DO I NEED A 400-WATT POWER SUPPLY?

[Rawdog]

This is what I have:

BP6 W/ 2 - 366@550 & GLOBALWIN
3 - WD 20.5GB 7200 IDE
1 - WD 6.4GB 5400 IDE
1 - 40X CDROM IDE
1 - 1.44 FLOPPY
2 - 4" CASE FANS
1MB VIDEO CARD
PCI NIC
56K MODEM

This is to be a server, software raid5, W2k.

Problems: Failure to boot at random. Locking up at random. Loosing raid after reboot.

Removing some of the drives solves the problem so I'm sure a new power supply is what's needed. System currently has a 250w (Enlight 7237 case). Can I get away with a good 300w PS or do I really need a 400w PS? Big difference in price here which is why I need some advice. Looking at either that Antec? 303?? from buy.com if it's good enough or a Seventeam 300w. Will 300watts do?

 

[Zucchini]

300watts maybe, i doubt 400. i've run tons of stuff in my 250watt, same amount as you actually

 

[lowtech1]

Your 250w supply may work with that kind of config if it is a good quality one...It doesn't hurt to try it out befor dole out the cash for a 300w or 350w PS.

 

[Zucchini]

There is a limit to 250 watt though, my system was a c2 850 2.0v with 2 60mm case fans 92mm power supply fan, geforce ddr(massive power sucker)3 fast hd's 2 optical drives, modem/sound/tv/network/scsi ugh, i hope i havn't forgotten anything. but anyways, i foudn that my system became rock stable with only 2 hd's instead of 3.. you should try removing things until your pc is rock solid. otherwise,it might be your cpu not o/cing well, or your ram timings being too high. I forgot, 2 more larger fans hehe

 

[andylawcc]

this is a weird alternative but see if it could worth your try,

get an AT PS,
plug fans and other stuff to it, it will be awkward cause you now have an extra PS laying outside of your case with cables going thru,

 

[Rawdog]

I think I'll give 300watts a try.

Now, do I choose Enermax 330w at $60, Seventeam 300w at $51, or Antec PP300V at $37?

Any thoughs on which to choose?

 

[Zucchini]

I'd choose the one that makes the least noise

 

[han888]

"This is what I have:"

BP6 W/ 2 - 366@550 & GLOBALWIN
3 - WD 20.5GB 7200 IDE
1 - WD 6.4GB 5400 IDE
1 - 40X CDROM IDE
1 - 1.44 FLOPPY
2 - 4" CASE FANS
1MB VIDEO CARD
PCI NIC
56K MODEM

Text

300 watt should be enough, i have a lot of stuff here, and i just use 300 watt

cusl2 800@1000 alpha pal35t (7200 rpm fans)
1 X 30 ghz quantum LM + vantec hard disk cooler
1 X 30 ghz quantum LCT + vantec har disk cooler
1 X 16 X dvd pioneer
1 X asus 8 X 4 X 32 burner
1 X 32 MB Asus GTS V7700
1 x PC Audio NewQ Gold DSP ( http://www.rtvcomputers.com.au)
1 X just cooler bay
1 X Termal Monitor Digital Doc III
1 X Super Duper PCI Slot Cooller
1 X Vantec PC Air Circulator
3 X 80 MM case fans
1 X Card Cooller XT
2 X Neon Purple Light

 

[BurnItDwn]

300 Watt should definatly be enough ...

I run an Abit Kt7 Raid with Duron 700 and globalwin

2 Maxtor 30GB ATA66 in raid 0
1 IBM 20 GB 7200 ATA66
2 9GB 5.25inch full hight scsi II drives (these draw a lot of power)
pioneer DVDrom
Smart and friendly CDR (scsi)
a total of 9 system fans (including CPU fan)
vid card
PCI nic
pci SCSI
pci SBlive
PCI second vid card (for dual monitors)
Pci second Nic (for internet sharing)

this all runs on the 300Watt power supply that came in my case ..

if you have a quality 250 watt ... you may be able to get away with it even

 

[Zilldian]

I have an Addtronics 300watt Power supply that I am selling for $40 if you want it. It came with my W8500 case. I haven't even powered it up. Let me know if you want it.

 

[veryape]

Here is the configuration I am currently running on my 250W PS.
Athlon 650
40x10 dvd
52x cd
15gig 7200 rpm hd
2gig 5400 rpm hd
tnt2m64
sb16 sc
ak72 kx133 mobo
Wintv tv card
Supramax 56k modem
All of which are running crashless on a no-name 250w ps and has been for 9mths. I really don't think you need anything higher than a 300w ps. 250w is pushing your luck though.

 

[lowtech1]

Zucchini,

Its your SCSI hdds that are sucking up all your juice, and it is also disperse more heat.

most SCSI hhds take more than 2X energy to run compare to the IDE counter part.

 

[Howard]

How does the transfer method suck up

<< 2X energy >>

? Other than that, rotational speed may be the only thing that sucks up more power, although a very tiny factor would be the possibly larger amount of cache.

 

[Dufusyte]

300 watts is enough to run anything today, but in a year or two the video cards / cpu / gizmos might be needing 400 watts. If you buy a 400 watt ps it is like an investment for the future. The 400 watt ps might have more connectors than a 300 watt one too, which can come in handy.

 

[aUt0eXebat]

lowtech is right, 300 or 350 should be good. the more the better

 

[Bignate603]

You know how AMD reccomends a 300 watt for a t'bird? At least a 250 watt for a minimal system with no frills? (lots of drives, fans, highend graphics card or anything that sucks juice)
Well I run my 800 T'bird and my whole system on a 230 watt. I know i'm pushing it and i think it's playing movies a tiny bit jerky cause of it. Hey, i'm 16 and i blew all my cash on the rest! take a look, it's a good system.

 

[lowtech1]

According to Quantums with their SCSI &amp; IDE the same storage size (9.x gigs) &amp; rpm (7200) hdds consume diff amount of power.

IDE = Max 800mA, idle 7.5W.

SCSI = Max 2350mA, idle 12W.


During operation/boot the SCSI consume 2.9X the power of the IDE counter part. And, SCSI uses 1.6X more power that the IDE when idle.

...For every SCSI hdd you can run 3 IDE, because most of your power draw is during boot, not including the extra power consumtion of the SCSI card

 

[zippy]

A good 300w power supply should be more than ample for what you are running. Get a Sparkle 300w power supply, those seem to be the best, though, you could probably just as easily get away with something cheaper, that is, if in fact the &quot;cheaper&quot; PS is literally less expensive than the Sparkle, I'm not so sure it is. Check pricewatch.

 

[Rawdog]

OK! A 300 watter it is. Now, if I can make up my mind which one.

Looks like the smart choice will be between Enermax, Sparkle, and Seventeam. I like the ideal of a two fan power supply (which all of these may have), but I would appreciate a quiet one as well. One is called Whisper. I wonder if it lives up to it's name?

Thanks for all your responses.

Rawdog

 

[Jumpem]

I like the Enermax 330Watt. It has the standard 80mm fan on the back, but it also has a 92mm on the bottom of the unit. I have a small case (PC Power &amp; Cooling Mid-Tower) where the power supply sits like an inch above the top of the motherboard. The 92 draws air off the CPU and then pushes it out the back. Pretty cool the PSU helps to cool your processor! It's $59 at CrazyPC.com!

 

[Rawdog]

Anybody have any comments on the Antec 303X 300w power supply? It can be had for $37.82 minus $10 for new customers from buy.com.

I know, you get what you pay for, but I see this power supply offer almost everywhere, so maybe it's doing ok. Anyone had any experience with this ps?