220 or 240W for Toledo 4800+????

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dick Watson
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Dick Watson

I'm considering building a basic--but high performance and
capacity--desktop:

Foxconn NF4K8MC MicroATX Nforce4
Athlon64x2 Toledo 4800+, retail boxed cooling system
2GB Crucial PC3200
ATI Sapphire Radeon X300 128MB
Plextor 740 8X DL DVD
WD Caviar SE16 400GB
floppy
(relocated USR PCI 5610B)

Ideally, I'd put it together and never open the case again. Since this is
the goal, and for other reasons of footprint, I don't want a large case with
lots of extra air and mounting spots for stuff just begging to be filled up
with goodies.

Anybody made a system like this work with a 220 or 240W power supply? I'm
looking at something like Antec Minuet II or InWin BT610T.

Thanks for any thoughts!
 
Dick said:
I'm considering building a basic--but high performance and
capacity--desktop:

Foxconn NF4K8MC MicroATX Nforce4
Athlon64x2 Toledo 4800+, retail boxed cooling system
2GB Crucial PC3200
ATI Sapphire Radeon X300 128MB
Plextor 740 8X DL DVD
WD Caviar SE16 400GB
floppy
(relocated USR PCI 5610B)

Ideally, I'd put it together and never open the case again. Since this is
the goal, and for other reasons of footprint, I don't want a large case with
lots of extra air and mounting spots for stuff just begging to be filled up
with goodies.

Anybody made a system like this work with a 220 or 240W power supply? I'm
looking at something like Antec Minuet II or InWin BT610T.

Thanks for any thoughts!
Click to expand...
No, that is not going to work. I would recommend a 350, or if you want
to have some options for upgrades a 480 watt PSU (and not a sweex or qtec).

Marc
 
Marc Hulsebosch said:
No, that is not going to work. I would recommend a 350, or if you want
to have some options for upgrades a 480 watt PSU (and not a sweex or
qtec).
Click to expand...

What's your basis for this?

I can only find dissipation specs for the CPU (110W) and the hard disk
(9.5W). I can't find anything on the CPU cooler, DVD burner,
motherboard+memory, modem or video. (Though the video runs cool enough to be
convection cooled--no fan.) I didn't look for the floppy on the theory that
it has to be negligible.

I know enough is good, more is better and too much is just right, but even
if it were possible to get a 480W PS in a form factor to fit the micro
cases, I can't imagine dissipating 480W in a case that's less than half a
cubic foot. I explicitly do not plan to upgrade the box once built.
 
Anybody made a system like this work with a 220 or 240W power supply? I'm
No, that is not going to work. I would recommend a 350, or if you want
to have some options for upgrades a 480 watt PSU (and not a sweex or
qtec).
Click to expand...

Actually, companies like Dell, HP, Gateway, and others only use low wattage
power supplies like that and they work fine for the average computer user.
You'd be amazed to find out just how low wattage of a power supply a retail
computer uses. Now, Dell uses a much more acceptable power supply on their
XPS series, but that's top of the line stuff.

However, if it was going to be a purchase I was going to make, and not just
trying to use something I already own, I wouldn't bother. A good 350 watt
Antec power supply can't possibly be that much more expensive than a 240
watt model by the same company. So, why bother?
 
Dick Watson said:
What's your basis for this?

I can only find dissipation specs for the CPU (110W) and the hard disk
(9.5W). I can't find anything on the CPU cooler, DVD burner,
motherboard+memory, modem or video. (Though the video runs cool enough to
be convection cooled--no fan.) I didn't look for the floppy on the theory
that it has to be negligible.
Click to expand...
Here's a "calculator" to estimate the wattage needed.
A factor is deciding where in the load range you want the power supply to
operate. Typically, as the PS operates over ~50% of full capacity, it
efficiency goes down. This means that the PS will generate more heat than
another one that would be in the 50% range. Also, as heat production goes
up, fans run faster - generating more noise. Of course, the more powerful
the PS, the higher the price. So, it gives you lots of things to consider,
if you wish.
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
 
fj said:
Here's a "calculator" to estimate the wattage needed.
A factor is deciding where in the load range you want the power supply to
operate. Typically, as the PS operates over ~50% of full capacity, it
efficiency goes down. This means that the PS will generate more heat than
another one that would be in the 50% range. Also, as heat production goes
up, fans run faster - generating more noise. Of course, the more powerful
the PS, the higher the price. So, it gives you lots of things to
consider, if you wish.
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
Click to expand...

Cool. I'll check it out. Thanks!
 
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