12V @ 15A PSU with an Athlon 64, will it work?

[Hard_Boiled]

I'm going to be upgrading to an A64 3000+ and a 6800GT tomorrow, and although my PSU is 425 watts I've been reading about the amps on the 12V rail. Most of the information I've seen says that these newer CPU's and video cards need 18 Amps or 20 Amps. Mine supplies 12V @ 15A.

My PSU is a Turbo Cool 425 ATX, the original kind not the deluxe. I took a look at the Deluxe version, and one of the only differences on the spec sheet is the amps on that 12V rail. The Deluxe version supplies 20A. PCP&C makes a good PSU and I've always been happy with my 425 ATX, but this has me worried

I have two 7200 rpm IDE drives and one CDRW as the only drives in my system. Will adding a 6800 GT and an Athlon 64 put me into a problem area?

Edit: It turns out my old 425 ATX did not have the required 4 pin connector for my new mobo, and I had to buy a new PSU. Got an Antec True Power 4330 that supplies 12V @ 26A.

 

[StrangerGuy]

From what I heard, A64s actually uses less power than AXPs and Nvidia themselves said that 6800GT needs only a 350W PSu.

I run a 1.8GHz AXP, 1GB RAM and a 9800 Pro on a generic 300W PSU and I experienced no problems at all.

So I think your PPC 425W should run your system fine and don't worry too much about it.

 

[Algere]

Aside from the GT (see sig), my systems been running fine since the beginning of the year @ 13A on the 12V line.

 

[anthrax]

I dunno.. I wouldn't push it if I were you..... I am still trying to figure out why my Athlon 64 is not stable. and I am suspecting that my SPI 350W PSU can't take it....

 

[arcas]

Doesn't this depend on the mainboard? Are some mainboards not designed to derive CPU power from the 3.3V rail while others are designed to derive it from the 5V or even 12V rails?

 

[Hard_Boiled]

Arcas, I think it depends if you are running AMD or Intel. Now I don't know much about these voltages and what they power, but I believe I read that AMD machines will draw power from the 12V line for the CPU, while Intel CPU's draw from the 5V line. I have no idea if that is just a general rule of thumb and it can differ from mainboard to mainboard, chipset to chipset.

[L]http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/cases/PCPC475_1.html[/L]

That is a 475 Watt version of my PSU, with the same specs on the 12V @ 15A. I can see in the pictures that the reviewer has opened the PSU casing, and says it is possible to adjust the potentiometers once it's opened. I'm wondering if it's safe to up that a little bit. I just don't want to turn on my new computer today and have it blow up in my face, I've heard horror stories of people putting new rigs together only to be foiled by their PSU.