250watt power supply

[rory 0]

hi, got a new mobo, cpu and memory for someones's PC (not a DVR). Turns out their Power Supply is 250watts .. any ideas if this will push the new mobo .? Its an MSI, the CPU is 3 Ghz Celleron, 256MB DDR Ram .. 1HDD and 1 CDRW are the only other 2 things .. no specs on the mobo referring to power requirements .. New power supplies are expensive down here .. so if i can use this id prefer ./.

 

Thanks

Rory

[Lloyd 0]

I'd use an online 'power supply calculator' ... Google will get you many ...

 

example: http://www.vbutils.com/power.asp

[Securitymaster 0]

rory, if it's the one I think it is, then it will run it fine.

[WirelessEye 0]

Chances are that it'll run fine, but at the same time... you can get a 400w power supply for under $10.00

[rory 0]

Chances are that it'll run fine, but at the same time... you can get a 400w power supply for under $10.00

 

LOL .. where??

[Khandurian 0]

the computer will "skate" by.... a 3ghz computer should start at 300-350watts. Add a(n) SATA drive, and you better start at 400 watts.. Ive seen too many probems arise from not having enough power.

 

With the way the new processors are these days, I wouldnt build a computer with anything less than a 400watt. Cause you know the moment you leave, the customer is gonna hook up everything he can to that computer.

[rory 0]

thanks guys .. ended up getting a 550 watt today .. just hookin it up now

[kensplace 0]

Main problems I found using underspec'd psu's were it can cause the capacitors to fail earlier in the psu, and even on the mobo, if the voltages go out of spec due to the psu being over-pushed and failing. Its one of those problems that can take time to show up, but can be fatal to a pc.....

 

Classic sign is the bulging capacitors, although often they can fail these days on their own accord, due to the **** up where someone stole the forumala from a rival manu, and loads of boards are failing early.

 

When you look at a PSU, the overall wattage can be misleading, as its distributed over the various power rails (3.3, 5,12,-12 etc etc) you need a psu that has enough amps on the rails used by the equipment you use (intel relies on the 12v rail mainly If I recall, but worth checking). Different quality PSU's will have different amp ratings for the rails, they are usually shown on the psu itself.

[CSG 0]

yeah, and get the new atx standard with the 24 pin power connector!

[voloftn 0]

I have an Antec True Power 500w powering my dual core 3 Ghz Intel. It is also pulling 3 SATA drives, 1 DVD-ROM, Geovision 1480, Floppy, ATI X700 video card, 2 case fans, & 1 CPU fan. Voltage is running at 12.5 on the 12v channel.

 

The power supply is running so cool that the back fan hasn't even run yet. It only runs when needed. It does have an internal fan that pulls air through.

[kensplace 0]

12.5v is very close to the ATX spec limit of + or - five percent tolerance on the 12v line.

 

12.6v would be the limit (12v + 5 percent), anything over that could risk pushing past design tolerance for anything connected to it.

[rory 0]

voloftn, thats what i got, except its 550 ..

[Khandurian 0]

Ive bought and used Antec powersupplies for years. They were on the top of the list when AMD used to test and recommend powersupplies on their website. If I was unable to get an Antec due to time constraints or whatever, there was a local shop to me that used to sell Sparkle PSU's. There were ranked in the top 5.

 

Whats disappointing, is AMD no longer does that kind of testing and recommendation. However, I still use and recommend Antec.