound I hear is the fan from my CPU. A real treat. Enjoy!

The good: has more connectors than you'll ever need (9 for IDE HDs and CD-ROMs, 2 for Fan Only) and can supply all the energy for the most power hungry systems - and nobody will hear it because it's more silent than the HDs. Looks nice too (of course, anyone who wants a power supply for the looks should try Antec's True Blue, although that only supplies 480w, it still is more than most will need).
The bad: the price? Yeah, but anyone spending big bucks on a mega-ultra-fast video card, a ultra-high-speed processor, a hyper-super-incredible motherboard and stuff should not rely on a El Cheapo Power Supply.

I brought this p/s because it was what I needed. A smaller 430watt or 480watt p/s may do the job, but I wanted the max... and Antec true power was the best for the price. Running RAID with six hard drivers, CD burner, DVD burner, 7 Fans, lights and overclocked Ram, CPU.. I had to make sure the p/s is up for the job.
To my surprise True power 550 had Fan Only connectors. Not only the p/s was silent, the fan only connectors made my whole system more silent then my old system. Which only had 2 80mm fans. So I highly recommand this p/s for anyone who has all their bay filled... and need a silent pc.

...until [people] ditch the ATX spec. Obviously that won't happen anytime soon, but it will happen eventually. Seriously, though - if you run a very busy system with two or more hard drives, multiple expansion cards, and high-end CPUs (or more importantly, overclocked CPUs), it's always nice to have some overhead available.

The most you'll need in the short term (i.e. two years) is 350W. CPUs are nearing 100W of power consumption - the 3.06Ghz P4 is near 80, and so is the Athlon 2800+. Add that onto the GeforceFX supposedly chewing on 70W, and it begins to add up. As hard drive spindle speeds increase from 7200rpm to 10000rpm on IDE and 10-15000 to 20000+ on SCSI, you'll need better and cleaner power to run them reliably...quite honestly, Antec's 430W will do you fine, but for the extra cash you might as well get the 550.