Do we really need 400W PS.

[Yonguma]

I am in the process of upgrading my pc to AMD 1Ghz. From all the posts that I've read about PS, most would recommend 300 and up, or get the highest you can afford. I would like to know how you calculate the need for certain wattages depending on what devices that you have.
I understand that not all PS are created equal, but, with a computer upgrade, all I'm changing is the MOBO, CPU and memory. I am currently using a 250w PS, and would the new cpu need a lot more wattages than what I have right now?
Does anyone know how to calculate how much wattages you need for your system?

 

[Desmoquattro]

I don't know if people actually calculate those things...but here check AMD's list out. I personally do not calculate the voltage requirements for every one of my drives or card or whatever...i just go with the more the better and I would lose sleep at night if i know that my generic power supply isn't providing consistent power to, let's say if i had a $200 hard drive...or $300 cpu...or $400 videocard...scary.

 

[crt1530]

I'm not sure I need all of the 431W that my Enermax PSU puts out, but it's nice to know that my PSU won't be causing my other components to crap out.

 

[Boonesmi]

ive never had problems with 300w ps

 

[nippyjun]

I think it's worth the extra 30-50 bucks to have the piece of mind of a more powerful power supply.

 

[Athlex]

Always nice to have extra power on tap. Also know that your computer will only draw as much power as it needs, so a 400W PSU isn't actually putting out 400W the whole time.
Enermax makes a nice 330W PSU that many outfits are selling for ~$60. Probably money well-spent to make sure your system is stable.

Link at Casetronic. I've dealt with these people several times and they're very helpful.

 

[Ajay]

Powerwise, if you have a _good_ 250W PSU, you'll be ok. With a 1GHz Athlon, you'll need decent cooling. If your PSU draws air in from the bottom (near the cpu) and exhausts _out_ the back of the case, with decent air flow, you will probably be ok.

You may want to check to the power ratings on the PSU. If you have at least 20Amps on the +5v rail and 14Amps on the +3.3v rail, you'll probably be ok.

I'm currently running a 1.2GHz TBird on a 250W Channel Well PSU. Run fine until I start to overclock to 1.33GHz, then I notice that I start getting larger fluctuations in voltage levels. I'll probably pick up an Enermax 350 Watt PSU (Antec would be a good choice as well), so that I can take my TBird to atleast 1.4GHz without worries.

YMMV,

-AJ

 

[gogeeta13]

i have a antec pop303tx(300 watt) and my 1.33 is on the way. just to be safe, i am building a outboard fanbus/power supply for my fans(6) and maybe some hdd's.