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Antec TRUE330w have enough power for this?

H

HotKetchup

Member
I'm building my first pc and was planning on the antec TRUE430w psu. But I need to shave some corners as far as cash goes so I was wondering if an Antec TRUE330W or Smart Power 350W would be sufficient for this setup:

CPU: XP 2600+ (T-bred 333)
Mem: 512 Corsair TwinX
HDD x2: 80gb WD 8mb cache and an old 20gb Seagate
bays: CD-RW, DVD, Audigy Drive, Digitaldoc 5, floppy
AGP: Radeon 9800 pro
PCI: Audigy 2 Platinum, modem, tv card

How can I find out how much power and amperage these components use?
 
The article lists 120watts of comsumption for the 2.8GHz P4 which seems way high to me!

Yeah, I just checked it out. The Northwood 2.8 has only ~69 watts of power dissapation.
http://www.intel.com/design/Pentium4/datashts/29864310.pdf
Plus, the figure they list for video cards is too low if you have a good video card.
And the figure they list for ram is misleading because ram power consumption depends a lot on chip density and process size. So even if you have a 1GB dimm, you're not going to use 80watts of power.
 
You should be fine with the True 330W but it would be near the limit of the PSU in my mind, you may want to opt for a more powerful PSU. Also, what case will you be getting? Cases that come with a powerful PSU are cheaper than buying them seperately so you may want to look into Antec cases. If you do, I reccomend the Antec Sonata which has a 380W supply and the fans are thermally controlled.
 
Originally posted by: zephyrprime
The article lists 120watts of comsumption for the 2.8GHz P4 which seems way high to me!

Yeah, I just checked it out. The Northwood 2.8 has only ~69 watts of power dissapation.
http://www.intel.com/design/Pentium4/datashts/29864310.pdf
Plus, the figure they list for video cards is too low if you have a good video card.
And the figure they list for ram is misleading because ram power consumption depends a lot on chip density and process size. So even if you have a 1GB dimm, you're not going to use 80watts of power.
Click to expand...
Correction: the thermal dissipation of a Northwood 2.8 is 69 watts typical. Max dissipation is 4/3 of that, by Intel's documentation on P4's.

Also, the voltage regulators on a motherboard are not 100% efficient, so a fudge factor of about 25% is sensible (touch a VRM... oh hey, it's hot, isn't it?). So... 69w x 4/3 x 1.25 = 115W peak draw, from the PSU's perspective.

 :light:
:Q

Most good-quality PSUs can surge to over 140% of their rated output for a while, too. People are always proclaiming "hah, my power supply is a 250W unit and it runs such-&-such." That's great, I can tow a 3000-pound boat with a Geo Metro too... for a while 😉 The more careful I am, the longer it'll work... but is it smart to redline stuff?

That said, I would bet the TruePower 330 would make it run fine, but with five drives, two memory modules, three PCI cards, a demanding video card, a CPU that approaches 70W max thermal dissipation, and presumably four or five 12V fans, I would lean towards a little more PSU if it were going to be my system. Think long-term. I use a TruePower 430 in a relatively lightly-loaded system but I'll bet you that TP430 is still kicking four years from now.

*puts on flame-proof suit and waits for the nay-sayers to show up* 😉
 
Originally posted by: Wolfsraider
Originally posted by: tbates757
good post mechbgon, I agree completely
Click to expand...

i agree

mechbgon is always providing logical/sensible advice

:beer:
Click to expand...
😱 ~ Aw, shucks

Yeah, even if a TP430 is overkill, there are worse ways to waste the extra $35, by my way of thinking. 😀
 
i have a p4 2.26, half a gig of pc800, 2 80gig mators, 2 optical drives, 9700pro, audigy 2, a couple of pci cards, 4 fans, and some cathodes. runs it fine on my 330true. you should have no problem. i'd go at least 380 to be futureproof though. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: HotKetchup
I'm building my first pc and was planning on the antec TRUE430w psu. But I need to shave some corners as far as cash goes so I was wondering if an Antec TRUE330W or Smart Power 350W would be sufficient for this setup:

CPU: XP 2600+ (T-bred 333)
Mem: 512 Corsair TwinX
HDD x2: 80gb WD 8mb cache and an old 20gb Seagate
bays: CD-RW, DVD, Audigy Drive, Digitaldoc 5, floppy
AGP: Radeon 9800 pro
PCI: Audigy 2 Platinum, modem, tv card

How can I find out how much power and amperage these components use?
Click to expand...

Similar setups have run fine on a standard 300w PSU*. The Truepower 330 should do that no sweat and leave you some room for upgrading. The Truepower would definitely be better than the Smartpower, too. However, if you've got the money, a Truepower 430 wouldn't hurt.

* I'm thinking a nice one with at least 185w on the 3.3 and 5v.
 
I was planning on the antec PLUS1080AMG case with TRUE430. It's only $119 at newegg right now. I was hoping I could get a cooler aluminum case with fewer fans and maybe spend less on a PSU. But that combo is at such a great price I feel like I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth... I think I'll just stick with the 1080/430.

And that psu calculator adds all the watts that your system could *potentially* use at one time. Chances are you'll never end up using every drive, card, and peripheral at the same time. So even if the watts are accurate for each component, it will still give you a figure larger than what you'll end up using.
 
If you really need to cut corners, i'd suggest cutting them elsewhere, but if you really insist, get the TruePower, as it's far better than the SmartPower. BTW, I have the 1080AMG, and it is the best case I have ever owned, and I have owned many.
 
Originally posted by: HotKetchup
I was planning on the antec PLUS1080AMG case with TRUE430. It's only $119 at newegg right now. I was hoping I could get a cooler aluminum case with fewer fans and maybe spend less on a PSU. But that combo is at such a great price I feel like I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth... I think I'll just stick with the 1080/430.
Click to expand...

Go with it. Often those really neat looking ones with all the fans don't cool as well anyway.
...and what about the Sonata w/ a TP380? Granted it is a bit smaller, but--

Either case will be perfectly good; just a matter of preference.
 
Originally posted by: JohnPaul
If you really need to cut corners, i'd suggest cutting them elsewhere, but if you really insist, get the TruePower, as it's far better than the SmartPower. BTW, I have the 1080AMG, and it is the best case I have ever owned, and I have owned many.
Click to expand...

Why exactly is the true FAR better than the smart?
 
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