PSU for ECS K7S5A Pro

[sunburninaz]

I'm doing a budget upgrade potentially using an Athlon XP 1800 and an ECS K7S5A Pro mobo. I was told that the ECS board required at least 30A on the 5 volt line. I can't find anything with 30A or more without upgrading to a 400W psu. I've seen other posts here indicating that 300W & 350W units were used with this board. What's the real story here? What would happen if my current psu had just 25A on the 5 volt line?

Thanks.

 

[mechBgon]

The board reportedly powers the CPU off the 5V line and therefore appreciates a strong 3.3V + 5V combined output especially much. You could probably do fine with this 300W Sparkle Power unit for $27, or bump to a 350W for another $11 and feel more comfortable about adding high-drain stuff like an upper-end video card, down the road. Another one that I heard good things about was this Enlight 360W unit for $39 shipped, which has two ball-bearing fans too.

The quality of some of the flashy-looking PSUs is really low and does cause problems, so stick with a good brand, is my advice. Antec, Enermax, Sparkle Power, Enlight and Heroichi have earned good remarks around here. Powmax, Raidmax, Deer ---->

 

[pspada]

I beg to differ - I've used the Raidmax 350w power supplies and cases for some time now, without a single problem.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: pspada
I beg to differ - I've used the Raidmax 350w power supplies and cases for some time now, without a single problem.

Ok, that's one vote in favor of Raidmax then

 

[JimRaynor]

Well I am using one on this machine I'm typing on right now. It is powered by a 350 Enermax. Works fine, never had any problems.

Then there's my parent's comp. Bought a enlight case and it came with a 300 fortron I believe, anyways the system frequently suffered from the much documented "cold boot" problem. So I figured, ok, this power supply is probably just not cutting it. Next bought a 300W antec. Same problem, cold boot. Finally I just said F it and I bought an epox mobo with igp and washed my hands of it.

So I guess the conclusion would be 300 possibly won't cut it, might want to get at least a 350 if you want to be safe. (From a reputable manufacturer).

 

[Buz2b]

Originally posted by: mechBgon

Originally posted by: pspada
I beg to differ - I've used the Raidmax 350w power supplies and cases for some time now, without a single problem.

Ok, that's one vote in favor of Raidmax then

I'd tend to agree with the theory that the Raidmax is a 50/50 proposition with that MB. I'd say if you're not going to add a lot of power hungry components, you would be ok. But why put yourself through the worry; just get a "decent" PS in the first place and not worry about it. Trust me, it's well worth the few extra bucks.

OK, that's one vote against the Raidmax then.

 

[JimRaynor]

That's the problem with the K7S5A, it is a pretty good, cheap board *IF* you already have a good power supply. If you have to go out and buy a really good power supply just to use it, kind of defeats the purpose of buying the motherboard based on the price.

 

[Buz2b]

Originally posted by: JimRaynor
That's the problem with the K7S5A, it is a pretty good, cheap board *IF* you already have a good power supply. If you have to go out and buy a really good power supply just to use it, kind of defeats the purpose of buying the motherboard based on the price.

Nobody said "expensive" PS; just a decent one. As mechBgon mentioned, the $27, 300w Sparkle works well. I have used that combo (board and PSU) more than a couple of times with no problem. The emphasis is on "decent", as in good quality.

 

[JimRaynor]

Also, I've read that some of the newer bios like the "cheapoman" bios or maybe some of the other ones can fix the cold boot problems. Anyone have experience with a bios flash fixing cold boot?

 

[Buz2b]

From what I read over at that other forum, it's still a hit and miss whether the BIOS flash solves anything to do with the cold boot problems some have had. However, there is a good deal of info there on various "fixes" for that.

 

[gsxr944]

I've read numerous posts about the BIOS and/or the PSU being the problem with this board. I first re-flashed my BIOS with the cheepoman version and used some of it's different settings trying to find one that would be stable,...unfortunately the BIOS thingy was inconclusive,..so I finally bought a new PSU (ANTEC SmartBlue 350) and so far so good. It does seem as if the "better/more decent" PSU has done the trick. I had a 350w PSU in the case that was "supposedly" qualified for P4 and AMD systems,..but after purchasing the Antec I can tell a difference.

I run 3 system fans, a DVD-ROM combo drive, HDD, floppy, USB card, ATI Radeon and an old 32bit sound card,...my guess is that all these devices was drawing a big load on bootup and therefore needed better power.

Just my 2 cents,..hope it helps!

 

[brentkiosk]

My Foxconn case with a 300W Enermax (I think) PSU has run this K7S5 A extremely reliably since January.