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I have a Seasonic Super Tornado 350 that is a little over 5 years old now. I'm looking to upgrade my system now, but would like to keep my case and power supply in order to save some $$$. For the CPU I'm looking at the Intel Pentium E5200. However, I'm concerned about what my options are for a video card and motherboard. What 'specifications' should I look for on a MB or VidCard to ensure my PS is compatible? Any suggestions on what would work best? For the Vid Card I was figuring on spending up to $130. For the MB I was figuring about $120.

Also, what are the rules on cross-posting? This topic might also fit in the Graphics or Motherboards sections.

Thanks

The Seasonic Super Tornado 350 is a ATX 1.3 design which means it has a 20-pin ATX header and is biased toward 3.3v/5v output rather than 12v which modern systems overwhelmingly require over the other voltages. Realistically, although you can get 20->24pin adaptors and the 19A your PSU puts out on the 12V rail should theoretically handle a Wolfdale CPU and a low-to-mid-range video card, you're probably better off getting something more appropriate for the job.

$97 Asus P5Q SE Plus (subtract another $15 MIR)
$80 Sapphire HD 4670 512MiB or $120 for Asus HD 4830 (subtract a further $20 MIR)

Then you should have about $40-60 for a new PSU. Try these:
$40 Antec Earthwatts 430W
$60 Corsair 400CX 400W (further $20 MIR)
$69 Corsair 450VX 450W (further $10 MIR)
$60 OCZ StealthXStream 500W (further $35 MIR)
... and others from FSP, SilverStone, Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling, etc.

So..... you're saying that my PS is toast and its time to move on. Thanks for the tips on the new PSs I'll give them a look.

CaptainNapkin wrote:

So..... you're saying that my PS is toast

If it is still working, it should still be a perfectly good unit. Just that it may not be up to today's power requirements.

CaptainNapkin wrote:

its time to move on.

Unfortunately yes. Planned obsolescence is a fact of life when you are into computer stuff.