2 power supplies

[yelo333]

I am planning a computer upgrade on very little money. I am not sure if my current power supply(250w) will take the strain.
I was thinking of: (with a * beside new components)
12 GB quantum fireball
6 GB western digital
floppy drive
40/10/32 cd burner
50x cd rom drive
*abit nf7 mobo
*athalon xp 2000+ cpu
*256mb of ddr kingston or crucial
*radeon 9000 video card
I think those would be all the components that would take a significant amount of power.
if my 250w power supply could not take the strain, would it be ok to se my old 200w AT powersupply on top, and drill a hole in the case to drop down power connectors, and power my drives off of it, and run everything else on my 250w ATX?I realise this would mean flipping power switches in a very specific order.

Thanks!

 

[LiLithTecH]

You need a little more head room then a 250w PSU for your Athlon.
Here is an idea of the power comsumption.

93w - CPU + Fan
55w - (2) IDE HD
25w - Motherboard (w/onboard devices)
20w - 256 memory module
16w - CDRW
15w - AGP Slot (constant current draw)
04w - Floppy drive
03w - System (case cooling) Fan (ea.)
03w - Mouse & Keyboard (PS2) (USB = 10w)
234w TOTAL

Manufacturers run by the rule of CPU + 80% of the rest of the devices:
93w - CPU & Fan + 113w (80% of 141w) = 206w

That is the MINIMUM that should be used.

Your ATI Video card will use the 15w + requires additional power, depending on usage.

Your idea of combining the 2 PSU for additional power is feasible, as long it is connected to the
drives only, but sounds more like a accident waiting to happen.

 

[yelo333]

Thanks, but what do you mean by 'accident waiting to happen'?

 

[compso]

He might mean that because while it's possible to use dual PSU's it's not standard and not recommended. Like anything non-standard, it's an accident waiting to happen.

 

[dexmanone]

i picked up a 600w psu for less than $40 with shipping


no such thing as too much power........