300w not enough on my system?

[LuDaCriS66]

Ever since I replaced my Gigabyte GA-7VAXP and 1700XP for an 8RDA+ and a 2400+, the 300w PSU that came with my Antec case has been spiking.
My system is a bit overclocked though.. set at 166 x 12 for the same clock speed but a bigger FSB.
Every so often, if my CPU is at full load, a message from the Epox USDM utility pops up saying a voltage on my PSU is out of range or something.

Does this mean that the 300w isn't enough and therefore not stable?

Probably since I have like.. 2 optical drives, 2 hard drives, 2 case fans, GeForce3 card, tv tuner, audigy 2 card, and a bunch of USB devices..

 

[Murr]

Sounds like it to me, but I'm no expert. I'm basically just bumping the thread for you, maybe someone could explain how you determine how many watts you need, I also need to know.

 

[snidy1]

I would get at least 350 watt and preferably 400 watt

 

[DTSS]

Since you upgraged you cpu, yes it requires a little more power! Today systems do require more power. It also depends on how many devises you also have.

Approx Power Usage

Component----------------- Power

Mobo--------------------------23.5
Case Fan--------------------- 6
Cpu Fan-----------------------3
256mb dimm-----------------30
Agp card----------------------10
IDE hard drive---------------30
CD-RW------------------------30 for 2 drives
Floppy-------------------------4
usb devices------------------10 for 2 devices
Fiewire device---------------16
Keyboard---------------------1.25
Mouse-------------------------1.25

Subtotal ---------------------165

Add a 3ghz cpu--------------95
Total POWER---------------260
Most of todays sytems push the 300 watt limit.

 

[AmerDoux]

Power Supply Watt Calculator

Nifty tool to find out what you need

g/l

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: AmerDoux
Power Supply Watt Calculator

Nifty tool to find out what you need

g/l

Most likely that tool is going to report you need 450+ which is not necessary...


I would just up that to 350+ Antec and you should be fine... Sell that PSU on the FS/Ft for about $bucs and grab a new one.

However, if you are not have stability problems (crashing and what not) i would stick with your current one.



It's the overclocking thats pulling that extra juice...

 

[HokieESM]

Originally posted by: LuDaCriS66
Ever since I replaced my Gigabyte GA-7VAXP and 1700XP for an 8RDA+ and a 2400+, the 300w PSU that came with my Antec case has been spiking.
My system is a bit overclocked though.. set at 166 x 12 for the same clock speed but a bigger FSB.
Every so often, if my CPU is at full load, a message from the Epox USDM utility pops up saying a voltage on my PSU is out of range or something.

Does this mean that the 300w isn't enough and therefore not stable?

Probably since I have like.. 2 optical drives, 2 hard drives, 2 case fans, GeForce3 card, tv tuner, audigy 2 card, and a bunch of USB devices..

Like all power supply threads, quality is more important than quantity. Read the review at Tom's. Some PSUs put out less than they are rated... some put out drastically more. There is a big difference between the different Antec lines, especially (TruePower being much nicer than SmartPower).

I highly recommend Fortron/Sparkle PSUs (if you're on a budget)... the 350W should be plenty (the Tom's article shows it putting out FAR more than this). If you have lots o' cash, a 430W Antec TruePower is quite nice.

Good luck!

 

[DTSS]

Originally posted by: AmerDoux
Power Supply Watt Calculator

Nifty tool to find out what you need

g/l

 

[LuDaCriS66]

Alright cool.. calculated my PSU usage using that calculator thing and I got 245w... thanks