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Will this power supply be sufficient for my computer?

R

Roguer

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 8, 2005
Messages
115
I tried to use the calculator on the "How to buy a PSU" thread but I determined that I was doing a *lot* of guessing and it wouldn't be wise for me to base my decision off of these guesses. So here I am, asking the experts ;).

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-913&depa=0

There is the Antec power supply I have my eye on, and I love the price. However I need to know if it will be sufficient for my rig. I've heard that the +12v rail is very important and this PSU has only 16A on it, so let me know if this will be a problem please! Here is what I have:

Msi 645E Max (SiS 645DX chipset based) mainboard (533/400MHz System Bus)
Intel P4 2.8 Ghz processor (w/o hyperthreading)
Leadtek Winfast A6600 GT TDH (AGP)
Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM HD
2x512 Geil 2700 DDR
Cd burner (48x max)

I have about 4 small fans in the case, nothing power hungry, and I may want to add a DVD burner in the future.

I'm a complete newbie when it comes to hardware, so please let me know if this power supply will not cut the mustard (my vid card is what scares me). Also feel free to suggest another power supply which may better suit my needs.

Thanks a lot!
 
i had an antec 350 watt ps for the following specs and had no probs

2 sticks of ram
mobile 2600 barton overclocked to 2.25 ghz
6800nu vid card( the box said min. of 300 watt ps)
2 fans
2 hard drives
floppy drive
dvd burner
sound card
ethernet card
 
Thanks cjm18,

Also I forgot to note I have an SB 5.1 Live! sound card and a generic ethernet card.
 
well the problem is that I dont have accurate figures for either the 6600 power schemes (AGP or PCI-E)
they can use upto 75 watts but how that is divided over the rails is something I dont know
I can guess in the case of PCI-E its all +12V
in the case of AGP its likely not all +12V

never the less I used 6A on your config
http://takaman.jp/D/?M=PcQQQbdH3SCgPZT4kG5H4ZAZavHCMZ&english
or 20A on the +12V rail

once you scrub off a bit more for the spinup draw vs the runtime draw (niether your CPU or GPU will be at full load when the fans and drives spinup)
your down to 18A

now if we assume that 6 amps is actually too much for the card considering its AGP...
but that is offset against not having derated the supply yet for temperature
where I generally deduct 1\3rd

and for comparison
your P4 is pulling 7.1A while cjm18 Barton (non-mobile) weighs in at 5.2A
and the 6800 hits it for only 2.37A the three drives hit for another 1.5A post spin
so hes likely around 10 to 12A realworld

the question becomes what is the real amp draw of the 6600 on the +12V rail
and I dont really know

in any event, with only 16A on that supply I say no
its not up to it
that is an old ATX12V v1.3 supply
not one of the newer ATX12V v1.3 hybrids with the +12V rail bumped up
the capacity is heavily weighted toward the +3.3\+5V rail that used to power the CPU and board

here is a modern ATX12V v2.0 350 watt, with dual +12V rail weighing it at a whopping 30A on the +12Vs
same capacity rating, just shifted to the rails that a modern config employs
few configs actuall use 300 watts :p
but between the unused capacity on vthe various rails, and inflated claims because the supply is rated at an artificially low temperature, you have to figure alot of windage

we can go hunting for an ATX12V v1.3 hybrid supply
I assume that board has a 20 pin main mobo power connector
Id say you should be looking for a supply with as little as 24A on the +12V rail
more will not hurt

(I dropped the load to 4A for the videocard in that guess)
 
Thanks a lot for your responses guys!

I'm looking to spend ~75 after shipping, and I will be purchasing it tonight. The power supply I am looking at right now is here:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-500&depa=0

I've never hooked up a power supply before. I get the basic idea, but is there anything special about the dual +12v rails that makes it different to install? I've got a friend who has built a couple of PCs and will help me, but I want to be sure before I spend the money.

If you think there is a much better PSU for my rig or the PSU I'm thinking of sucks or there are any incompatibilities, please let me know.

Thanks again for your help!

P.S. is there any good guide online for hooking up PSU's?
 
Hooking up a PSU is pretty easy. Your mobo manual should cover it. Besides, connectors are keyed, and such.
 
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