Power supplies

[Tindalos]

How much of a difference does a higher wattage power supply make in a system? For instance, would a higher end video card draw more power? Enough power to overload a 250W power supply?

[Randy_tx]

By itself, a video card would not cause a power consumption problem with your power supply; however, when you start adding things like CD Burners, internal Zip Drives, Second Hard Drives.....etc. you will overwhelm your PS pretty soon...Additionally, if you change motherboards and add a new faster CPU, you need to consider replacing the PS with at least 300 watts.

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Will XP save Me ?

[Tindalos]

Yes the 250 power supply is a remnant from my old Celeron 550 setup. I have since upgraded to a Athlon 1.13 GHz. Is this over tasking my power supply?

[mjc]

An Athlon 1.13Ghz almost definitely needs a 300W minimum (depending upon what other devices you have, besides your Geforce2 that you are trying to get working. A 350W may be a better option, gives you more "wiggle" room...that way you won't have to worry about running out of juice when you add a case fan or two.....

Athlon 50W

Celeron 20W

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

Gun Control...hitting what you aim at!

[hiredgoonz]

It also depends on the video card...some of the fans on them are pretty big...I have a Voodoo5, which has 2 fans on it and has to be plugged into a regular cdrom power connector...

To give you an idea of what a 300W supply will run (which is what I have)

1 Ghz Athlon with 2 fans on heatsink
Voodoo5 and ATI All in Wonder Video cards
30gb 7200 rpm hd
40gb 7200 rpm hd
CDRW
DVD
NIC
56K Modem
Sound card
Floppy drive
2 case fans

No problems, although I was worried every time I added something new...

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When all else fails, read the instructions.

[This message has been edited by hiredgoonz (edited 08-09-2001).]

[mike31]

CD/DVD = 5-10 watts
CDRW = 10-15 watts(this will increase with speed of burning)
Sound Card = 1-10 watts(this will increase with speed, complexity, and amount of memory onboard)
Hard Drive(s) = 30 watts+
Video Cards = 30 watts+ (new AGP specifications AGP Pro50 for 50 watt Video Cards and AGP Pro100 for 100 watt Video Cards)
CPU = 75 watts+ (there are rumors of processors that will draw up to 100 watts of power)

As you can see there is more than just the CPU taking power from the Power Supply.
An Athlon can draw up to 75 watts without overclocking. A Geforce or 3Dfx Video card can draw 30 watts+. This does not leave much for the other peripherals. The HD's, Cdrom, DVD, CDRW and floppy have both a 12 and 5 volt connection. That 5 volt connection come out of the same source as the CPU 5 Volts. Do you see where we are running out of power for our System?
As the demand for current goes up, after a certain point, the voltage starts to go down. When the voltage hits a critical point, we start to see all sorts of bad words, the computer has either locked up or crashed. This is where the QUALITY of power supply comes into play. A Cheap generic PS will not have the headroom to handle high current demand. The total specification for the power might be the same, but the quality of components will not be the same.
If the voltage of the CPU or sometyhing else goes out of spec or goes too low, the Computer crashes. If it goes too high you may be buying a new PC
The same goes for the ripple specifications. The more the current draw, the bigger the ripple. Ripple is the amount that the voltage will vary plus and minus the specified voltage. Riplle should not destroy components, but it will cause crashes.

Question : What do you call a Rose in a Wheat Field
Answer : It is a Weed.

Question : What do you call a Data signal on a Voltage line?
Answer : NOISE!

Noise and grounding go hand in hand. Improper grounding in a PS or on a Mobo can cause all sorts of problems. Crashes, Corrupt data, funny looking specs. on the Monitor, or all sorts of stuff that can be harder than heck to diagnose. Again the Generic PS may not have adequate grounding and this will cause a lot of grief, time and money. This has only ONE cure.
BUY A GOOD QUALITY POWER SUPPLY. One that is big enough to handle the load. 350 watts minimum and a brand name that is on the approved list for your CPU.

Keep in mind this does not take into account the CPU Fan, Case Fans or any added Hardware.

Mike

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My System (http://mbdc.net/mike/index1.html)
Iwill KA266-R | AYHJA(Y) 1.3 @ 140x11=1540 | Vantec FCE 62450D | 1.80v | 512 PC2100 | Geforce 2MX | SB Live | Win98SE | 33 C Idle/36 C Load

[mjc]

Hey, Mike31

I've been trying to compile all that stuff into one nice neat list and wow, there it is! Thanks! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

Gun Control...hitting what you aim at!