How much will a 300w power supply run?

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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RLiu818
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Post by RLiu818 » Tue Jun 01, 2004 1:55 pm

halcyon wrote:- Shuttle AN50R motherboard
- AMD Athlon 64
- 2 x 512 MB PC3200
- Ati Radeon 9800 Pro
- 2 x Samsung SP1614C (160GB SATA)
- 2 x DVD-/+RW drives
- 2 x CD-RW drives
- 1 x DVD-ROM drive
- PCI IDE controller
- 2 x sound card (one with an external break out box, using a molex connector)
- 3x80mm fans
- 1x90mm fan
= all running on a Fortron 300W PSU


regards,
halcyon
you have five optical drives in that one system? :shock:

im building a similar system (not nearly as many optical drives) and i was wondering if i can do stable overclocks with a 300W PSU

akelsall
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Post by akelsall » Tue Jun 15, 2004 2:52 am

I was just wondering if someone knows what the new 3500+, 3800+, X800XT and X800PRO would require.

If I were to build a system with:
AMD 3800+
ATI X800 XT Plat
1gig Corsair xms xt (2-2-2-5)
74gig WD raptor
160gig seagate 7200.7 sata 8mb

I'm not gonig to OC or do any major upgrades, so headroom isn't really necessary.

Would a good 350 watt antec (such as BQE, or the sonatas 380w) be sufficient?
Would it be safer (and quiter/cooler) to get an Enermax noisetaker 425 for it?

Thanks

MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Tue Jun 15, 2004 7:47 am

They don't need any more power than ~P4-2.8 Northwood; the 89W rating is the absolute max for the fasted CPU in the series. See this new article on A64 -- http://www.silentpcreview.com/article169-page1.html

The JoJo
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Post by The JoJo » Thu Jul 01, 2004 1:49 am

I'm running the following off a Nexus NX-3000:

Abit KT7A
Athlon XP1700+
768MB, two sticks
LSI Megaraid I4
5* Samsung SP1604N
1* Samsung 120GB 5400RPM (forgot the modell number).
Samsung 52x CD-ROM
Some old ATI graphics card.
Intel 1000/MT NIC


I'm about to put in 3 more SP1604N drives, but I think I'll probably need to upgrade my PS to something bigger? Anyone?

Jan Kivar
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Post by Jan Kivar » Sat Jul 03, 2004 11:53 am

Welcome to SPCR, The JoJo!

P80 series is rated for 1900 mA spinup current on the 12V rail, so by multiplying that by eight gives about 15A. The Nexus is also rated at 15A cont., so it might be too tight, especially as I didn't count other drives. IIRC KT7A uses 5V for CPU power (no 12V P4 connector?), so it doesn't put more strain on 12V rail.

After You get the drives spinning using a 300W PSU should not be a problem. If You want to play it safe, the new Nexus NX-4090 seems to have dual 12V rails.

Cheers,

Jan

The JoJo
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Post by The JoJo » Sat Jul 03, 2004 12:19 pm

Hi Jan!

Damm, I must have been drunk the last years, I didn't realize you where from this part of the woods too! Seing the location under your name was a small surprise, haven't seen that at storageforum.
Nice to see some friendly faces here :)

I just checked verkkokauppa, the local store I got my last nexus from, and they seemed to have the new Nexus you mentioned in stock. Guess I'll be ordering one on Monday. Thanks for the help! Gotta read through the latest posts here about it first.

Jan Kivar
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Post by Jan Kivar » Sat Jul 03, 2004 12:42 pm

The JoJo wrote:I just checked verkkokauppa, the local store I got my last nexus from, and they seemed to have the new Nexus you mentioned in stock. Guess I'll be ordering one on Monday. Thanks for the help! Gotta read through the latest posts here about it first.
Looking at the posts in this thread, there are only four large Molex connectors? Also there is no mention of the dual 12V rail, though it's somewhat mentioned on the Nexus site.

I think You need special cabling to supply power to all of those drives.

Cheers,

Jan

ROcHE
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Post by ROcHE » Fri Jul 09, 2004 4:15 pm

I have a Sparkle FSP300-60BT powering :

1 x Barton 2500+ at 3200+
1 x Abit NF7-S
2 x 512MB DDR400 Sticks
1 x NEC DVD-RW
1 x LG DVD-ROM
1 x Floppy Drive
1 x ATi Radeon 9500 Pro
1 x Western Digital 120GB
3 x 80mm fans


No problems. 24 hours Prime95 stable.

jojo4u
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Location: Germany

Post by jojo4u » Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:04 am

I am throwing in:

Samsung 112W ATX PSU
3.3V 6A
5V 10A
combined 70W
12V 36W

powering a
Duron 800
256MB RAM
Abit KT7
Geforce 2MX
3.5" Hdd
CDROM

MercenaryForHire
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Post by MercenaryForHire » Sat Aug 21, 2004 7:08 am

/dusts off his SPCR account

I'd like to blame Ralf Hutter for dragging me back into this by posting a link to this thread on AT. :P

Now doing the PSU limbo in my house is the HTPC:

IBM 75W SFF PSU
- P3 733MHz
- Radisys SC815E motherboard
- 2x256MB PC133
- FireGL T2-64s - occasionally gF4MX 440
- Seagate Barracuda IV
- Liteon 52x CDRW (the only brand of drive short enough at 170mm to fit!)

