Old 250w PSU - Any good for this spec?

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Jonathan Cave

Jonathan Cave

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Oct 17, 2013
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I managed to salvage a PSU out of a P4 system, naturally im hesitant to install it in either of the builds below. The PSU is working fine currently and its nice and quiet. I'm building a HTPC and the pre-supplied PSU's with some HTPC cases are very loud and of poor quality when i've read reviews.

I've tested the noise this PSU gives out and its very quiet and therefore acceptable.

i know there's some PSU expetrs out there and would love your thoughts on it and if it would be appropriate to use this in either of the builds below.

20151118_174347.jpg


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor (£34.98 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: MSI AM1M Micro ATX AM1 Motherboard (£25.23 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£16.29 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£34.98 @ Dabs)
Case: Silverstone ML04B HTPC Case (£60.04 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £171.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-18 17:52 GMT+0000

&

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor (£51.36 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£34.57 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£16.29 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£34.98 @ Dabs)
Case: Silverstone ML04B HTPC Case (£60.04 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £197.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-18 17:56 GMT+0000

i'll need a molex to sata adapter too for the SSD.
 
Solution
sammy sung
That's the other thing, Cave, we're looking at incompatibilities. As mentioned above, sleep state is a minor issue. 24pin mobo port, with only a 20pin connector. In theory this works, I've done it before. Though it's never a good thing, and should be used as a last resort, unless you're happy with getting blue screens.

Other issue is that you'd need a legacy connector, molex to sata for at least the SSD. An additional if you plan to add an optical drive of some sort.

I wouldn't personally attempt to jump all these hurdles, to accommodate a really old unit that's been degrading over time spent running and more than likely has a bulging cap or two.
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Grimwinder

Grimwinder

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Jul 2, 2014
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I don't have a good opinion on whether or not to use it, but since it's an old Dell part, be certain it has a standard motherboard power plug, at one time Dell used proprietary power supply/motherboard plugs that wouldn't work with other parts.
 
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J

joex444

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Feb 16, 2006
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Does that even have an 8 pin EPS connector? It's worth about $15, and I wouldn't suggest a $15 PSU for any build.

The only thing you have going for you is these proposed systems are mid-power CPUs with no GPU, 1 stick of RAM and 1 SSD. They should be fine with 250W PSUs, I'm just thinking not this one.
 
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CRITICALThinker

CRITICALThinker

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Not an expert on power supplies, but it does have the power to run both systems very well. The Pentium build seems like it would be the best, but I would worry about the sleep state compatibility on such an old PSU. As long as it has the required connectors for the board (24 pin, 4(or 8) pin supplementary) and are not proprietary it should be fine. Although I would be worried about longevity of the system as a whole, those type of power supplies often short really nicely when they die.
 
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CRITICALThinker

CRITICALThinker

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Feb 2, 2014
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In all honesty, this is the best option, even a CX 430 would suffice for such a low power rig as shown here, and the fact that the PSU does not have SATA conections, I would say just throw it back in the system it came from. it was probably from the late days of IDE and runs DDR memory on that board. A PSU with a quality brand behind it can be had for less than $40, and a seasonic, antec, corsair, or even evga should be fine (make sure it at least has 80+ rating)

 
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sammy sung

sammy sung

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That's the other thing, Cave, we're looking at incompatibilities. As mentioned above, sleep state is a minor issue. 24pin mobo port, with only a 20pin connector. In theory this works, I've done it before. Though it's never a good thing, and should be used as a last resort, unless you're happy with getting blue screens.

Other issue is that you'd need a legacy connector, molex to sata for at least the SSD. An additional if you plan to add an optical drive of some sort.

I wouldn't personally attempt to jump all these hurdles, to accommodate a really old unit that's been degrading over time spent running and more than likely has a bulging cap or two.
 
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Solution
sammy sung

sammy sung

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Without being able to get a good look at the lable(and even then info can be incorrect) it's hard to gauge. Under very light loads I wouldn't personally be all that concerned. This is going to be for browsing/netflix machine in the living room. I'd stay away from "With the case" units in most cases, but it could work out for you. I'd read some reviews on the exact product and see if anyone is posting horror stories. Shouldn't be the basis, but it can help steer you away if 4 out of 5 reviews say the power supply went on them, or is making noise etc.

*EDIT*

Searched the exact unit that was slightly visible in one of the photos. 11 reviews. Whenever buying supplies like this it's a coin flip.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-300W-Micro-Power-Supply/dp/B00649YIRC
 
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