Do i need to upgrade my power supply? Please, let me know.

[Milito01]

Hey everyone, im upgrading to an Iwill 333-r motherboard with an XP 1500 processor, and 256 megs of ram. I plan on putting it into the case which holds my old Celeron 433 board and processor. I cant remember the name too well..but its a full-size server tower, it cost me 150 bucks. It has a 300 watt power supply. Im wondering, will i need to get a new P/S? Is it too old? Would it support the requirements of an XP processor?

I cant remember or see a case name...it might be something like the "Supra-A" or something

Thanks for your help


-Adam

 

[ojai00]

Depends on what else you're running under that hood. If you're just running the motherboard, processor and RAM, then the 300 is good enough, but I would get a 350-400W power supply just to be on the safe side. Can you post some more specs so we can make a better suggestion for you?

 

[Milito01]

Sure, no problem. I'll add my specs:

Here is what my system will consist of:

XP 1500 processor
IWILL X333-R Motherboard w/ Onboard 6-channel sound
3com TX-compatable NIC
Riva TNT2 Video card
about 4 fans including the processor
256mb DDR memory
Ancient Tekram SCSI controller
1 Plextor 8X4X32 burner
1 SCSI NEC 32X CD ROM
1 IBM 40 gig 60gxp hard drive

Thanks!

 

[billyjak]

Don't skimp on the power supply.
I only buy PC Power Turbo Cool power supplies. They are the best made period.
Look here
You will get a much higher oc if you use these. A 450w recommended, their expensive though .
PC power supplies have built in line conditioning, so they maintain their current far better than say ethermax or Antec
Iv'e used both and they don't compare to the Turbo cool.
I will generally get a 5 to 15 % better oc with the Turbo cool
I couldn't beleive it at first but my old 1 gig Athlon would only do 1.33 on an Antec or ethermax, I dumper in the Turbo cool and hit 1.460 without a hicup on my old KT7 Raid.
I'm using a 450w Turbo cool right now on my 1900+ and it is running at 1.730 right now.

 

[Milito01]

Well, i dont plan on overclocking, and I dont exactly have a lot of money to spend right now. Im on a tight budget. Any more suggestions?

 

[tenoc]

Ran an Enlight 7237 with 300W ps with 60 gig Maxtor, DVD, Burner, sound card,
GF2 GTS Pro, ECS K7S5A (picky about ps's) and 4 fans. Zero probs.

Oops, edit.

Also, XP1700+. A few bucks more will get a 1700+ or 1800+ instead of a new ps.

 

[ACE]

I'm I missing something here? When we talk power supply and add up all the possible wattage useage will it really come anywhere near 300 or even 200?

 

[Pabster]

It isn't so much the total watt usage as how many watts on a given voltage rail.

Not all 400W or 500W supplies are created equal. The cheap ones have very low output on the criticial rails (3.3, 5, 12) and usually 180W or less between them. A good quality one (Antec 400W are my favorite) has 245W between the +3.3 and the +5.0.

As others have said, don't skimp on the power supply.