Antec True Power 430W - Is it enough power for this rig?

[polypheus]

Cooler Master Praetorian PAC-T01-EK chassis (4 x 80mm fans)
P4 3.2C Northwood (but want to overclock to max possible)
Abit IC7-Max 3
Simpletech 1GB DDR PC-3700
Maxtor Diamond Plus 160GB SATA
Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB
Logitech MX Duo Cordless Elite Keyboard w/MX700 Wireless Mouse
Sony DRU-700A CD/DVD-DL drive
Thermaltake SP-94 CPU heatsink (w/Vantec Tornado 92mm HSF)
Compro Videomate TV Ultra (PCI Video Capture Card)

I feel that even OC'd, that Antec 430W should be sufficient but I have
heard that maybe 480W or even 550W might be needed?

Should I keep 430W or switch to 480W or even 550W PSU?

Thanks and please reply in NG.

 

[Richard Dower]

Cooler Master Praetorian PAC-T01-EK chassis (4 x 80mm fans)
P4 3.2C Northwood (but want to overclock to max possible)
Abit IC7-Max 3
Simpletech 1GB DDR PC-3700
Maxtor Diamond Plus 160GB SATA
Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB
Logitech MX Duo Cordless Elite Keyboard w/MX700 Wireless Mouse
Sony DRU-700A CD/DVD-DL drive
Thermaltake SP-94 CPU heatsink (w/Vantec Tornado 92mm HSF)
Compro Videomate TV Ultra (PCI Video Capture Card)

I feel that even OC'd, that Antec 430W should be sufficient but I have
heard that maybe 480W or even 550W might be needed?

Should I keep 430W or switch to 480W or even 550W PSU?

Thanks and please reply in NG.

Get the biggest you can get, whatever you can afford. I just recently bought
a 550W Antec PSU. If a 600 or 650 was on sale i would get that.

It'll "future proof" things a little.

 

[Matt]

Should I keep 430W or switch to 480W or even 550W PSU?

Thanks and please reply in NG.

For power requirements, see the builders' guide at:

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/SellAMDProducts/0,,30_177_4458_3505^869^4348^1065,00.html

 

[Matt]

Get the biggest you can get, whatever you can afford. I just recently bought
a 550W Antec PSU. If a 600 or 650 was on sale i would get that.

That may be good advice for those who don't like to think.

It'll "future proof" things a little.

What are the implications of the BTX standard (www.formfactors.org)?

 

[w_tom]

350 watts was more then enough for this and most every
desktop system with plenty of power for expansion. Just that
many have a "More Power" fascination that is similar to the
joke in Tim Allen's "Home Improvement". They have no idea how
much power their system is really consuming. They just hype
more power. That hype becomes classic urban myth because too
many experts never bother to even measure those numbers.

 

[S.Heenan]

Cooler Master Praetorian PAC-T01-EK chassis (4 x 80mm fans)
P4 3.2C Northwood (but want to overclock to max possible)
Abit IC7-Max 3
Simpletech 1GB DDR PC-3700
Maxtor Diamond Plus 160GB SATA
Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB
Sony DRU-700A CD/DVD-DL drive
Thermaltake SP-94 CPU heatsink (w/Vantec Tornado 92mm HSF)
Compro Videomate TV Ultra (PCI Video Capture Card)

I feel that even OC'd, that Antec 430W should be sufficient but I have
heard that maybe 480W or even 550W might be needed?

Should I keep 430W or switch to 480W or even 550W PSU?

The CPU, video card, hard drives, and optical drives draw the most current,
in that order. Unless you add several more hard drives, the True Power 430
should be fine. Then again, the price difference between the True430 and the
True Power 550 is $36US, hardly worth mentioning.

Since you plan to use the 80mm Tornado fan, make certain to plug it directly
in to a Molex connector. Drawing 760mA is a sure way to blow a fan header
and maybe more. Order a pair of ear plugs too.

