[SOLVED] What's the lowest wattage PSU you could run an AMD FX-4100 on?

FPS Scotland

Distinguished
Jul 17, 2013
49
0
18,540
So I've got a bunch of old parts I'm planning on turning into a plex server. The old PSU was a no name brand hunk of <Mod Edit> so I'm getting a new one to be safe and I'm curious how low I could drop the wattage.

Specs are:

AMD FX-4100 CPU
Asus M5A78L-M XL PLUS Micro ATX Mobo
2 x 4GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical DDR3 - 1600 (Yeah I told you it's old)
No hard drives as of yet, but likely to be a SATA SSD for windows and a 3 or 4 TB HDD for storage.
No case as of yet either.
No need for a standalone GPU, the motherboard has integrated.


I've seen people say you could run that off of a 250w PSU but I'm unsure if that's pushing it a bit too far, and I'm doubtful you could even get decent quality 250w ones. I've also seen people say you want 450 for that stuff.

Also for a plex server that isn't likely to be drawing too much power is there much to be gained by going for a gold PSU?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Solution
So I've got a bunch of old parts I'm planning on turning into a plex server. The old PSU was a no name brand hunk of <Mod Edit> so I'm getting a new one to be safe and I'm curious how low I could drop the wattage.

Specs are:

AMD FX-4100 CPU
Asus M5A78L-M XL PLUS Micro ATX Mobo
2 x 4GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical DDR3 - 1600 (Yeah I told you it's old)
No hard drives as of yet, but likely to be a SATA SSD for windows and a 3 or 4 TB HDD for storage.
No case as of yet either.
No need for a standalone GPU, the motherboard has integrated.


I've seen people say you could run that off of a 250w PSU but I'm unsure if that's pushing it a bit too far, and I'm doubtful you could even get decent quality 250w ones. I've also seen people...

DSzymborski

Titan
Moderator
A cheap 450W is more than enough. You can even go Corsair VS class.

What resolution are you streaming? If you're playing higher bitrate videos remotely over Plex, you're going to want a real GPU in there. Not a good GPU or anything, but those HD 3000 integrated graphics aren't something I'd want to use with a task more difficult than solitaire.
 

FPS Scotland

Distinguished
Jul 17, 2013
49
0
18,540
Yeah I know a 450 is probably enough, I'm wondering if I can go lower.

According to the plex FAQ, the CPU is more than fine for 1080p streaming, so that's as high res as I'll be going on this system.

I do have a few old useless GPUs as well (HD 6670), but I'm most likely only going to be using this locally, so it's probably not necessary for one, at least as per my understanding of the plex FAQs.

Also one of those GPUs is an Nvidia 500 series card, and I absolutely want to avoid putting a jet engine/space heater in this system if I can possibly avoid it.
 
So I've got a bunch of old parts I'm planning on turning into a plex server. The old PSU was a no name brand hunk of <Mod Edit> so I'm getting a new one to be safe and I'm curious how low I could drop the wattage.

Specs are:

AMD FX-4100 CPU
Asus M5A78L-M XL PLUS Micro ATX Mobo
2 x 4GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical DDR3 - 1600 (Yeah I told you it's old)
No hard drives as of yet, but likely to be a SATA SSD for windows and a 3 or 4 TB HDD for storage.
No case as of yet either.
No need for a standalone GPU, the motherboard has integrated.


I've seen people say you could run that off of a 250w PSU but I'm unsure if that's pushing it a bit too far, and I'm doubtful you could even get decent quality 250w ones. I've also seen people say you want 450 for that stuff.

Also for a plex server that isn't likely to be drawing too much power is there much to be gained by going for a gold PSU?
There's a line you draw when it comes to power supply quality and going below that puts your system at unnessary risk. Even though your system could run on a 300 watt PSU, there are no quality models in that range worth recommending. The low budget Corsair CX450 will have an easy time with your system and is sufficient quality to recommend. The price is reasonable and gives enough headroom for some upgrades.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/FQ648d/corsair-power-supply-cp9020101na
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Solution