PSU suggestion?

[Terumo]

Hi,

Going to be building a new system but bogged down with trying to find a compatible power supply from pc-performance (not sleeving the power supply this time -- don't have the time). Really eyeing a modular design, but they seem all underpowered.

Need to be able to power up and sustain a P4 533mhz/800mhz, 2gigs of DDR2 memory, 4+ HDDs, PCIE 16x videocard, Soundblaster sound card, capture card, baybus/smart card reader, 2 DVD-RWs, 1 CD-RW, floppy, and 7 80mm LED case fans and UV kit.

So what PSU can you recommend that can handle it, that they offer? A rough guestimate would do, as 480watts is giving me 11.45 on the 12 rail and below 5.00 on the 5 rail with just a 2.4ghz P4, 1 RDRAM stick, Geforce 2 v/c, 2 CD-RW, floppy and those 7 Vantec LED fans.

Appreciate the headsup.

 

[MDE]

Check your voltages with a multimeter and then decide. I'm willing to bet that if you have a quality PSU you'll be able to run your new system on your current power supply. Just look at the system I'm running on an Antec True380.

 

[cmp1223]

PC Power & Cooling, nuff said.

 

[coejus]

480 watts is plenty for that setup.

 

[imported_bum]

That PSU should handle the new system, but I don't blame you for wanting a new one. Go with PC Power & Cooling or an OCZ Powerstream. I would stay away from modular PSUs completely, but by looking at reviews the OCZ Modsteam is probably the best.

 

[Terumo]

Originally posted by: cmp1223
PC Power & Cooling, nuff said.

Do you have one in your rig? And can I ask what's it powering?

It has an excellent warranty but I don't see it's compliant for the newest systems, though. Maybe you know otherwise.

 

[coejus]

Any power supply that conforms to ATX 2.0 or later should work, though obviously the higher ATX revision the power supply is compatible with, more demanding systems will work with it.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

I e-mailed MSI and asked them how much wattage I would need. They said a minimum of 350W, more if I plan on adding more components later. The system I asked them about is in my sig. I also have 2 rom drives, 1 HDD, a floppy drive, and 3 case fans.

On another note, I'm going to get an OCZ Modstream 450W to replace my ULTRA, that modular design can't be passed up. :thumbsup:

 

[Amaroque]

You said you have a 480 watt PSU. What brand PSU might that be?

The reason I'm asking, is that if it's a quality PSU, you should be able to run a much higher load on it then what you currently are.

BTW: PCP&C is generally regarded one of the best PSU's available.

Edit: The OCZ ModStream, and Antec NeoPower are probably the two best modular PSU's available.

 

[Terumo]

It's a temp I raided from another case, a Turbolink Switching Power Supply. I don't expect to be using this PSU for longer than 2 more weeks. It conks out at reboot (like a one second pause), like it doesn't even have enough power.

Everyone: after looking at the price for the PC&C sleeved PSU :sticker shock:, I need advice on a videocard too. :| Was hoping to get a PSU for around $180 to $200 pre-sleeved, and get a medium level videocard (giving it to my sis later, who doesn't play games, just office apps). But that monster PSU costs a full $100 more. Any suggestions on a medium range Geforce videocard (above a MX)?

Really appreciate your imput guys, sure helps!!

 

[Patrick Wolf]

The video card would depend on your budget. But above a GeForce MX would be a GeForce Ti 4600 or 4800. Get one cheap off of ebay.

 

[Terumo]

$150 would have to do for now. Newegg's selection is slim for AGP 4x/8x cards, unless it's a noname type. Positively can't go over $425 on both the PSU and videocard.

 

[MDE]

Video card Radeon 9600 Pro

PSU Antec True380

Both would serve your needs and be a load cheaper than you expected.

 

[impemonk]

Use a Coolermaster PSU. Quality built products that not many people know of... everyone goes with OCZ and ANTEC like a bunch of bandwagoners. Let me tell you, I've been going with Cooler Master for PSU's, CPU coolers, Cases, etc and they've never failed on me once.

 

[0010010110]

Originally posted by: impemonk
Use a Coolermaster PSU. Quality built products that not many people know of... everyone goes with OCZ and ANTEC like a bunch of bandwagoners. Let me tell you, I've been going with Cooler Master for PSU's, CPU coolers, Cases, etc and they've never failed on me once.

Everyone goes with Antec and OCZ because: Antec/OCZ > Coolermaster.