Athlon 800 Came with 250w power supply, should I raise helI?

[Train]

I ordered a custom built box from this guy, has an Athlon 800, its supposed to arrive tomarow, but after reading several posts in here i decided to go back and check the specs of the machine, and it only has a 250 watt power supply, whats up with that? Should i make the guy send me the 300 watts? or can he get away with giving me the 250, since it was on the list when i ordered it, even though at the time i didnt know AMD recomemds 300 watts. Can some one give me a link to any documentation on this subject? i would really appreciate it.

- Neil
(No, I'm not the same Neil that has been posting retarted threads over at TomsHardware.com, as a lot of people have been asking me)

 

[PCAddict]

I would certainly insist on a better power supply. As the basis for your argument, I'd insist on a power supply that is on AMD's list of approved units.

 

[Tripleshot]

It may be that the 250W is approved,but to check,goo to AMD's website for the list of approved power supplies.There is a list.I will not build an athlon,duron,tbird system without at least 300W.There are some power supplies that may void a warrenty on your cpu.

Go to there website.

 

[Henry Kuo]

it might be approve, but still i don't see why you shouldn't ask for a 300W. plus if you go for a gf or gf2, you have a much better chance with a 300W ps.

 

[Russ]

Train,

If it was part of the component list when you ordered the system, you have no right to "make the guy" do anything. Perhaps you should read more carefully ordering.

Russ, NCNE

 

[veryape]

I built my Athlon 650 system with a non-approved 250 watt ps and have not had any problems with it in the 4 months ive run it.

 

[403Forbidden]

If the guy doesn't wan;t to substitute a 300 watt PS, just cancel the whole deal and shop with a better re-seller. Assuming he's a reseller or merchant, it's his fault for not informing you.

 

[Pete]

Um, if the system works as shipped, what do you have to complain about, other than your own ignorance? I ordered a Gateway for a friend, and assumed it would come with a proper MB. It came with integrated video which eliminated the AGP slot, but the onus was on me to have made sure before-hand. I got the system I asked for, just not the upgradability I assumed. My fault.

I would definitely try talking nicely to the guy, instead of assuming a righteously indignant tone. AMD recommends 250W PS's as well, so you should have a problem with the included one if it's on AMD's list. If you really want a 300W PS, the easiest thing might be to ship just the PS back to him for credit, and either buy a 300W from him or get the well-regarded Antec PP303X PS (300W w/variable fan) for $35 online. If you have the $ for an 800MHz Athlon system, you should have the $30 for a new PS.

 

[John]

Should i make the guy send me the 300 watts? or can he get away with giving me the 250, since it was on the list when i ordered it, even though at the time i didnt know AMD recomemds 300 watts.

AMD recommends 250w & 300w for all Athlon's. If you wanted a 300w you should have specified it BEFORE the sale.

Assuming he's a reseller or merchant, it's his fault for not informing you.

Informing Train of what? There are MANY approved 250w power supplies so I don't see what all the fuss is about. If you are really worried about it, simply ask the merchant if he will cross-ship a 300w with you and you install it yourself.

 

[BenSkywalker]

I have a non approved 250watt generic PS running with an Athlon/GeForce combo and have had no problems whatsoever arising from the PS. I wouldn't worry about it at all unless you have problems, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Train]

Its not like i just clicked on a computer and bought right away, I looked over the spec for several hours, comparing it to many other computers. But i did not know that 300 watts was recomended by AMD until after it was ordered. Upgradeability and sufficient power are very different, its not like buying a poor motherboard that works, its buuying a good PS that may not have enough power for all the components this comp comes with. I think i am perfectly justified in posting this thread, i dont need people calling me ignorant.

 

[corkyg]

It was a valid post - and a good question. You got a variety of answers, but reacting personally to an abstract principle (caveat emptor) is not-useful.

The 250 watter may run just fine if you do not have a lot of peripherals and case fans and exotic coolers and multiple ATA devices and SCSI, internal and external.

Bottom line . . . use it and enjoy it. If it gives you problems, then take it back to your builder and and insist he make it right. He is the one who really showed ignorance by not researching AMD's requirements. And you can tell him you know why it probably didn't work. I would not raise hell . . . but I would quietly and firmly insist that it be fixed. Changing a P/S on a ATX case is about a 5 minute job total, and not expensive.

