How much difference will a Power supply make?

[LIVAN]

I been reading about these super high end ENERMAX power supplies. I am running a Tbird at 147 FSB and 1100mhz. Will say a 500 watt Power supply from Enermax better for me then say a 300 watt SPI power supply? What are the symptoms of "bad power" Blue screens? freezes? Or what? Thanks for help.

 

[kimcheeboy]

I have an overclocked Celeron system with lots of hardware. I have DVD, CDRW, CDROM, 2 hard drives, ZIP drive, all PCI slots full and lots of fans. I used to have a 300W power supply. Although I wasn't really running into any PSU related problems, I opted to go the Enermax 350W PSU route cause it's better for cooling (dual fans) and quieter. Might I also add that it has the 12V connector that will be used exclusively on Pentium 4 motherboards so it'll be useful for the next generation of computer. I used to experience power fluctuations observed through Asus Probe. With the Enermax, the power readings are perfectly flat with NO fluctuations. Currently, I still have all the same hardware as above including 4 x 80mm case fans, Golden Orb, Blue Orb, slot cooler and HDD cooler. Lots of drain and the 350W Enermax doesn't budge. A great PSU if you have LOTS of power demand.

 

[gtd2000]

You certainly should never require that amount of power to run your system .. even 300W!
If your system is powering up no problem and able to run fans etc at the design speeds then you should be fine.
The moment your fans slow down you know u r exceeding the limit
The other thing is that often the sticker 300W, 500W or whatever have absolutely no relation to the actual "output" of the PS!
You may find your 300W PS actually only outputs 125W
But thats no big deal
Sorry I can't answer your actual question though

 

[Big Lar]

I run an Enlight 400 watt supply, and just for grins I installed my 300 watt PCPowerNcooling supply to see what if any diff there was, The 400 watt keeps my voltages rock stable, and the 300 watt had quite a bit of fluctuation to it, not to mention my voltage output was lower with the 300 watt.

 

[worms]

I have a heavily loaded system. When I replaced my PII with a T-bird the old Sparkle 300W gave up after 2 days of running. I am temporarily using an Antec 300W now and although the fan configurations of the Sparkle and Antec are identical and the voltage monitors read identically (high), the CPU runs a solid 4C cooler with the Antec power supply.

I'm in the market for a Enermax 450W now (although, according to AMD's power supply guide, the Enermax doesn't work very well)

 

[gtd2000]

Actually I kinda half take back what I said.....

I just checked my PS and although it is a 300W the actual output is a mere 125W supposedly? Not sure whether or not even that is accurate?

For the record I thought I'd test out the power requirements theory with the fans.

I have one Coolermaster 5000rpm fan and one additional rear exhaust fan. I noticed that the Coolermaster fan only ran at 4200-4300rpm with the "Via Hardware Monitor" and also "Motherboard Monitor 4.18"

I decided to unplug the additional exhaust fan - guess what the CPU fan now runs at 4600-4700!
Presumably my PS is actually insufficient for the actual requirements that I have.

My system is totally stable though so I'm not too worried about it

 

[worms]

The 125W rating is the combined output of the 5V and 3.3V lines only(basically the drives, m/b, and CPU). All that other wattage is for the 12V lines for your serial printers and stuff.? You are correct, wattage ratings of any and all products of all types are entirely fabricated and totally meaningless. I don't know why. Best you can do is assume relativity.

Your fan RPM should never change (unless it's heat sensitive) becuase the voltage should never change. This is critical. This is the key function of the power supply - to maintain absolutely perfect voltage under any load. Sounds like you're taking yours beyond the limit.

 

[CocaCola5]

I've been told if you want clean power you have to get a UPS. A highend Enermax can't prevent dirty power coming from our local utility. If your hardware use 300W then buy a 400W PS. I have the Enermax 451 and a APC 650Pro and my OC is still average(duron700@900max) so go figure.

 

[Sharkmeat]

I did the same test with the 400 enlight power supply with the pcpowercooling power supply and I seen no diff,s both worked to spec,s but the pcpowercooling had better made products (little detail stuff to keep the noise down with silicone placed in the right areas.I never use anything but pcpowercooling (not cheap)but my son has an enlight case with the power supply for what he could afford and works fine for what system he has. So if you want a good power supply go to pcpowercooling.com and check them out. They also have P4 cpu cables so you can still use the power supply you have if you get a new P4 cpu,and they will answer (ask for tech support)your questions on what you need so you don't over buy.

 

[gtd2000]

Did I mention that my PS cost US$9?
Brand new!