Power Supply

[efript]

What is a good amount of watts for a power supply? I know default is 350, but do i really need any more? Will i notice a significant increase in performance/reliability?

 

[BigBiggist]

It all depends on what you have in your system. If you are building a new system, are overclocking, and are having lots of new stuff put in your system then I would recommend at least an Enermax 430 Watt Supply just to be sure and to maintain stability. If not, a 350 Watt Power Supply should be more than enough. You should stay with namebrand power supplies, don't go with generic because they are sometimes not always stable. Enermax and Antec are probably the best in the power supply field.

What are you putting in your system?

 

[efript]

as of now it was gonna be:

amd athlon xp 1800
256 ddr333
40 gig maxtor hd
soundblaster live
ati 9000 pro
lite on cdrw

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

as far as ur PSU goes.........they do NOT effect the PERFORMANCE of the computer (IE. Benchmarks, etc.)
they will however have an effect on Stability/reliability...ur best off spending a couple bux getting a name brand one...like Enermax or Antec....350 watts is usually enough and id recomend a 350 to everyone unless there running multiple hard drives or even raid array's or anything of the sort......aswell as a high-powered GeForce 4 Video Card and all kinds of PCI cards....a DVD Drive and Burner....than id recomend soemthing better than a 350.....hell a 350 PSU might even be sufficient for that.....its just that every component is different.....

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>

 

[dhlucke]

It's pretty rare to see someone have problems with a 350W or more as long as their specs are reasonably normal.

Nonetheless, if you buy a peice of crap then the deck is stacked against you no matter how much wattage you buy.

Check out pcpowerandcooling.com, they have good info about what average components use, but I don't have the link handy so you'll have to find it yourself under the powersupply section.

<font color=red>I have a computer and it does weird stuff. please help.</font color=red>

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

350W should do you perfectly. You could even go with 300W if it is a decent brand. I have my 1700+ (also slightly overclocked) running on a generic 300W no stability problems either.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

300W or 350W of a GOOD name brand PSU like enermax, antec or toptower.

Cheap gereric PSU's simply dont provide the same power, and are much more prone to sudden failure.

i did a study, and a 300W enermax PSU can comfortably beat a 350W generic psu with max current supplied.

<b>MegaHertz Matters! ... But you need a chipset with BALLS to back it up!!! </b>

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

only beat a 350 generic. Heck if you pick the right now the enermax 300 will beat a 400 or greater power supply. Especially when the generic goes up in flames and can't finish the test.

 

[chuck232]

The current through each rail is important. Also, look at the max combined wattage. If it's real low, it's no good. IIRC, for the 5V and 3.3V rails, a good wattage would be 160W combined.

<i>Past mistakes may make you look stupid, but avoiding future ones will make you look smart!</i>

 

[Atolsammeek]

Just a question how dose a Robanton P4/Athlon XP Ready 600 Watt Power Supply work for you all.

 

[sirdiesel]

XP 1800 needs about 75 watt
radeon 9000 consumes about 45 watt
cdrw max 30watt
pci cards each max 8watt
fans+keyboard+mouse+mobo max. 50W
harddiscs each 20W.
so a psu with 270W would be enough,too. but don't forget usb ports extra fans and stability. 350W with a good brand would be best choice

 

[slvr_phoenix]

Especially when the generic goes up in flames and can't finish the test.

I <i>hate</i> it when I mix up the WD-40 can with the compressed air can! So many flames, so few cameras...

<pre><A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/comic/186.htm" target="_new"><font color=red>It's all relative...</font color=red></A></pre><p>

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

LoL...please dotn tell me u did this with the computer on???

Actualyl usign wd-40 to clean electronics is a good idea....only when theres no power goign through them though...lol

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>