I build about 2 systems a month for selected clients . . . all but one have been AMD processors. All use recommended power supplies. None have come back.

 

[Train]

actually, the same system comes with a geforce 2, a 2nd harddrive, and an extra fan already installed, thats one of the reasons i was wondering, does the geforce 2 suck a lot of power?

 

[BenSkywalker]

"actually, the same system comes with a geforce 2, a 2nd harddrive, and an extra fan already installed, thats one of the reasons i was wondering, does the geforce 2 suck a lot of power?"

GF2 sucks down less power then a GF1.

At the same time I have had in my system-

Athlon 550
192MB RAM
20GB DMP 7200RPM
4GB Quantum BF
32X Toshiba CD-ROM
2X Encore DVD
Herc Prophet DDR
Aureal Vortex2 Soundcard
56KB modem
10/100 NIC
USB Keyboard and Intellimouse Explorer
USB Vid cam
Encore DXR2 decoder(which never worked with my K7M, but that is a known issue with drivers and didn't work without anything but vid card and HD).
1.44MB Floppy drive
Three fans
All running off the PS

No problems with power whatsoever. If your system doesn't give you any problems, don't give it a second thought. It is only a possible issue when you do have problems. The .18u Athlons, which your 850 is, draws quite a bit less power then the original chips which are the ones that were known for problems. The GF2 also draws quite a bit less power then the GF1. You shouldn't have anything to worry about, particularly if you are buying the entire system pre-built.

 

[DaddyG]

Don't worry about the power supply. It's not the so called total power that's at issue, it's the quality of the power supply. Some 300 watt rated supplies are crap, the voltage is not stable. Many Athlon systems are sold with 200 watt supplies. The early Athlon boards had poor regulation, they couldn't handle the power needs. Newer boards have better regulators and work fine. As well as the list of supplies, AMD has photos of the good type and the bad type.

 

[DarkManX]

compaq ships 1GHZ athlons with 200watt power supply's. Ask paulson his comcrap got a 200watt PS.

 

[dirtboy]

As long as the computer runs and there are no power supply related problems, you have no recourse. Now if you go and add a bunch of peripherals and find that you need a larger p/s, that's your problem for not anticipating future needs.

I would assume they have tested that p/s with that configuration and found it to be satisfactory. Even if it was a non-AMD approved p/s, as long as it works with the equipment they sold you, you have no recourse.

 

[HannibalX]

The guy isn't gonna stiff you and give you a powersupply that doesn't work. He probobly sells alot of systems that are of that config all using that PS.

 

[403Forbidden]

If that guy is selling stuff without informing the consumer, then his business will most likly suffer. word of mouth is the best (and worst) advertising

 

[HannibalX]

403, Train stated that the specs listed the PS as being 250 - so the owner wasn't keeping any info from him or trying to miss lead him.

You guys are overplaying this, there is no magicle law that says an Athlon absolutly will not work without an Athlon certified 300 wat power supply. If it didn't work, HE WOULDN'T SELL IT!

 

[sandorski]

I've heard people on this board and on others who just spit out a 300w ps recommendation, but if you look at AMD's ps list, they even recommend a particular 235w ps. If the system hasn't been shipped yet, you could request a 300w ps, but if you have it and it works, just enjoy it.

 

[ltk007]

I had a crappy 300w supply die on me (Antec 300w), but my system works fine on my parents extremely old 235w (for the time being). Don't worry bout it.

 

[zogg]

The main thing is the power supply should supply 20 amps on the 5 volt rail adn 1 amp on the standby. I have a 300 watt powersupply that supplies 25 amps on the 5 volt and 1 amp on the standby for saleif you are interested. email me at zogg@optonline.net

 

[jaydee]

I'd get 300w even though you are in no position to ask the guy for one after you agreed to it.

 

[Thanatopsis]

I'm pretty sure the guy tests his systems before he ships them out to you. If it works with a 250watt PS, arrives at your house and is stable, why should you be concerned?

Only if you have stability issues would be the reason to get a 300w power supply.