Playing video, running benchmark loops, or even some Doom 3 ( :shock: ! ) it's rock-stable. :)

- M4H

bishyb
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Post by bishyb » Sat Aug 21, 2004 1:37 pm

Fortron FSP300-60PN powering:

P4 2.4C @ 3.0
Abit IS7
2 x 256MB KHX3200
Sapphire 9800 Pro @ XT
Samsung SP1614C
LiteON LTR-52246S
Sunbeam Rheobus v2
2 x Sanyo Denki 120mm's
L1A 92mm
L1A 80mm

8)

shunx
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Post by shunx » Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:29 am

halcyon wrote:Please be aware that it calculates a worst case scenario where all components are stressed to the max at the same time. This rarely if ever happens in real world, unless you do it purposefully.
Well, if one uses a RAID array with lots of drives, all of them would be constantly in use at the same time, so I would definitely be careful about having enough power in that situation.

Jan Kivar
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Post by Jan Kivar » Mon Aug 23, 2004 7:31 am

shunx wrote:
halcyon wrote:Please be aware that it calculates a worst case scenario where all components are stressed to the max at the same time. This rarely if ever happens in real world, unless you do it purposefully.
Well, if one uses a RAID array with lots of drives, all of them would be constantly in use at the same time, so I would definitely be careful about having enough power in that situation.
HDs consume the most power when they spin up. That's why SCSI allows staggered spinup (HBA starts the drives).

Normal operations (seek/read/write) require only little more power compared to idle power usage.

Cheers,

Jan

shunx
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Post by shunx » Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:07 pm

Jan Kivar wrote:HDs consume the most power when they spin up. That's why SCSI allows staggered spinup (HBA starts the drives).
Some questions:
1) about how much current is on the 12V when a HD (say, a 7200.7) spin up?
2) which controllers if any allow for staggered spinup for ATA and SATA drives?

Jan Kivar
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Post by Jan Kivar » Tue Aug 24, 2004 7:00 am

shunx wrote:1) about how much current is on the 12V when a HD (say, a 7200.7) spin up?
Seagate says 2,8A max. [see page 8/18]. Note that this value is the absolute max value. IIRC, Samsung SP80 is spec'd 1,9A @ 12V and 0,6A @5V (max.), and Hitachi 7k250 1,72A @ 12V and 0,68A @ 5V (max.). Seagate doesn't specify 5V rail on startup, but lists 0,63A (typical max.) for 5V.
shunx wrote:2) which controllers if any allow for staggered spinup for ATA and SATA drives?
At least 3Ware's current controllers (both PATA & SATA) support staggered spin-up. I've checked latest HPT's & Promise's controller manuals (briefly), and they had no mention of staggered spin-up. I can understand the lack in Promise products, as they currently offer only controllers which support up to four drives. HPT on the other hand has an eight-port solution, which could be too much for a regular PSU (when using the max. capacity of the controller, obvously! :D) LSI doesn't mention staggered spin-up in the product brief of their newest SATA RAID controller, neither does SiI. Maybe 3Ware is the only one currently supporting this feature?

Cheers,

Jan

EDIT: See this post for more info and the original, unedited post.
Last edited by Jan Kivar on Wed Sep 01, 2004 7:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

Jan Kivar
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Post by Jan Kivar » Tue Aug 24, 2004 7:16 am

Jan Kivar wrote:Seagate says 2,8A max. [see page 8/18]. Note that this value is the absolute max value. IIRC, Samsung SP80 is spec'd 1,9A @ 12V and 0,6A @5V (max.), and Hitachi 7k250 1,72A @ 12V and 0,68A @ 5V (max.). Seagate doesn't specify 5V rail on startup, but lists 0,63A (typical max.) for 5V.
OK, I admit: I looked up those values. I don't really have that good memory. :D

Cheers,

Jan

Edward Ng
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Post by Edward Ng » Tue Aug 31, 2004 9:17 pm

Fortron FSP300-60PN:

Mobile Barton at 2645MHz & 2.156Volts
6800GT @ 440/1175...

Oh wtf should I type it all out again? Just click here!

That system is on FSP300-60PN; not even stock, it's modded with an undervolted Globe 120 to its internal line!

