Too many components connected?

[toad0]

Hi everyone. Being a PSU noob and having ordered upgrades, Im wondering 2 things:

1. With my old 300w PSU (used for a 1Ghz Athlon originally) is it possible to power an Athlon64, 1Gig RAM and a GF6800 (in an otherwise "standard" system - no SATA etc)?

2. What are the consequences of connecting too many perhiperals to an inadequate PSU?

I plan to buy a new PSU soon (I've seen some great advice here), but Im hoping to use my new upgrades before then!

Many thanks - your help is greatly appreciated.

Brian

 

[RBall151]

I'm not a PSU pro at all, but I have taken a look at the PSU FAQ here. It has a ton of good information. I'm still working on trying to read all of it, it does get kind of boring.

A powersupply is the most important part of your system, without it you won't have anything! I'd think about that when considering a new one, and whether to spend the extra money to have a secure system. An AMD64 system needs lots of Power and personally I wouldnt consider anything lower than 400Watts even on a high end PSU such as a Fortron.

How much are you willing to spend on a new PSU?

Here's a Power Calculator:
http://takaman.jp/D/index.html?english


If the PSU doesnt have enough power, it can randomly shutoff. I've had this happen from a personal experience on a 350Watt PSU with a overclocked AMD XP2500, Asus A7N8X Deluxe, GeIL Ram, DVDRW and 3 HD's. You would think 350 watts would be enough. Without enough power you are putting your whole computer system at risk.



As listed in the FAQ consider these PSU's:

XIV. Recommended PSU Manufacturers

Antec
http://www.antec-inc.com/

Enermax
http://www.enermax.com.tw/

Fortron Source
http://www.fortron-source.com/

PC Power and Cooling
http://www.pcpowercooling.com/

Sparkle
http://www.sparklepower.com/

Thermaltake
http://www.thermaltake.com/

Vantec
http://www.vantecusa.com/

 

[Vertigo Acid]

Great informative post RBall151

I've only got a couple of things to add:

1. Overstressing a power supply can lead to more than just instability problems; If it's a cheap supply, or even sometimes if it isn't, you can have a nice snap crackle and pop and take out your whole system. Which leads me to my next point...

2. Which can you better afford? To buy a cheap PSU now and end up having to replace your system when it gets taken out by cheap power, or spend 50 bucks extra and get a nice quality supply?

 

[toad0]

Thanks for the info guys. Im going to get a new PSU (a good one), but Im hoping to get everything running in the meantime. I read bits of the FAQ, but I was wondering if it's a bit old / not directed towards gamers with higher end graphics cards? It says most modern PC's dont require more than a 300w power supply.

I've used the power calculator but it doesnt list the 6800, which I hear is "power hungry" (thats not much help without the actual figures though!)

My PSU is an old HEC-300LR. I did a few google searches on it, and I hear is reasonably good. So Im goin to connect as little as possible until I get a new one - I have a CDROM, firewire card and wireless card I can do without for a while.

With any luck, I WONT ruin my new components!

Thanks again!

Brian

 

[Vertigo Acid]

The PSU FAQ was written before the current generation of super power hungry GPUs was released. It is accurate in saying, however, that most systems do not draw more than 300w of power. That is misleading, however, because you can't just compare total wattage. You have to look at power consumption per rail. Also, just because you PSU says it's a "400w" doesn't mean that you could hook up components drawing a real world total of 400w and have it work, because PSU wattage figures are generally at 25 celcius. No PSU runs at 25c in the real world, however, so since output capability decreases with increased heat, you won't get as much power.

I'd really love to get some numbers from nVidia and ATI about how much and on what rails their reference cards draw.