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Antec Sonata II PSU question

J

jazzboy

Senior member
Hi there. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if I'm effectively wasting power using the PSU (450W Smartpower2) which comes with the Sonata II.

I'm planning on making a computer with the following specs.

A64 X2 4400+
1 GB Ram (2x512MB med timings)
Nvidia 6200 or ATI x300
2 Samsung 7200rpm SATA drives
MSI K8N Neo4-F
DVD-RW drive

The plan is to keep the computer resonably low powered. I know the X2s consume quite a lot of power but I will be using it due to the programs that I wish to use (not games - hence the low end video cards).

I really like the sonata II because its really quiet, has good PSU and isn't expensive. Now obviously this kind of spec is surely unlikey to stress the PSU which comes with the case. And because of that, would I literally be wasting power?


Thanks in advance
 
The PSU should be able to handle that, especially as it has 2 12V rails which should help with there being two-cores to power. If you had a high power graphics card, I would have said a better PSU might be needed, but by using a 6200 or X300, which are low power, it will probably balance out OK.
 
Oh, read your post again - I can't see what you mean by wasting power? The system will only draw what it needs to (i.e. that system for example might draw over 200watts on theoretical load) but having a 450watt PSU doesn;t mean it will be using 450watts permanently, it's just the maximum it can handle... Is that what you mean then??
 
All PSUs have a sweet spot where it's most efficient. Most good PSU hit the sweet spot around 80% power draw. The efficiency drops off when you draw less or more...
Really, you shouldn't worry too much about that. Having a lower rated PSU will just stress it some more and prob generate more heat. Whatever savings you get will not be worth the money you spend on a new PSU.
 
Originally posted by: A554SS1N
Oh, read your post again - I can't see what you mean by wasting power? The system will only draw what it needs to (i.e. that system for example might draw over 200watts on theoretical load) but having a 450watt PSU doesn;t mean it will be using 450watts permanently, it's just the maximum it can handle... Is that what you mean then??
Click to expand...


Yep.


Thanks for your advice, both of you.

 
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