power supply

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mitchua
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Mitchua

Your old mobo is probably ATX so its power supply will probably work with
the new mobos too. However, if it's less than 350W you should definatly
upgrade it. The new cpus are power-hungry little things and you don't want
it crashing when you play games or something.

--Mitchua
 
Hello list, I have a pentium 4 motherboard (QDI Advance 10), now I'm
going to upgrade with a newer motherboard, do I have to replace my
existing power supply ?
thanks, any help much appreciated.
 
P.Sidiropoulos said:
Hello list, I have a pentium 4 motherboard (QDI Advance 10), now I'm
going to upgrade with a newer motherboard, do I have to replace my
existing power supply ?
thanks, any help much appreciated.
Click to expand...

IMO only if uses significantly more power, which I doubt.
 
Typically PSU replacement not necessary. Most power
supplies are way over what any motherboard and peripherals
require. However some power supplies only claim those
ratings; don't output what they claim. You first question is
where are the long list of specs for that supply? Does it
even claim to have a long list of necessary functions?
Missing functions is another characteristic of supplies only
sold on price - most commonly found in systems built by clone
assemblers.

Test procedure to properly answer your question (how to get
numbers) is simple. Install motherboard and full set of
peripherals. Power up and multitask so that all peripherals
are used as simultaneously as possible. If power supply is
undersized, then the 3.5 digit multimeter will report same.
Procedure is summarized in "Computer doesnt start at all" in
alt.comp.hardware on 10 Jan 2004 at
http://tinyurl.com/2t69q . If power supply is undersized, it
will output low voltage (in or below 1/4 limit voltage as
provided by chart) as computer still works OK.

Also appropriate is this: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
entitled "Power Supply" on 5 Feb 2004 at
http://tinyurl.com/32j

Use the 3.5 digit multimeter to get your answer rather than
have others wildly speculate one. No numbers - no valid
answer.
 
P.Sidiropoulos said:
I have a pentium 4 motherboard (QDI Advance 10), now I'm
going to upgrade with a newer motherboard, do I have to
replace my existing power supply ?
Click to expand...

Every QDI Advance 10 motherboard I found in a brief search was for
Socket 370 and Pentium III, not Socket 423 or Socket 478 and Pentium
4. Almost all ATX Pentium 3 boards have only single power connector
of 20 pins, indicating that the power for the CPU comes from the +5V
supply. But most Pentium 4 boards have a second power connector of 4
pins and run the CPU from the +12V supply, and if your power supply
doesn't have this connector, then its 20-pin connector could overheat
at its sole +12V wire. However adapter cables are available that plug
into IDE drive power connectors for this voltage. A motherboard with
a 4-pin power connector on it may draw as much as 10A from the +12V
and possibly not leave enough capacity to run disk drives and
high-power video cards that plug directly into an IDE drive power
connector

What is your existing power supply -- brand, power rating, and amp
ratings for +3.3V, +5V, and +12V? Supplies vary considerably in
quality and honesty of ratings.
 
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