Is Generic 250W PS enough for this?!?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alceryes
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A

Alceryes

I'm not as good at this as some of you so here goes...

Pentium 4 2.2Ghz Willamette
Intel 850 Motherboard
4 sticks 256MB PC800 RDRAM
GeForce FX 5600 (AGP)
S-video card (PCI)
NIC (PCI)
Firewire card (PCI)
Modem (PCI)
SB Live sound card (PCI)
WD 160GB IDE hard disk
WD 120GB IDE hard disk
Sony DVD+RW
Generic CD-RW
Floppy drive
120mm and 80mm Antec case fan


Can anyone give me a ball park figure as to what the idle and peak loads of
this system should be around? This guy does some gaming (flight sims and
such) and is also big on AV editing.
It seems to me that the generic Gateway 250W PS he's been using is a little
inadequate...
Thanks.
 
Alceryes said:
I'm not as good at this as some of you so here goes...

Pentium 4 2.2Ghz Willamette
Intel 850 Motherboard
4 sticks 256MB PC800 RDRAM
GeForce FX 5600 (AGP)
S-video card (PCI)
NIC (PCI)
Firewire card (PCI)
Modem (PCI)
SB Live sound card (PCI)
WD 160GB IDE hard disk
WD 120GB IDE hard disk
Sony DVD+RW
Generic CD-RW
Floppy drive
120mm and 80mm Antec case fan


Can anyone give me a ball park figure as to what the idle and peak loads
of this system should be around? This guy does some gaming (flight sims
and such) and is also big on AV editing.
It seems to me that the generic Gateway 250W PS he's been using is a
little inadequate...
Thanks.
--


"I don't cheat to survive. I cheat to LIVE!!"
- Alceryes
Click to expand...

With the number of problems that can result from
inadequate power, your friend is taking a real risk.
There are so many problems that would develop
without it appearing obvious that the power was to
blame.

Good clean power lets the rest of your computer
work at its best. A PS that fluctuates and introduces
noise into your system, as one struggling to meet the
demands would, can over tax the MB's own power
regulation circuits.

Luck;
Ken
 
No,.......... (not for long anyway..)


I thought the same, but he's been running this rig (with these components)
for over a year with little problems.
(Kudos to the 250W that's in there!)
--


"I don't cheat to survive. I cheat to LIVE!!"
- Alceryes
 
The power consumers are motherboard, the video controller,
processor and those DVD/CD-roms when in write mode.
Everything else is 10 watts or less - trivial power. Normally
a generic 250 watt supply is not really 250 watts - a game
that clone power supply manufacturers play with numbers to
sell at greater profit. So what is real power from that
supply?

Perform a simple test to learn whether this power supply is
sufficient. Setup a multimeter to measure each critical
voltage (3.3, 5, and +12 v which are orange, yellow, and red
wires). Write simple *.bat files or equivalent so that
separate tasks continuously access each drive including a
drive on the network (via NIC), floppy, CD-ROM and anything
else that is convenient. Execute music through sound card.
Meanwhile, execute DVD in write mode.

If power supply is insufficient, then each or any one
voltage will drop to or below a minimally acceptable value.
To answer your question accurately, numbers are necessary.
That would be 11.7 for +12 volts (yellow wire), 4.87 for +5
volts (red wire), and 3.22 for 3.3 volts. If those voltages
remain valid, then your power supply is sufficient for the
load.

Typically 2.2Ghz processors alone draw about 40 to 70
watts. So yes, a good 250 watt supply could provide enough.
Without more specific information including which voltage
takes up more load, then we assume 250 watts is undersized;
assume a minimally sufficient value is 350 watts. Obtain more
accurate facts in the above tests using a 3.5 digit
multimeter. 250 watts from that particular supply may be
sufficient for that particular hardware configuration.
 
I thought the same, but he's been running this rig (with these components)
for over a year with little problems.
(Kudos to the 250W that's in there!)
Click to expand...

You wrote that it was a "generic" 250W.

Might it be more accurate to presume that you simply didn't
recognize the brand? The OEMs usually use major name-brand
power supplies that are accurately rated. Major name-brand
means power supply manufacturer names rather than PC product
relabeler names.

Even so, running a PSU near max output is a bit like burning
a candle at both ends. A properly sized PSU should last a
decade but this one has thus far only lasted a year in the
current configuration, 10% of the expected life. Sometimes
that is a fair compromise to make, when one already has the
power supply, but at a certain point it can also become a
liability to system uptime and if another PSU is needed
later due to failure, that replacement could've been
installed beforehand and the failure possibly averted.
Whether that is important enough to spend more $, or take a
small gamble instead, only the system owner can know for
sure.
 
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