Power Requirements

[elziko]

I'am about to but the following system:

Athlon 64bit 2800 (Newcastle)
128MB Sapphire ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 256-BIT
Asus K8N-E Deluxe nForce3 250Gb

to use with what I have already

Single PCI Card (for TV)
Single 120 Gb 7200rpm Harddrive
512Mb PC2700 RAM

Whats the minimum rated power supply I could get away with?

I intend, if possible, to buy a generic PSU (not Antec, Zalman etc.)
since I need to spend as little as possible. I am not interested in
overclocking but will be playing all the latest FPS games.

TIA

 

[elziko]

More specifically would this power supply suffice?:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/productinfo.asp?WebProductID=154039

 

[dion_b]

More specifically would this power supply suffice?:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/productinfo.asp?WebProductID=154039

Impossible to say based on those specs...

I would strongly advise against going cheap on the PSU with power-hungry
hardware like that 9800Pro and A64 - if all goes well you never notice
the power supply, but if an inadequate, badly made PSU blows, it can
take all your expensive hardware with it.

No-name PSUs can be good, but the only guide is weight (sounds weird,
but the main factor is heatsink size and capacitor/coil quality, both of
which increase the weight, see this article-
http://www.directron.com/psu.html ) and that's the one thing you can't
judge online.

If buying online I'd go for a brand with a good reputation. If Antec and
Zalman are on the expensive side, look for AOpen or SuperFlower. You can
get 350W AOpen PSU's over this side of the mudpool for EUR 34, so reckon
about GBP 25 or so.

Any less and you're gambling with your PC. The wattage itself is rather
less relevant as with low-end PSUs the values are drastically overstated
(I once burnt out (one coil and two capacitors just exploded after 30
seconds) a '300W' Target PSU in an old HP workstation that had
originally had a 260W HP-rebranded Delta PSU that the previous owner
wisely had kept for his own use).

 

[S.Heenan]

I'am about to but the following system:

Athlon 64bit 2800 (Newcastle)
128MB Sapphire ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 256-BIT
Asus K8N-E Deluxe nForce3 250Gb

to use with what I have already

Single PCI Card (for TV)
Single 120 Gb 7200rpm Harddrive
512Mb PC2700 RAM

Whats the minimum rated power supply I could get away with?

I intend, if possible, to buy a generic PSU (not Antec, Zalman etc.)
since I need to spend as little as possible. I am not interested in
overclocking but will be playing all the latest FPS games.

Here to my side I have a new-ish 32-bit Intel machine with hardware not too
different from the above. The generic power supply is rated at 500W. Weighs
about 2 pounds. I don't yet know what if wrong with the hardware, but it
will not boot with a simple PSU swap.
Feel free to draw your own conclusion.

 

[elziko]

I don't yet know what if wrong with the hardware, but it

will not boot with a simple PSU swap.
Feel free to draw your own conclusion.

Sorry I'm not sure what you're getting at! Are you saying it will boot
without swapping the PSU? Are you trying to say that it is likely you
will get problems with most generic PSUs regardless of power rating? I
just don't understand your post.

 

[elziko]

Thanks for all of that. Do you have any opinions on the following
makes/models?:

QTechnology (300W)
Hiperpower (425W)

 

[S.Heenan]

Sorry I'm not sure what you're getting at! Are you saying it will boot
without swapping the PSU? Are you trying to say that it is likely you
will get problems with most generic PSUs regardless of power rating? I
just don't understand your post.

Generic PSUs lack over voltage and over current protection. When they die
they take other devices, usually those on the +12V line, with them. IOW, the
owner may be looking at two dead optical drives, and one hard drive, about
$250CND.

Your hardware seems quite good. Why take a chance on killing it like this
guy did ?
IMHO, £70 is not a high price for piece of mind.

