Power Supply W needed?

[Al Franz]

How big of a power supply is usually sufficient for a standard business PC.
Is 300W sufficient.

Motherboard, 2 CD drives, 1 or 2 hard drives, video card, maybe 1 or 2 extra
add on cards.

I see some power supplies around 600W, why would someone need something like
that? Server with 8 hard drives?

--Al

 

[Ruel Smith]

How big of a power supply is usually sufficient for a standard business
PC. Is 300W sufficient.

Motherboard, 2 CD drives, 1 or 2 hard drives, video card, maybe 1 or 2
extra add on cards.

I see some power supplies around 600W, why would someone need something
like that? Server with 8 hard drives?

A 300 watt Antec or equivelent power supply is sufficient. A 300 watt Mad
Dog probably isn't. There is a huge difference. Personally, 350 to 400 watts
is preferred, and a quality brand. More importantly, the amps on the +12V
line(s) is a key factor, as well as fast voltage return times during sag.

You'd need a 600 watt power supply if it's really junk and it compares to a
400 watt quality power supply like an Antec, or if you run a very fast
processor, nVidia chipset motherboard with SLI and have 2 high powered
graphics cards, overclock everything in sight, and case mod with all those
lights and stuff.

NEVER...EVER...skimp on a power supply. It'll be a HUGE mistake when your
new system is unstable (usually power supply symptoms appear as though
caused by something else), or worse, it won't even post because you were too
cheap.

 

[Al Franz]

Thanks Ruel,

So what is a good number of Amps on the 12V line. Looking at one spec here
for a 300W supply and it states DC Output +12V, under neath it says 15A.

 

[pcbutts1]

How big of a power supply is usually sufficient for a standard business
PC.

Format and reinstall.

Is 300W sufficient.

You're getting a little fat.

Motherboard, 2 CD drives, 1 or 2 hard drives, video card, maybe 1 or 2
extra add on cards.

nVidia are shit. Buy an ATI.

I see some power supplies around 600W, why would someone need something
like that?

Like tulips.

Server with 8 hard drives?

You have spyware.

 

[John Doe]

active pillow-biter wants stocky eunuch for in and out. Must have wide
love gun. Will consider excessive face ****ing and rectum pissing for
the right John-and-Joan. Mail me at (e-mail address removed)

 

[John Doe]

John Doe, <[email protected]>, the mother-naked, antisocial
prostitute, and tenant of manorial land who pays rent by having homosexual
sex with the landowner, squawked:

 

[Mike Hollywood]

Case Size Recommended Wattage
+12V rail
Mini-Tower 330-350W 15A
Mid-Tower 350-380W 15A
Full Tower 380-450W 18A
Server Tower 450-550W 20A

looks like 350W is plenty.

mike

 

[spodosaurus]

How big of a power supply is usually sufficient for a standard business PC.
Is 300W sufficient.

Motherboard, 2 CD drives, 1 or 2 hard drives, video card, maybe 1 or 2 extra
add on cards.

I see some power supplies around 600W, why would someone need something like
that? Server with 8 hard drives?

--Al

This web site provides a good rough estimate of power supply wattage
requirements:

http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

Cheers,

Ari

--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

How big of a power supply is usually sufficient for a standard business PC.
Is 300W sufficient.

Motherboard, 2 CD drives, 1 or 2 hard drives, video card, maybe 1 or 2 extra
add on cards.

I see some power supplies around 600W, why would someone need something like
that? Server with 8 hard drives?

Real 600W or just claimed 600W? Because most cheapo so-called "600W"
PSUs seem to be less substantial inside than high quality 350-400W
PSUs.

http://takaman.jp has probably the best power calculator, but even it
overestimates the watts. Also it gives individual amp ratings for each
voltage rail, although its +3.3V estimate seems to be only 30-50% what
I've measured.

According to PC Power & Cooling, 300W is enough for the system you
describe, but their PSUs are a lot better than average and are rated at
40C rather than the usual 25C. They have a comparison between their
510W and an unnamed 550W (Enermax) and show how the power capacities
drop with temperature (PCP&C's 510W can put out 600W @ 25C, compared to
550W for the Enermax).

One person measured his Athlon64 3000+ or 3200+ and found that it never
consumed more than 400W from the wall outlet, meaning that the PSU
probably put out no more than 300W. The system had a fairly fast
graphics card, two 7200RPM HDs, two 10,000RPM HDs, and two optical
drives.

 

[Ruel Smith]

So what is a good number of Amps on the 12V line. Looking at one spec

here for a 300W supply and it states DC Output +12V, under neath it says
15A.

15A is average for a 300 watt power supply. I had a 350 watt PSU that only
produced 12A on the line and was the cause of freezups under 3D hardware
rendering. My new Antec 350 watt PSU produces 21A on the +12V line.

 

[Ruel Smith]

Case Size Recommended Wattage
+12V rail
Mini-Tower 330-350W 15A
Mid-Tower 350-380W 15A
Full Tower 380-450W 18A
Server Tower 450-550W 20A

looks like 350W is plenty.

What does the physical case size have to do with power supply needs? What
determines your needs is the power drawn from your CPU, motherboard, and any
cards such as video cards and sound cards and such that all draw from the
+12V line, which is the most important and most power hungry.

 

[DaveW]

350 quality watts would be a more reasonable sized power supply unit for a
modern computer with the components you mention. A modern Intel P4 Pentium
CPU alone can take up to 120 watts! Then there's the graphics card, etc.