Power supply (PSU) concerns

truffles

Posts: 33   +0
Hello, I am wondering about if my power supply would be enough to run smoothly. I understand its best to get a nice brandname one . . . with 300W is good. But, the powersupply that came with my case is only 250W. Well here is the parts . . . I did do some research already . . . about how much a component takes up . . . but its complicating . . . and confuses me . . . any help would be nice =)

Simple Motherboard with onboard: sound and NIC . . . ECS K7S5A
HDD . . . 13GB . . . running at 5400rpm . . .
Duron Morgan @ 1.2ghz
Heatsink/Fan . . .
1x 128SDRam pc133
nvidia TNT2 M64 tvout
normal 15'' CRT mon . . . but later use tvout . . . tv . . 32''

well thats about it . . . as you can read . . . basic system . . .
I know its a matter try . . . but could someone answer : this is all new . . . and the fact building and testing . . . if it works . . . needs the right parts . . . and im not sure . . . IF I build it right . . . and it has = not enough power supply . . . = what would happen ?

is there a way to find out w/out building ?

Thanks,
Truffles
 
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300 wats should be more than enough for your setup :) and i'd say all poewr supplies r the same (same watagge ones of course)
 
The PSU is one of the most important parts of the computer. If its not a high quality, high wattage and usually high priced one its usually going to be the weak point in a system.

I am a big fan of the Enermax line of PSU's. They are quiet, very efficient and ultra reliable.

I know dropping 80-90 bucks on a PSU seems like wasted money but it is one of the best investements you can make when building a new machine.

btw, 300w is just enough nowadays. If you are going to buy a new PSU go atleast 350w.
 
ello ello,

hmm . . . im looking at PSU's now ... =( ugh . . . drat . . .

and looks like good deals . . . with all these rebates . . .

i have some questions . . . i not sure if its good to change a little of the topic ... but !!!

#1/ i was wondering . . . #1 if my case is 15'' and it came with 250W . . . could i upgrade it ? if its still the same form factor . . . and . . . is the PSU in there designed for that case ?

#2/ i was wondering . . . say i use . . . 300W . . . would the system consume 300W of power ? or the power that is needed to run the system ?

i think 2 is enough ...

THANKS,
TRUFFLES


EDIT: i have calculated amount of power each component uses . . . and i came up around : 240 ?

does that sound reasonable ?


hmm ... =/ alright . . . the only way is to build and see =)
 
Originally posted by Federelli
i'd say all poewr supplies r the same (same watagge ones of course)

Nope, you're really misinformed about that. A cheapie $35 300w unit made in China does not have the line conditioning & power regulation (+/- 1% tolerance

p.s.* Be mindful of our International Membership; use proper English & Grammar.
 
i'm argentininan...
and the only kind of psu u can get here is a 30 u$d one :) and it's the best u can get :D:D:D
 
"and the only kind of psu u can get here is......."
Then you really don't have a source of reference for compared to what & how specifically.

You can't buy online w/ a company that does international shipping?
 
i can't actually, credit cards have a tax of over 300%, banks r mostly bankrupt and i had no idea there were different brand of psu's :)
thanx anyway...
My country is going to "inferno" with current taxes, people can't take money out of bank, civil war is rising, democrasy no longer exists and it seems like i'm stuck here :(
 
Man Federelli, that sounds pretty bad. To the power supply question, I'd say that a really good 250 watt psu would probably be fine for you, but I doubt that the one that came with your case is that good. You should probably get a good 300 watt power supply, like an Antec or a Sparkle. Another thing to look at if you're buying a new psu is it's fan set up. If you get a good psu with an intake fan on the bottom it can help your case cooling a little.
 
Get a 350 Watt, especially if you plan to upgrade. Also look for a quiet model if you plan to leave it downloading while u sleep or whatever.
 
Originally posted by Federelli
Uncleel, Arris, is 300 watt enough for my pc as it is in my signature?

300w is fine for a P3. I know that the V5 requires its own power connector though..I probably wouldnt go any lower.
 
Originally posted by uncleel

www.pcpowerandcooling.com is the top rated, but expensive!
Look for name brands, not generics.
ENERMAX
ANTEC
SPARKLE POWER INC.
ENHANCE ELECTRONICS
COMPUCASE CORP (Heroichi)

Agree w/ Arris:
Enermax is the hot ticket right now because of their quality componets, dual fans, & reasonable price.


Deal on the older model:
Antec PP403x 400w psu
http://www.3dspotlight.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=375
Even generic power supplies are fine, if you read the specifications and tolerances, and are sure that it actual meets or exceeds your needs. A really cheap PS isn't going to be as good as mid priced or better PS. while some of the high end price is "hype", it does cost money to build a quality PS.
 
i was in Comp USA the other day and saw that theyu where having a sale on the enermax PSU's a 400 or 500 for 79.99 (hard to chose there ;) )but yes a 300 should do but if you want to upgrade i would go for the largest one possible wothin your price range
 
I have an ECS K7S5A motherboard, XP 1600, 2 HDDs, CD Writer, DVD Reader, and a rubbish* made in China 300 watt power supply. If you need to save, that power supply is plenty, but it is a good idea to get something better.

*edited by moderator



-Please do not swear! --Phantasm66.
 
another thing to think about is the life span of the power supply. If you get a quality power supply, it will last a lot longer than the one that came with your case. If you get a good one you won't have to worry as much about it burning up while you're doing something important. Just get a good 300 watter, it will be fine for you and it will last for a while.
 
Power Supply

Currrently I use a sparkle 400watt P/S. Yes it is massive but I can plug anyting into it and still have power left.

Take care

Boeingfixer
 
Re: Power Supply Concerns . . .

Originally posted by truffles
Ello ello,

I am wondering about if my power supply would be enough to run smoothy.

Simple Motherboard with onboard: sound and NIC . . . ECS K7S5A
HDD . . . 13GB . . . running at 5400rpm . . .
Duron Morgan @ 1.2ghz
Heatsink/Fan . . .
1x 128SDRam pc133
nvidia TNT2 M64 tvout
normal 15'' CRT mon . . . but later use tvout . . . tv . . 32''

Absolutely! Don't let the nay-sayers change your mind either... The two most wattage hungry components of your computer are the CPU and the video card. These are both areas of which you are being very conservative in...

A 1.2Ghz Morgan certainly is fairly tame when it comes to wattage (Compared to when people first started appearing with power problems in Athlon systems). Your video card probably pulls about 5-10 watts at most, where systems that experience PSU problems are generally using much more (20-30 watts).

Also, when you calculated your wattage, there is likely a large cushion due to aproximation...

Lastely Truffles.. Don't use your TV for a montior! Just don't do it. The max resolution you can use is 640x480 and the text is unbearable. You are also very likely going to suffer from eye strain and headache if you use it too long. It might be cool for gaming (Not even that because the color is usually bleached out and the refresh rate is a pain), but anything else requires a monitor. I sincerely suggest you save your time (And possibly money) by not hooking up a TV.
 
#2/ i was wondering . . . say i use . . . 300W . . . would the system consume 300W of power ? or the power that is needed to run the system ?

No truffles...If your system needs on 240W to run...then only 240W will be consumed.
 
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