 

[MCheu]

Cooler Master Praetorian PAC-T01-EK chassis (4 x 80mm fans)
P4 3.2C Northwood (but want to overclock to max possible)
Abit IC7-Max 3
Simpletech 1GB DDR PC-3700
Maxtor Diamond Plus 160GB SATA
Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB
Logitech MX Duo Cordless Elite Keyboard w/MX700 Wireless Mouse
Sony DRU-700A CD/DVD-DL drive
Thermaltake SP-94 CPU heatsink (w/Vantec Tornado 92mm HSF)
Compro Videomate TV Ultra (PCI Video Capture Card)

I feel that even OC'd, that Antec 430W should be sufficient but I have
heard that maybe 480W or even 550W might be needed?

Should I keep 430W or switch to 480W or even 550W PSU?

Thanks and please reply in NG.

That's more than enough for what you've got. The fans are likely the
biggest draw other than your CPU and video card. Though I think
4 x80mm fans might be a bit overkill, I don't know your local
circumstances, so maybe you do need that much airflow.

If you think you might need to add more accessories to it later
(lighting, extra fans, alternative cooling system, mechanical
animatronic effects, various readouts), then you might consider adding
more power. Though realistically, I think you'd likely want to run
all that fancy stuff off its own separate power supply to keep from
browning out or spiking your main components.

 

[Kill Bill]

That's more than enough for what you've got. The fans are likely the
biggest draw other than your CPU and video card. Though I think
4 x80mm fans might be a bit overkill, I don't know your local
circumstances, so maybe you do need that much airflow.

If you think you might need to add more accessories to it later
(lighting, extra fans, alternative cooling system, mechanical
animatronic effects, various readouts), then you might consider adding
more power. Though realistically, I think you'd likely want to run
all that fancy stuff off its own separate power supply to keep from
browning out or spiking your main components.

I agree, I have everything the OP has plus 2 more hard drives and another
optical drive. Sound card, slim fan on video card, Athlon XP overclocked to
2.4Ghz etc. Basically I'm using every lead the 430W Antec has PLUS
splitting off a few. No problems.

 

[Barry Comer]

I bought a Tru550 and find that the power supply runs very hot to the
touch.
This cannot be normal but the fans only spin at a slow rate. No other power
supply
I have tested has shown this type of heat.

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[Richard Dower]

I bought a Tru550 and find that the power supply runs very hot to the
touch.
This cannot be normal but the fans only spin at a slow rate. No other
power
supply
I have tested has shown this type of heat.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Hmmm..i also have a 550W Antec, i can't honestly say it runs hot. Though i
do feel hot air coming from the PSU quite a bit, wether the casing gets hot
or not i have no idea.

 

[Richard Dower]

The Tornado is VERY noisy, i couldn't stand it and got a PanaFlow 92mm.


All depends on what hardware you have running and what you might add in the
future, buy the best you can afford. The 550W model is quite cheap now at
Newegg.

 

[Guest]

I bought a Tru550 and find that the power supply runs
very hot to the touch.
This cannot be normal but the fans only spin at a slow rate.
No other power supply I have tested has shown this type of heat.

I can't speak of the 550W specifically, but other Antecs are known for
their slow-spinning fans and warm temperatures, and all brands of ATX
supplies can run warm because there's no such thing as a
high-efficiency (90%+) model.

What temperature are you getting, according to a $3 quick food
thermometer? People's judgments of heat vary so much that some will
say a mere 45C is scorching hot while others think that even 60C isn't
bad. It also matters whether the material is thick or thin (thick
feels hotter at the same temperature) or aluminum or steel (aluminum
conducts heat about 10 times as well).

 

[Tim]

I bought a Tru550 and find that the power supply
runs very hot to the touch.
This cannot be normal but the fans only spin at a slow rate.
No other power supply I have tested has shown this type of heat.

Has anyone else noticed this?

This seems to be the current (no pun intended) trend in power supply
marketing - drop the fan speed to label it "low noise", then just ignore the
higher resulting case temperatures. Personally, I don't even notice fan
noise. To me it's just white noise, like an air conditioner (which, for a
lot of us, is synonymous with summer anyway).