 

[dion_b]

Thanks for all of that. Do you have any opinions on the following
makes/models?:

QTechnology (300W)
Hiperpower (425W)

Q-Tec is notorious, particularly the 300W, I have some quite detailed
info in Dutch, but assuming you don't read swamp-German here's the best
I could find in English. It's quite damning:

http://www.howtofixcomputers.com/bb/ftopic61828-15.html

Q-tec advertises peak wattage as opposed to sustained wattage. Thus
Q-tec 400W is in fact only a 300W PSU. That means that a Q-Tec 300W is
probably capable of a mere 225W sustained, nowhere near enough for an
Athlon64, let alone one combined with a Radeon 9800Pro.

A Q-Tec '550W' *might* be enough, but that would cost at least as much
as a much more reliable AOpen 350W


I haven't heard of Hiperpower, but somehow the name doesn't exactly
inspire confidence...

 

[kony]

Q-Tec is notorious, particularly the 300W, I have some quite detailed
info in Dutch, but assuming you don't read swamp-German here's the best
I could find in English. It's quite damning:

http://www.howtofixcomputers.com/bb/ftopic61828-15.html

Q-tec advertises peak wattage as opposed to sustained wattage. Thus
Q-tec 400W is in fact only a 300W PSU. That means that a Q-Tec 300W is
probably capable of a mere 225W sustained, nowhere near enough for an
Athlon64, let alone one combined with a Radeon 9800Pro.

A Q-Tec '550W' *might* be enough, but that would cost at least as much
as a much more reliable AOpen 350W

Q-Tec and Q Technology are two different companies, the
Q-Tec being lower quality, lower output/rating.

 

[Jon Danniken]

Generic PSUs lack over voltage and over current protection. When they die
they take other devices, usually those on the +12V line, with them. IOW, the
owner may be looking at two dead optical drives, and one hard drive, about
$250CND.

I've seen several mainboards rendered into paperweights by using POS PSUs.

Jon

 

[kony]

I'am about to but the following system:

Athlon 64bit 2800 (Newcastle)
128MB Sapphire ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 256-BIT
Asus K8N-E Deluxe nForce3 250Gb

to use with what I have already

Single PCI Card (for TV)
Single 120 Gb 7200rpm Harddrive
512Mb PC2700 RAM

Whats the minimum rated power supply I could get away with?

Power supply lifespan is proportional to the strain on it.
Simply asking what is the "minimum rated" is not enough, you
have to plan for how long it need last.

But to answer the question, if the power supply has a bias
to providing more 12V amps, over and beyond just being an
ATX2.03, then a 280W power supply would suffice for the
short-term.

That should not be the goal, it is not a good idea to try to
buy the least you can "get away with". It should instead
have ample margin and other quality construction and saftey
features. If that won't fit into the budget then don't buy
the above parts because you can't afford to power them.

I intend, if possible, to buy a generic PSU (not Antec, Zalman etc.)
since I need to spend as little as possible. I am not interested in
overclocking but will be playing all the latest FPS games.

The minimum I would suggest is a Sparkle 400W or Thermaltake
420W. The better range would be any name-brand of 420W or
higher to provide sufficient 12V amperage, at least 14A but
16A or more is more reasonable margin. Generics commonly
are overrated, if you bought one that's labeled as 500W,
there is very good chance you're not getting anywhere near
as much true capacity as a 500W name-brand PSU... is largely
why they're so much cheaper, you get what you pay for to a
certain extent. You might find a 500W generic to be
inferior to a 350W name-brand.

 

[dion_b]

Q-Tec and Q Technology are two different companies, the
Q-Tec being lower quality, lower output/rating.

Seems you're right, here's a review of the Q Technology 300W:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article35-page1.html

Stable, quiet, but probably still not enough for a power-hungry setup
like this.

 

[YanquiDawg]

Antec tru power 380.

 

[elziko]

OK, I've been convinced to spend the money on a decent PSU after all...
its now a toss up between:

Antec 400 Watt Power Supply ATX Smartpower Dual Fan £41.05
Antec TRUE380PGB TruePower 380W ATX Power Supply £43.60

The 400 is cheaper than 380. Which is better with respect to the power
requirements of my ssytem, perhaps one has a better 12V rail or
something? Which is quieter?

TIA