What kind of power supply would you suggest?

[joshtichauer]

I'm currently building a new computer. I chose an Asus A8n-SLI Premium
nForce SLI, and an
amd athlon 64 X2 3800 as my processor. I've got all the essencialys
purchased: videocard, case, dvd-rom/cdrom drive. But i'm not sure what
kind of powersupply i should be getting. I'm thinking 500w atleast, but
is it true that you have to purchase a certain supply that is
compatible with your components? or are the connectors for
powersupply's universal (ie ATX mobo, ATX case, hence ATX power
supply??) Thanks.

subquestion: is there any difference in performace from certain types
of ram? all i know is that these are my choices: PC3200, PC2700, PC2100
and PC1600 DDR unbuffered memory

thanks again.

tish

 

[KC Computers]

I'm currently building a new computer. I chose an Asus A8n-SLI Premium

nForce SLI, and an amd athlon 64 X2 3800 as my processor. I've got all the
essencialys
purchased: videocard, case, dvd-rom/cdrom drive. But i'm not sure what
kind of powersupply i should be getting. I'm thinking 500w atleast, but
is it true that you have to purchase a certain supply that is
compatible with your components?

The motherboard manual gives recommendations for the power
supply. A good quality 350W ATX12V V2.0 one (such as Antec, Enermax, etc)
is fine if you plan on using one video card. A 400W-500W one is recommended
for dual video cards.

subquestion: is there any difference in performace from certain types
of ram? all i know is that these are my choices: PC3200, PC2700, PC2100
and PC1600 DDR unbuffered memory

If you won't be overclocking, then it's recommended to use PC3200
unbuffered memory.

 

[Bob Knowlden]

The A8N-SLI Premium is intended for an ATX 2.0 power supply, with a 24 pin
ATX power connector. (The older ATX supplies use 20 pin connectors.) It also
has a 4 pin 12V connector.

If you intend to use a PCI-Express graphics card that uses a lot of power
(Geforce 7800 GTX, for example), it would be nice to get a power supply with
a 6 pin PCI-E graphics connector. (Two would be nicer, if you wish to use
SLI.)

Unfortunately, wattage isn't the safest way to choose a PS. For example:
here's a 480W supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817170012

(rated at 16A on the +12V line), and a "460W" one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103464

This one is rated at 33A on the +12V line. (It obviously can't supply the
maximum rated current on all lines simultaneously, as that would exceed the
maximum continuous power rating for the supply.)

Newegg has a choice in their power supply selector for SLI approved. You'll
need to check both the 24 pin and 20+4 pin models, though. (20+4 means that
the power supply connector is split to be compatible with both 20 and 24 pin
motherboards without an adapter.) I suggest that you have a look at that,
even if you choose to buy elsewhere.

As regards your second question, you want PC3200 unbuffered DDR. That's
nominal for Athlon64 CPUs, including the X2. You can use either ECC or
non-ECC, but I believe that few people bother with ECC. (That supports error
correcting codes, and it's typically used on servers.) You can also choose
low-latency memory (e. g., CAS2), but it is more expensive than the mundane
stuff.

I'd suggest getting something form the Asus QVL (qualified vendors list),
but I couldn't find one for this model. (Seems odd. There's one for the A8V
Deluxe, although it looks like it hasn't been updated in a year or so.)

If you want to get into overclocking, that makes the whole RAM discussion
more complex.

HTH.


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Gary]

I'm currently building a new computer. I chose an Asus A8n-SLI Premium
nForce SLI, and an
amd athlon 64 X2 3800 as my processor. I've got all the essencialys
purchased: videocard, case, dvd-rom/cdrom drive. But i'm not sure what
kind of powersupply i should be getting. I'm thinking 500w atleast, but
is it true that you have to purchase a certain supply that is
compatible with your components? or are the connectors for
powersupply's universal (ie ATX mobo, ATX case, hence ATX power
supply??) Thanks.

subquestion: is there any difference in performace from certain types
of ram? all i know is that these are my choices: PC3200, PC2700, PC2100
and PC1600 DDR unbuffered memory

thanks again.

tish

http://www.pcpowercooling.com/home/ They make some of the best power
supplies you can buy. Not cheap but you get what you pay for. It is the
heart of your system.

 

[GrahamH]

< I'm currently building a new computer. I chose an Asus A8n-SLI Premium

nForce SLI, and an
amd athlon 64 X2 3800 as my processor. I've got all the essencialys
purchased: videocard, case, dvd-rom/cdrom drive. But i'm not sure what
kind of powersupply i should be getting. I'm thinking 500w atleast, but
is it true that you have to purchase a certain supply that is
compatible with your components? or are the connectors for
powersupply's universal (ie ATX mobo, ATX case, hence ATX power
supply??) Thanks.

subquestion: is there any difference in performace from certain types
of ram? all i know is that these are my choices: PC3200, PC2700, PC2100
and PC1600 DDR unbuffered memory

thanks again.

tish

Subject: What kind of power supply would you suggest?

I'm currently building a new computer. I chose an Asus A8n-SLI Premium
nForce SLI, and an
amd athlon 64 X2 3800 as my processor. I've got all the essencialys
purchased: videocard, case, dvd-rom/cdrom drive. But i'm not sure what
kind of powersupply i should be getting. I'm thinking 500w atleast, but
is it true that you have to purchase a certain supply that is
compatible with your components? or are the connectors for
powersupply's universal (ie ATX mobo, ATX case, hence ATX power
supply??) Thanks.

subquestion: is there any difference in performace from certain types
of ram? all i know is that these are my choices: PC3200, PC2700, PC2100
and PC1600 DDR unbuffered memory

thanks again.

tish

When deciding on the psu dont be fooled into thinking the higher the Wattage
the better its not that simple as its detemined by the combined output
currents of each supply. You could have 2 psu`s with the same power rating
but different current ratings on each output. Its important to make sure
that the 12v rails have a sufficient current rating for your sli graphics as
an expample.
If the graphics card is pci express with the external 12v connector, then
get a psu that has 2x 6pin pci express plugs in case you want to use 2
graphics card in sli mode.
Also check if your motherboard has the new 24pin atx connector, if so you
can get an psu that supplies this (atx 2.0).
Are you using SATA drives then a psu with SATA connectors is best, it avoids
any nasty adaptors.
So make sure the the psu has the right connectors for your hardware and a
power rating to match plus a bit extra.
Try looking at the Antec true power 2.0 range TPII-380.
Graham....