Could this work?

P

petertew

Gawd
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Oct 4, 2005
Messages
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I'm trying to build a small, but still fairly powerful machine to mount under my desk. I want to run only the following components:

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500AAKS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
2GB XMS Platinum Rev2
KFA2 by Galaxy 96GFF6VIFCXX GeForce 9600 GT 512MB PCI-x 2.0
2 (80mm) small case fans

and a slim 300w power supply.

*note: I will have a DVD, but it is going to be an external (and thus independently powered) rig.

I went here: http://web.aanet.com.au/SnooP/psucalc.php and it says my max power draw is 250w, so would I be OK using something like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817374002
or
http://www.directron.com/pc501.html

I'd prefer using the PSU from newegg (it costs way less) but I don't want to skimp and regret it later when my system dies. I had a Shuttle XPC in the past and it only had a 250w PSU and it worked just fine for my 6800gt, DVD-RW, Sound Card, 2Gigs of Ram, Hard Drive and Case fan.

I'm a noob when it comes to watts and amps and rails so any advice would really be appreciated.
 
That system will probably need less than 150 W under full load, so as long as the power supply you want is accurately rated, it should handle it no problem. It's a cheap supply though so the rating might be questionable.
 
As far as I can tell, Inwin does make some pretty low quality PSUs. While the specs on that PSU looks pretty good (20A on the +12V rail), I'm not sure whether or not that Inwin PSU can actually provide the stated/rated power cleanly or at all.

That particular Shuttle PSU is also a bad choice since it only has a 20Pin main connector whereas most motherboards today require a 24Pin main connector.

But check out the following PSUs:
Sparkle Power SPI220LE 220: Buy/Review
FSP ATX-220SI 220W: Buy
 
Danny Bui said:
As far as I can tell, Inwin does make some pretty low quality PSUs. While the specs on that PSU looks pretty good (20A on the +12V rail), I'm not sure whether or not that Inwin PSU can actually provide the stated/rated power cleanly or at all.

That particular Shuttle PSU is also a bad choice since it only has a 20Pin main connector whereas most motherboards today require a 24Pin main connector.

But check out the following PSUs:
Sparkle Power SPI220LE 220: Buy/Review
FSP ATX-220SI 220W: Buy
Click to expand...

Thanks (belatedly) for the the recommendation. I went ahead and picked up the Sparkle SPI270LE 270w. It's also rated at 80% efficiency and comes in the same form factor. I'll be removing the crap fan it comes with and attaching a 60mm SilenX fan on the side instead to keep it cold.

I appreciated the help, and I'll post a review of the power supply here on Hardforum in case anyone is interested.
 
I have a 530 watt power supply right now, but the problem is the form factor is simply too big for what I'm trying to do (which is make a case 3.25 inches tall). This power supply, if really 80% efficient, ought to be enough to power my whole computer. I supposed I'll find out today; my PSU is scheduled for delivery today.
 
Keep in mind I've only been using it in an open air environment and for less than a day, and I am by no measure putting this PSU through exhaustive testing.

http://www.censuspc.com/Sparkle-Pow...er-Supply-Bulk-pack-SKU-SPI270LE-pr-5902.html

I'm amazed with this little PSU so far. I'm under the impression that Sparkle makes good PSU's and this one is incredible. It's silent or at least so quiet I can't even hear it running. It's currently sitting open air (on my desk) next to my mATX mobo and my 7200rpm HDD. It's currently powering the following:

HDD 7200rpm 16mb cache WD
9600 GT
Core2Duo e7200 (running at stock; 2.5 GHz)
Heatsink with fan (Intel retail)
2 Gigs OCZ Platinum DDR2 800
mouse, keyboard, and ethernet ports

I haven't hooked up my two Arctic Cooling 80mm fans yet, but I will; I don't expect them to make any difference in the way the setup operates.

The PSU is warm to the touch but not hot at all; I guess the temperature is around 100 degrees f, give or take 10 degress. The tiny fan in the back hasn't turned on except when I played Portal for about an hour.

I've rarely been more pleased with a piece of computer equipment. This little power supply is absolutely fantastic, and if you are considering building a SFF system I highly recommend it.
 
It's all sitting on my desk undergoing testing at the moment. When I finish building the case I'll throw some pics up on the mod sub forum.
 
Does the sparkle supply have a pci-e connector on it? I'm about to order one and noticed that it's an older model, so I wanted to confirm the connection is there for the 9600.

Thanks!
 
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