PCA Forums

As I'm getting ready to rebuild my pc, I completely forgot about the power supply. I currently have a 300w, and it's been running an Acorp board with a PIII 1GHz cpu with 512 megs of ram. In this old system, the components are:
1. 2 IDE hard drives
2. 1 SCSI Plextor burner
3. 1 SCSI Plextor CD reader
4. 1 IDE DVD reader
5. 1 3½ Floppy drive
6. 1 Sound card
7. 1 NIC
8. 1 9600 Radeon video card
9. 1 Adaptec SCSI card
10. ~ 3 fans
11. 512 megs of pc133 ram (2 sticks)

In the new system, I'll be running an Asus P4PE mobo with a 2.4 Intel cpu. I plan to have the following devices:
1. SCSI 10k rpm boot drive
2. 2 IDE hard drives
3. 1 SCSI Plextor burner
4. 1 SCSI Plextor CD reader
5. 1 IDE DVD reader
6. 1 3½ floppy drive
7. 1 sound card
8. Using built in NIC
9. 1 9600 Radeon video card
10. Tekram SCSI adapter
11. 1 gig of pc 2700 ram (2 sticks)

Do you think my 300w power supply will be OK with some of this new stuff?

it will run it but you be better off getting a stronger power supply !

I think that is a little questionable but check out the link below it will help you calculate what size Power Supply you need.

http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply

I don't consider a 300 adequate for a power user's system anymore (and you've certainly got a power user's system there).

I would recommend at least a 430 watt PSU. I HIGHLY recommend Antec TruPower series for voltage stability. Don't sell yourself short on the PSU - a cheap PSU could haunt you with annoying motherboard glitches.

OK thanks for the info. I'll get a 430 Antec TruPower. I was going to order it on Antec's site, but they want $99 for it. Can anyone recommend a good dealer with possibly a cheaper price? If not, then I'll order it from Antec.

I guess my weekend project will be delayed until I get a better power supply.

neweeg or svc

Greg

Thanks again. I got it at Newegg for $69 with free shipping, but I still had to pay state tax.

Newegg is where I always get them. ALSO remember that Newegg honors the manufacturer warranty themselves, so if you ever have a problem with it send it back to newegg. Less hassle - you fill out a form on their website, takes 1 minute, and you have your RMA.

Cheap power supplies are just that, cheap. I was in the middle of loading xp on a newly built system, when all of a sudden I heard a loud pop, orange sparks and smoke came out of the PS. It killed the mobo.

Directron.com has some inexpensive ps's called ttgi. Nice units for hella cheap. Had mine now for three years no probs

An Antec 380, Sparkle 350, or other good 350w PS will be fine. You can go with a 400w to get that warm and fuzzy feeling. The p4 2.4 doesn't draw a lot of power, and neither doest he 9600.