Another "how much power do I need" thread...

[Vertigo-1]

Ok, I'm getting tired of losing sleep over this, so time to ask the Anandtech experts. The planned system is:

Lian-Li PC82 (which has 4-5 80mm fans I think)
Intel P4 3.2 gig
Gigabyte 8KNXP mobo
1 gig Kingston HyperX 3500
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
Hauppauge PCI WinTV tuner
Some 52X burner
Some secondary CDROM or another burner
Possibly a 1 or 2 WD Raptor and either 1 or 2 IDE HDs. Worst case scenario of 3 drives max either or.
Throw in a couple of USB devices if that matters.
And maybe a DVD burner in the future which would replace the secondary optical device.


So I've been pouring over power supply reviews the past couple nights, including previous threads about this, and couldn't really find a system in question similar to what I'm trying for here. The power supply I'd really like to settle on is the Vantec Ion 400W due to reviews being pretty consistent about it in terms of noise and reliability and it's relatively low price. But at the same time, most of those good reviews were based off systems from a year ago or so. So is the Ion good enough for this setup?

 

[Mem]

When buying a PSU I always look at getting more power then I need from a good quality PSU,the reason being it will last me through several upgrades before it`s underpowered so more power is always better then not enough when you look at it from long term point of view,having said that I would go with an Antec TruePower 480w PSU.

PSUs are very important part of the system so makes sense not to skimp on quality or power IMHO.

 

[tallman45]

In most cases I would say that the 400w is sufficient. But with the 8knxp you have the capability of connecting far more than the ordinary mb. You could still connect maybe 4 more IDE drives, plus 2 or more Sata drives. Then you still have 3 Pci slots free. As for Mem slots,you still have 4 free, although to fill them all you will need to switch to Single Sided Mem. The 9800 takes a lot of juice, as does the P4 3.2, don't forget fans to cool this rig.

I second the Antec 480w, when I was looking for a supply I think it was $6 more than the Antec 420w

 

[Vertigo-1]

I had considered the True480, except there's been several reviews mentioning that it throttles its fans down way too low and ends up cooking itself. Been staying away from Antec cause of that.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Except for maybe the 5 fans, a good 300 watt would run all of that including the 4 hard drives. A good 200 watt runs the shuttle cubes with 1-HD 1-optical and a 9800 pro.

So even with the fans, a 400w should be fine, if way louder than it needs to be for good cooling.

 

[JBT]

I have a Vantech stealth 470 Watt it has been great for me. only problem is its not so stealth with 3 fans in it even the lowest speed setting it is probably the loudest peice of equipment that I have unless I turn the CPU fan and video card fans all the way up. It isn't annoyingly loud by anymeans its just NOT silent.

I have heard the new Ion series is quieter than the stealth series so you shouldn't worry about that good luck.

 

[Vertigo-1]

Ok, just to be safe, I'll probably settle on this:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=17-104-968

Any last thoughts?