-Ed

EDIT: MORE IMPORTANTLY HERE ARE THE POWER ANGEL FIGURES FOR MY THREE RIGS!!!

You will need Excel to open it. First test is idle. Second test is CPUBurn Normal Priority. Third test for Gamma Three and Sigma One are RTHDRIBL with maxed aniso, maxed antialiasing, 1024x768 window.

Jan Kivar
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Post by Jan Kivar » Wed Sep 01, 2004 6:34 am

OK, seems that I (again?) typed something before checking it out throughly. I've edited this post, and the unedited version is below.

Sorry.

Cheers,

Jan
Jan Kivar wrote:
shunx wrote:2) which controllers if any allow for staggered spinup for ATA and SATA drives?
None I know of. ATA command set doesn't support delayed spinup (in SCSI this is set by jumpering the drive correctly), which is needed for staggered spinup. Perhaps if there is a controller which also supplies power to the drives. Then it might work. Don't know what the status is for SATA.

I do remember one thread on StorageReview.com's forums where someone said that some IBM/Hitachi drive might support delayed spinup. IIRC even then the drive needed some special firmware (supplied to OEMs only) and/or a special controller (with special firmware), which would send the "do not spin up right now" command to the drive when the computer was booted. Sorry, my memory is vague on this IBM/Hitachi matter. Suggest You search for SR.com's forums.

turtleman
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Post by turtleman » Thu Sep 02, 2004 3:53 pm

I think im losin my juice... Antec TruePpower 380..

AMD 2500 OC 3200
3 WD HD
1 Maxtor HD
ATI 9800 PRO
1 NIC CARD
1 Audigy 2
1 PCI Card
2 120mm FAN
1 80mm fan
1 DVDRW drive
1 DVD DRIVE
Logitech Elite Combo
1 Floopy..

and sometime my device would keep try to boot up.. because i don't know why. i think the juice is running out on the ps ... and if i disconnect one of the dvd drive, then everything is fine

MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Fri Sep 03, 2004 8:29 am

turtleman --

Components in PSUs Do AGE. It's a fact. Heat stress over time reduces the power / current capacity of caps transistors, etc. That could be what you're experiencing.

msm_zgok
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Post by msm_zgok » Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:34 am

Seasonic Super Tornado 300W Rev.A3
Shuttle AN35N Ultra + onboard sound and LAN
AMD XP-M 2200+ @ 1600MHz (8.0 x 200, 1.35V)
768MB PC3200 RAM (256MB + 512MB)
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9200 128MB
Western Digital 80GB HDD
Samsung 252F 52x32x52x
Nexus 120mm @ 12V
Antec 80mm LED fan @12V

Also ran it with a Seagate 160GB with no problems other than more heat.

aspd
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Post by aspd » Sat Sep 11, 2004 12:59 pm

Not a 300W PS, but a 350W Fortron Source (FSP35060PN).

Running without a hitch:
P4 2.66GHz at stock speed.
1024 MB RAM.
Matrox G550.
2xPromise Ultra100 TX2 disc controllers.
5xMaxtor 160 GB, DiamondMax Plus 9 7200RPM HD's.
3xWestern Digital Caviar 160 GB, 7200RPM HD's.
1xWestern Digital Caviar 80 GB, 7200RPM HD.
1xWestern Digital Caviar 200 GB, 7200RPM HD.
1xIBM Deskstar 120GXP 120 GB, 7200RPM HD.
1xIBM Deskstar 120GXP 80 GB, 7200RPM HD.

That would be the main components worth mentioning, but the PSU is also running 6 fans on top of everything else. 2x120mm, 3x80mm and a Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu. Is it silent you ask? Far from it, but it's pretty damn quiet for being such a file server. Everything is stacked into a Lian Li PC7077A that has been sound-proofed.

Qwertyiopisme
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Post by Qwertyiopisme » Sat Sep 11, 2004 11:23 pm

aspd wrote:Not a 300W PS, but a 350W Fortron Source (FSP35060PN).

Running without a hitch:
P4 2.66GHz at stock speed.
1024 MB RAM.
Matrox G550.
2xPromise Ultra100 TX2 disc controllers.
5xMaxtor 160 GB, DiamondMax Plus 9 7200RPM HD's.
3xWestern Digital Caviar 160 GB, 7200RPM HD's.
1xWestern Digital Caviar 80 GB, 7200RPM HD.
1xWestern Digital Caviar 200 GB, 7200RPM HD.
1xIBM Deskstar 120GXP 120 GB, 7200RPM HD.
1xIBM Deskstar 120GXP 80 GB, 7200RPM HD.

That would be the main components worth mentioning, but the PSU is also running 6 fans on top of everything else. 2x120mm, 3x80mm and a Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu. Is it silent you ask? Far from it, but it's pretty damn quiet for being such a file server. Everything is stacked into a Lian Li PC7077A that has been sound-proofed.
:shock:

...

