What PSU would you recommend given these specs?

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dedsi

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Aug 10, 2004
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I would like to hear your comments and thoughts on what PSU that would fit with the following system:

P4 3.2 GHz (Prescott)
ATI X800 XT (PCI Express, with ViVo)
SB Audigy 2 ZS
2 CD/DVD
1 SATA Harddisk
1 GB RAM
2 case fans
and some external USB units like keyboard, mouse and so on.

I was looking at an "Antec TrueBlue 480PEC (480W)", what is your opinions on that? I would also like to have suggestions on other brands/models that you think would fit. Will 480W do or must I go higher? Or may I even make it with less?

Im quite novice on this PSU area so any information and/or suggestions are highly appreciated.

Also, as a subquestion...will using a 20-pin PSU-cable in a 24-pin motherboard connector do anything special? I know its possible, but is it recommended?

Thank you for reading this question. Your thoughts and comments on this issue are highly appreciated.
 
I second that vote for Antec's TrueBlue 480watt.
Good ps and reasonably priced too.


========================
Try everything...
Do not be afraid of failure, for this is how we learn and grow...
Live life to the fullest...
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how about an Antec true power 430w for a similar system(the p4 is 3.0 northwood and the graphics card is a 6800 gt , the rest is the same) is it enough?
 
Yea, For Pentium 4 systems with 2 or less hard drives, anything over 400 watts is enough, and a 350 will last awhile, but I like headroom. The overkill means your ps works easier and lasts longer and runs cooler.



========================
Try everything...
Do not be afraid of failure, for this is how we learn and grow...
Live life to the fullest...
Do not regret what you have not done!!!
 
Thanks for your reply.

So by this I assume that 480W will be enough to power my system. However, after reading up on PSU's and what to look at, I noticed that besides the watt-numbers I should look at the ampere (specially on the 12V railing). Some page/person argued that a good PSU should have at least 18-20 ampere on that specific railing (12V), and according to the trueblue specs they will provide 22 ampere. Is that good enough or is it barely usable?

Another note is that Antec themself recommended ATX12V v2.03 for systems using PCI Express, however I have not found any information whether the trueblue is v2.03 or v1.3. Does anyone know which version it is?

Thanks in advance.
 
Some page/person argued that a good PSU should have at least 18-20 ampere
Click to expand...
Might have been me actually. When I look at a PSU I pretty much completely disregard the watts figure. All the watts is, is a combined figure of the amps and volts, and if they put a bunch of amps on a ground, or 5 or 3.3 volt line, the watts go up considerably, but don't really help any.

I personally use a powersupply that has 18 amps on the 12 volt line. My system is using a 2800+ XP, gig of RAM, Two DVD/CD drives, Two hard drives, Equalizer, all my PCIs are filled, 12 fans, and a 6800.

22 amps is pretty healthy, and shouldn't give you an problems. As for the second part of your question, I'm not sure.

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Mr5oh,

thanks for your reply. As I said before, Im kind of novice on this PSU subject and thought that watts played a significant part of the performance, but after reading your post it doesnt seem to do that.

It surely sounds good that 22 ampere is enough for my system. However it seems like the trueblue is ATX12V v1.3, although I cant find a statement that actually says so. After going through Antec's products (Im only looking at Antecs products since Ive read so many good reviews about them..if you know any other good PSU, let me know) Ive found that NeoPower 480W is actually ATX12V v2.0 which provides the 24-pin connector to my motherboard (trueblue has a 20-pin connector). It seems to be aimed at PCI Express systems too, which I have. The specs for NeoPower is, if I remember correctly, 18 ampere on 12V1 and 15 ampere on 12V2. Is that good enough? How can I compare the neopower with trueblue when it comes to current? Will the NeoPower have a total current of 18+15=33 ampere?

What would be your suggestion? The TrueBlue 480W (22 ampere) or the NeoPower 480W (18 ampere on 12V1 + 15 ampere on 12V2)?

Thanks in advance.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by dedsi on 09/05/04 05:31 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
The specs for NeoPower is, ... , 18 ampere on 12V1 and 15 ampere on 12V2. Will the NeoPower have a total current of 18+15=33 ampere?
Click to expand...
Yes the NeoPower will have 33 amps. Some new PSU are starting to have two 12v rails. Choices on internal components start becomeing very limited when you start looking for something to carry the kind of amps that newer PCs are needing. I believe this is why PSU manufacturers are starting to use two 12v rails.

They make adapters to go from that 20-24 pin connector. Maybe it was 24-20, you'll have to check though and see which direction the adapters go.

As for a PSU selection, I agree with you on the Antec, they also get good reviews making them a good choice. NeoPower isn't a bad name either.

Personally after reading some stuff Crashman has posted, I am convinced that my next PSU will be from Sparkle. They are rated somewhere about 65-75% of their actuaul output, they also are rated to last longer than most PSU.

Also my point was that wattage wasn't important, just that it isn't the most important number. It still does give you an ideal of a PSU power, as it is a combined number of all the different ratings at the different voltages. (amps * volts = watts)

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Mr5oh,

thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. So to summarize, the TrueBlue will have 22 ampere on the 12V railing while NeoPower will have 18+15=33 ampere on the 12V railings. If ampere is an important number, then we have a winner, right? The NeoPower sounds good to me, but Im however interested in knowing if having relatively lower amperes on each single 12V railing (18 and 15 respectively) compared to the TrueBlue (22 ampere) will cause any problems (now or within a reasonable future)?

Basically, what I need to know is whether its better/smarter to buy the NeoPower or TrueBlue. Both may probably do its work today, but which is better in a longer perspective?

There exists 24-to-20-pin adapters (included with NeoPower), but I dont know about the other way around.
 
I don't see the sperate 18 and 15 railings affecting you. Figure it this way, the first 12v rail in the NeoPower is only 4 amps behind the TrueBlue, which is approxmately 36 watts. However it still has another 180 watts on the second 12 volt rail. I don't really see either giving you problems in the near future. By the time you reach the limit of either PSU, it will be time to purchase another PSU anyways.

As for which is better? Depends are they both roughly the same price? Either will get the job done, and most likely will serve you well for the next few years at least. So if they are the same price, more amps is always better.

Also if you have any shops or sites locally that sell Fortron or Sparkle may check into these as well. As both these companies PSU actually are capable of putting out much more power than what they are rated.

In the end, you can never have enough amps, the closer you are to the limit of the PSU the hotter it will run. The hotter it runs the shorter life it has.

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Mr5oh,

thank you very much for your posts on this thread. The price for these two PSU is roughly the same so I have chosen to go with NeoPower.

Everyone,

thank you all for your input on this issue, it has been really informative and interesting. I really appreciate your help.
 
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