350W Proprietary PSU Pinch

[SniperSlap]

I just came across a free Pentium D 3.0GHz. I have an old coolermaster Cavalier 3/4 Desktop case kicking around, so I figured I'd slap them together.

The PSU in the Cavalier has the following specs (and his shamefully proprietary!!):

Output Wattage: 350 Watt
Mechanical Type: ATX12V-PS2
Safety/EMI Approved: TUV, UL/CUL, CE, FCC-B
Dimension (W x H x D): 120 x 85 x 155 (mm)
Dimension (W x H x D): 4.7 x 3.4 x 6.1 (inches)
DC Output Spec:
Voltage 3.3V 5V 12V -12V -5V 5Vsb
Current 28A 30A 15A 0.8A 0.3A 2A
Combine 300W


Taking a look at the 5V rail, we can see it carries the bulk of the juice for this system. I just picked up a 5670 for the machine, figuring that as it doesn't require a 6pin connector, it's getting all of it's power from the 5V rail, while the Pentium D is gnawing on the 12V rail. The machine only has 1 HDD and one optical drive. Heat hasn't been much of a problem, so I haven't hooked up any additional fans yet.

I used to run an Athlon 64 2800 with a GeForce 6600GT in this case, which by what I remember was an almost more power hungry combo.

Am I in okay shape here? I just want to make sure I'm not kidding myself with my conclusions. Thanks to all!

 

[HOOfan 1]

The HD 5670 will be pulling 12V power from the PCI-E slot itself....but only on the order of 30W-60W 2.5A-5A As far as I know the PCI-E slot doesn't use 5V at all...just 3.3V and 12V

But, you only have 180W available on the 12V rail...those Pentium Ds can use up to 90W-130W...if you run them to the edge and certainly if you overclock it.

 

[SniperSlap]

The HD 5670 will be pulling 12V power from the PCI-E slot itself....but only on the order of 30W-60W 2.5A-5A As far as I know the PCI-E slot doesn't use 5V at all...just 3.3V and 12V

But, you only have 180W available on the 12V rail...those Pentium Ds can use up to 90W-130W...if you run them to the edge and certainly if you overclock it.

No overclocking for me, I wouldn't dare with such a confined space (in spite the decent cooling). The most I'll get done is Sins of a Solar Empire and World of Warcraft. Knowing that I've run this PSU for almost 6 years now, I'm pretty confident in it.

I just wanted to make sure the newer technology wasn't going to surprise it too much.

Thanks for the info on the 12v rail in PCI-E, I was under the impression it only supplied 5! I guess that's all for USB devices then eh?

 

[TemjinGold]

If you've run the PSU for 6 years, you no longer even have 180W available so it might not work...

 

[SniperSlap]

If you've run the PSU for 6 years, you no longer even have 180W available so it might not work...

I'm not too sure I follow, can you elaborate a bit? 🙂

 

[fralexandr]

He's refering to the fact that the rails will degrade over time. It's one of the reasons why buying a psu with a bit of overhead is a good idea.

 

[Blastman]

A 5670 draws 28.7w while gaming split … xbit

3.3v x 0.7a = 2.31w
12v x 2.2a = 26.4w

Total ………28.7w

That P4 D 3.0 shouldn't consume more than ~ 100w see … xbit (a P4 D 2.8 used 94w).

So, with a 180w available on the 12v line, you should be fine.

 

[SniperSlap]

He's refering to the fact that the rails will degrade over time. It's one of the reasons why buying a psu with a bit of overhead is a good idea.

I'd be interested in learning more about how that happens. I wouldn't say this PSU has been running 24/7 for 6 years however. It's spent a decent amount of time unused after about a year of solid use.

(Which is why after coming upon some free parts I decided to use it!)

All in all, I'm actually quite surprised by the 5670 too, not bad.

Thanks for all the help, this system has been running for a few days now. A little on the slow side given the cobbled together ghetto parts (ECS motherboard and 2GB of slow memory). But this isn't my definitive gaming machine - that'll come later this year or early next.