*Is most envious of the data space on that server...*

In any case, do all the hdds spin up at the same time, or are they staggered?

aspd
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Post by aspd » Mon Sep 13, 2004 1:25 am

Qwertyiopisme wrote: :shock:

...

*Is most envious of the data space on that server...*

In any case, do all the hdds spin up at the same time, or are they staggered?
They spin up at the same time. I must admit I was a bit nervous the first time I turned the system on... But it has always remained trouble-free.

Jan Kivar
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Post by Jan Kivar » Mon Sep 13, 2004 4:23 am

aspd wrote:Not a 300W PS, but a 350W Fortron Source (FSP35060PN).

Running without a hitch:
P4 2.66GHz at stock speed.
1024 MB RAM.
Matrox G550.
2xPromise Ultra100 TX2 disc controllers.
...
I think You boot from the onboard controller, yes? Do You run with dummy BIOSs?

Cheers,

Jan

Dutch
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Post by Dutch » Mon Sep 13, 2004 7:18 am

300 Watt is far too much !. 250W QTech is enough 4y old now.
My system:-

Asus P4B
2.0 Gig P4 @ 2.8 GigHz
768 MB Mem @ 133M
ATI-9600 128Mb
80 Gig WD @ 7200 rpm
160 Gig Maxtor @ 7200 rpm
20 Gig WD @7200 rpm
Firewire PCI card
2 Fans

Never power related troubles. Thinking of upgrading though.

turtleman
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Post by turtleman » Mon Sep 13, 2004 11:13 pm

MikeC wrote:turtleman --

Components in PSUs Do AGE. It's a fact. Heat stress over time reduces the power / current capacity of caps transistors, etc. That could be what you're experiencing.
ahhh maybe that explains the 4.19v on my 5v when i startup my system... my harddrive just keep on rebootin itself

i guess it is time for a enermax noisetaker 2 :) ty

aspd
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Post by aspd » Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:29 am

Jan Kivar wrote:
aspd wrote:Not a 300W PS, but a 350W Fortron Source (FSP35060PN).

Running without a hitch:
P4 2.66GHz at stock speed.
1024 MB RAM.
Matrox G550.
2xPromise Ultra100 TX2 disc controllers.
...
I think You boot from the onboard controller, yes? Do You run with dummy BIOSs?

Cheers,

Jan
I'm not quite sure if I understand you correctly, but...
I boot from the controller on the motherboard, but it is also possible to boot from a TX2 controller if I wished to do so, they have an "active" BIOS.

DyJohnnY
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Post by DyJohnnY » Sun Nov 07, 2004 2:51 am

hello everyone, this is my first post on this forum, i'm sort of in a big dillema.

I'm trying to upgrade my pc, after 5 years of owning a duron700 (pls stop laughing :) )

I've decided to go for an overclokable platform, so in future if i need to push the CPU for more power i will be able to do it.

After lots of google-ing and review reading i've narrowed down the list to these components and now i have to pick a Power supply for them but i'm a noob to both overclocking and power supplies and to make it all better i don't a have a lot of cash remaining for spending on a PSU, say max 55-60USD :(

In this pc i'd also have to have a lot of quietness and temps as low as the can go, hence the rather expensive heatsinks u'll see

here are the components i'd like to have powered by my PSU
Abit NF7-2S/Abit AN7 still thinking about it
Mobile Barton 2400+ vcore 1,35V version. that i will try to push to 2,4Ghz, 'm new at this and not feeling that lucky :)
HSF - SP97 + ENERMAX 90mm UC-9FAB-B
2*256 ram sticks...still looking for the right model, pls consider average consuming sticks, probably i won't afford to buy high end stuff.
Tright NB-1+Delta on northbridge
Radeon 9600 pro 128bit 256 ram - video card WITH artic vga silencer revision3 instead of whatever stock cooling it comes with.
I alreay own a WD800JB 2 years now, so this will be the hard disk for start
Teac WD540
Asus 50x cdrom drive
No name Tv tuner
No name fdd
2 x Enermax UC-9FAB-B fans or 2x Panaflo L1A as intake exhaust fans for case

Future upgrades:
- Pioneer 107 - "x" DVD RW instead of the Teac 540
- WD/Seagate 120GB 8MB, SATA
- Replacing the 2*256 sticks with 2*512 medium performance sticks

so what should i buy?

Ralf Hutter
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Post by Ralf Hutter » Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:29 am

DyJohnnY wrote:
so what should i buy?
Any one of the 300-400W PSUs from the Recommended PSU's article on the main SPCR site. Take a look through some of the other articles while you're there. There's lots of great info on the main site.


BTW, WELCOME TO SPCR!!!

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