Power requirements

  • Thread starter Thread starter Darius
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Darius

I'm trying to build a machine from scratch for the first time, but am
having trouble deciding on what type of power requirement and hence power
supply I need to get. Obviously the less the better for energy costs in the
long run.

Motherboard: Asus M2N SLI Delux
Processor: AMD 64x 4200+

Max 3 HDD's, average graphics card (nothing fancy for gaming), two optical
drives, and of course, all the USB stuff - not all running at the same
time.

Anyone help with this?

Thanks

Darius
 
I'm trying to build a machine from scratch for the first time, but am
having trouble deciding on what type of power requirement and hence power
supply I need to get. Obviously the less the better for energy costs in the
long run.

Motherboard: Asus M2N SLI Delux
Processor: AMD 64x 4200+

Max 3 HDD's, average graphics card (nothing fancy for gaming), two optical
drives, and of course, all the USB stuff - not all running at the same
time.

Anyone help with this?

Thanks

Darius
Click to expand...

The amount of power you use has very little to do with the size of the
power supply. The efficiency of various power supplies will be different,
but not so much that you should care.

For the system that you are building get a 500-550W supply.
 
The amount of power you use has very little to do with the size of the
power supply. The efficiency of various power supplies will be different,
but not so much that you should care.

For the system that you are building get a 500-550W supply.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, most helpful.

Darius
 
General Schvantzkoph said:
The amount of power you use has very little to do with the size of the
power supply. The efficiency of various power supplies will be different,
but not so much that you should care.

For the system that you are building get a 500-550W supply.
Click to expand...

Based on what ???
I've build several systems like this (but with 1-2 HDD's) with a 350W power
supply! Get you PSU from a decent brand and you shouldn't get any problems.
 
The reccomendation (from PCI-e graphic cards) among other specifications is
a pws of >420watts. Whether or not you can run less is your decision. With
the 3 HDD, 450-500 is not out of the question.

If you want an exact figure, read the liturature that comes with the discs,
Processor, M/B and components (CD/DVD/external cards). For growth and
upgrades ... add 50%...there is your number.
 
Plan for the future or change of mind. Get at least a 600 watt that supports
sli, not to mention that even single vid cards require a 6 pin power
connected to it. Try an Enermax Liberty.

--
Sapphire X1600 Pro 512mb AGP
MSI Theater 550Pro TV Tuner
Thermaltake LanFire Midtower(4X80mm fans),Antec 550 Watt PSU
Gigabyte GA-K8NSC-939 nForce3, A64 3500+, Stock Cooler IdleTemp 28 C
2 Gb Dual Channel PC3200 OCZ Platinum 2-3-2-5 CL2.5
Viewsonic A91f 19in Moniter
2XSATA WD 320gb Raid Edition, PATA WD 120Gb HD
Pioneer 110D Dual Layer burner
Logitech MX 310 Optical Mouse
Microsoft Sidewinder Precision 2 Joystick
Microsoft ergonomic keyboard
Cheap computer speakers with Sennheiser HD 477 Headphones

3DMark05Free-Overall-3134 1024X768, 4XAA/8XAF 6.4Drivers
Cpu - 4405
3Dmark2001 - 8702 4XAA/8XAF 1280X1024

Games I'm Playing- IL-2 Sturmovick Series
Empire Earth 2, Need For Speed: Underground 2,
Civ IV, Warhammer 40,000 Gold
 
Plan for the future or change of mind. Get at least a 600 watt that supports
sli, not to mention that even single vid cards require a 6 pin power
connected to it. Try an Enermax Liberty.
Click to expand...

Thank you to all who replied to this thread.

I ended up getting a 480Watt Antec PSU, which seems to deliver on it's quoted
performance. I avoided the PSU's which had the same power rating but were
drastically cheaper. I thought, they must have skimped on decent components or
something.

The 480W PSU seems to be enough to power 2 EIDE optical drives, and three SATA
drives, as well as the other bits on the motherboard. I have no interest in
dual SLI graphics operation although the PSU does have two connectors for
PCI-E if needed.

Darius
 
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