Will I need a 400W PS?

[Shorty28]

Basically, I'm trying to decide between an Antec SX830 and SX840. The system will consist of:
Athlon XP 1700+
Epox 8HKA+ mobo
2 HD's- 40gb and 60gb 7200 rpm Maxtors
Plextor IDE burner (24/10/40)
3Com 10/100 NIC
Leadtek(probably) GF3 Ti200
and 512mb of ram to start with...

So should I get a 400w just to be on the safe side, or would it just be overkill? Thx in advance

 

[AkumaBao]

It would be very wise to get the 400W. You never know what else you might put in there. 350W would probably be about the minimum for a system like that.

 

[Operandi]

A good 300 watt Power supply should be able to run that system without any problems, though it?s always nice to have some extra head room. When it comes to PS's its been my experience that quality of watts is often times more important than quantity. I'd recommend a good 300-400 watt PS like an Antec or Enermax.

 

[Bluzjamer]

Hey Shorty,
Keywords here are Antec & Enermax....and maybe stepstool...(er ah ...just kidding).
Stay away from the Gernerics....350 watt should be plenty as long as it is one of these two companies.
Sparkle is also good but have not used them. Stay away from Future Power. These wattage wars are like the Stereo Amp wars of the past...they all claimed to have the most powerful system. It was never the one with the most watts that took home the prize.
Bluz

 

[Olias]

I have the SX830 with their 300w PS powering an Epox 8HKA+ mobo and a Athlon 1.4 T-Bird. The rig gives me soft-boot problems when trying to overclock past 133/266 FSB. The 5V line drops down to 4.8 and was fine with my P3 rig at 933MHz. I wish I had the Antec SX840 with their 400w PS to prove-out my theory of low power. Basic rule... when in doubt, go bigger.

 

[Jen]

i say to be safe a minimum 350 would work..........brand i would go for is sparkle


Jen

 

[jcmoran]

Mine is a 300w and I'm running 6 USB ports. Things are okay so far, but I don't try to see what my machine can handle by overclocking and that may make a difference. Certainly a 400w PS will keep you from buying a more powerful one anytime soon though. My recommendation if you're inclined to buy a 400w is to go with Enermax. You'll get a bit more than 400w and it's a rock solid PS for not much money, especially if you look for one on Ebay.