Power Questions

[MadMechwarrior]

I am getting my computer upgrade very soon (like tomorow) and I am faced with a decision... I was going to get a 350W power supply initially but they dont have it in stock so its either a 300W or a 430W (they're all from enermax) here are the system specs.

Athlon XP 1800+ with retail fan, possible overclock later
512MB 266Mhz DDR RAM
ASUS Geforce4 ti4400
48x CD-ROM drive
4x/4x/32x CD-RW
20GB 5400rpm drive (possible upgrade to 7200rpm 60GB)
MSI KT333 Mobo

thats it... I dont think they require that much power but I wanted to be on the safe side with 350W but I find 430W is a bit too much. I dont know which one to take home... a 430W is probably better on the long term and for overclocking. Then again it will bring the power bill up. The 300W is cheaper but it probably wont be enough as I start adding things in. Anybody have any opinion on this. I dont know if the power supply plays a really significant role in running the PC good.

 

[jihiggs]

im faced with the very same question, im leaning toward the 431 watt enermax, you really think the 300 vs the 431 watt would make much of a difference in house electricity bill? the reason im going to go with the 431 is based on cost. the 350 watt i would get, is the one with the adjustable fan speed, that costs 63 bucks, the 431 watt costs 81, not that big of a difference.

i went to the tomshardware forums and all i got was this lousy signature.

 

[Guest]

If it helps

1400mhz T-bird
256 pc2100
g3 origional
hauppauge analoge vidio capture card
hercules Gametheater XP (way cheaper than the creative platnum at the time)
NIC
USB 2.0 card
40 gig IBM
2*60 gig maxtor
3*80mm case fan
1 heatsink
would not work with a 340 watt enlight
(I had to unplug the fans then plug them back in after the initial boot)
Works perfectly with my 431w enermax
(great ps, comes with an instruction manual)


May Fortune Favor The Foolish

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

Lemme try to explain this, any anyone ho knows anything about power/electricity etc. knows....the computer wont take anymore power than it needs....THEREFORE lets say u had a 350watt power supply and a 450watt power supply....and the system IN TOTAL only draws 330Watt's, than the system with the 350watt Power Supply wont be fully taxed (but almost) and the 450 even less taxed BUT the power supply will not give the computer more power and therefore effecting ur power bill, as the system only takes what it needs, noting more.....so whether its a 350 or 450 watt power supply, it'll draw the same amount of power.......ALSO, if ur taxing ur power supply, like drawing 330watts from a 350watt power supply, it'll cause more heat......but if u had a 450watt power supply, it would run cooler =)

also, the whisper series of PSU from Enermax are very good....i have the EG465P-VE on my XP rig and its great....quite, and helps vent heat! =)


-MeTaL RoCkEr

My <font color=red>Z28</font color=red> can take your <font color=blue>P4</font color=blue> off the line!