T-Bred 2100+ question....How big of psu is needed?

[Audiofight]

Alright.

I realize it is time to retire my old 300W psu. It has been a great unit, but I don't think it is will be enough to power my new rig that is coming next week.

A7N8X Deluxe
T-Bred 2100+
2 256 PC3200 w/ copper heatspreaders
Radeon 9500 non-Pro 128 MB (hack it to the 9700 and oc the hell out of it)
etc. etc.

multiple optical drives, zip, hdd, floppy

So, what size power size do I really need to overclock that T-Bred to the maximum? 400W?

Any ideas on how much power is required for each rail to be good and efficient?

 

[majewski9]

Shoot you definately be able to get by on 300 watts for sure.

 

[jiffylube1024]

With that rig, you might be more comfortable upgrading to a name brand 350W, or even a 430W. Sure, the 300W will probably work with the rig, but for large amounts of o/cing, you will definately be happy with a bigger PSU. For overclocking the 2100+, I'd definately say get a 430W, since that CPU will drain a ton of current @ 2.4 GHz and your voltage rails will be all over the place with the 300W under load.

That said I have found Antec and Enermax power supplies to be excellent. I've hard good things about Sparkle and a few others, but I'm pretty happy with both of the previous two brands.

I've heard the "golden ratio" or whatever you'd like to call it for o/cing now is at least 30A/20A/30A on the 5V/12V/3.3V rails respectively. If you dip down a bit on the 3.3V rail that's ok because that powers mostly PCI cards, etc. Make sure the PSU has at least 30A on the 5V, and around 20A on the 12V rail (18 should be ok, but 20+ recommended).

 

[Audiofight]

I have found some decent power supplies. I will see what my roommate can do for me about buying an Enermax 430W psu. He works for a computer shop and they carry Enermax power supplies (or can order them at least) and he gets a nice discount.

The amperages was what I was looking for, those figures give me something to go on.

I am having a great deal of trouble finding any power supply for less than $100 that can produce 20A on the 12V line. I find a bunch that can do 18A though, hopefully that will be enough.

Thanks.

 

[chizow]

Hmmm where are you that PSUs are so expensive? If you are in the states or Canada, Amazon has a nice deal goin on TruePower PSUs. The newer Enermax's are also excellent from what I hear and deliver plenty of power to the 12V rail. Check the AT review, IIRC they calculated almost 400W max for the 12V rail.

I don't like to constantly upgrade my PSUs, so I typically go for more than I need at the time and pay a bit more for it. It provides peace of mind, heads-off any potential problems early, and puts off the need to upgrade that much longer. Plus you avoid the problem of having lots of little obsolete PSUs (250, 270, 300, 335, 350, etc.....) and instead have a few very capable ones for secondary and tertiary rigs. I Just tossed in a 480W TrueBlue b/c I didn' think the 430W would be that much of an improvement over my Antec 400W (PP-403X). Got the 480W for $92; the 430W was $79...well worth it IMO.

Chiz

 

[Audiofight]

I overlooked or was looking at the wrong psu

The Antec 450W puts out alot on the 12/5/3.3 rails. I already added it to my list of things to buy next Wednesday with my reimbursement check from the school.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: audiofight
I overlooked or was looking at the wrong psu

The Antec 450W puts out alot on the 12/5/3.3 rails. I already added it to my list of things to buy next Wednesday with my reimbursement check from the school.

The 450W I believe is a SmartPower (SL-450). I think it might be better to go with the 430W TruePower for about the same price or the 480W TruePower for slightly more. Reason being the SL line PSUs do not have individual power regulating circuitry for each rail like the TruePower line. The TruePower's also have the smart fan technology, which translates into significantly quieter fans (I've noticed the difference.)

Chiz