Power Supplies - The Basics

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[[-0MEGA-]]

There are a few things to watch out for when buying a power supply.

Most manufacturers only market a power supply by its wattage, such as "Antec 450Watt", when in reailty there are more important things to worry about.

Here are a few things you should watch out for when choosing a power supply:

? Amperage (Amps) on the +12Volt Rail(s) - This is the most imporant thing to watch out for in terms of amps, if you plan on having a gaming machine with high end parts, you should have a power supply that has a minumum of 26A on the +12V Rails.  If you have a low amperage, then the cards may not work properly, and/or damage the power supply.

?Wattage (Watts) - Watts are important, but over rated.  Every piece of hardware in your computer uses up watts (CD Drives, hard drives, PCI cards, ect), the more parts you have the more watts you need.  Generally speaking, any new computer shouldn't have less than 250Watts, and a gamer shouldn't have less than 400Watts.

?Main Connector - There have 20Pin, 24Pin, and 20+/-4Pin connectors, before buying a power supply check and make sure what your motherboard needs.  A 20+/-4 Pin means that it will work on either a 20Pin motherboard or 24Pin motherboard.  A 20Pin PSU will work on a 24Pin motherboard, however its not recommended.

?Quality - A good power supply will most likely be on the heavier side, it will also be made of a stronger material so it will feel more durable.  While this usually isnt possible to compare online, the best way is to look at the reviews of that product. 

Note: Most power supplies that come with cases are usually cheap, and low quality.  If you want silence, longevity, or performance, you should buy a well-known brand power supply with good specs.

[Kyle]

Wattage is very much over rate,d I ussaly stay at about 100watts(I have a watt meter that came with my PSU that is in the floppy drive bay) and I never go over 200watts, and I'm running 1dvd drive, 1cdburner, 2 harddrives, 3 fans, and 2 cold cathodes, and many lights on my case.

You shouldn't need more then 200watts for any basic computer, 300watt for a high end, and 450watt for a really high end with SLI and such. Also intel's do use more then AMD's at processer level at least.

[[-0MEGA-]]

Wattage is very much over rate,d I ussaly stay at about 100watts(I have a watt meter that came with my PSU that is in the floppy drive bay) and I never go over 200watts, and I'm running 1dvd drive, 1cdburner, 2 harddrives, 3 fans, and 2 cold cathodes, and many lights on my case.

You shouldn't need more then 200watts for any basic computer, 300watt for a high end, and 450watt for a really high end with SLI and such. Also intel's do use more then AMD's at processer level at least.

Oh i see, i never actually measured mine before, i just go with what i've heard.  My graphics card requires 350Watts or more though.  And when i had a 450Watt 18A PSU, my comp kept crashing, so now i have a 520W 36A and it works great.

[Kyle]

My video card says it required a 300w PSU, yet me whole PC with all the extras never goes over 200w


There is also another thing to look at, and that is just the plain quility of the PSU, if it is a low quility PSU, it can have alot of electrical noice which cn cause system crashes, and harddrive corruption.

[[-0MEGA-]]

My video card says it required a 300w PSU, yet me whole PC with all the extras never goes over 200w


There is also another thing to look at, and that is just the plain quility of the PSU, if it is a low quility PSU, it can have alot of electrical noice which cn cause system crashes, and harddrive corruption.

That is very true, but if you buy it online you cant tell how heavy it is, what it sounds like, or jsut the overal feel of it.

Thats why if you buy it online, you should look carefully at the reviews.

[ckfordy]

would i be able to use a 6800GS with my dell powersupply it has 305 watts and 18 amps on each rail.  i think it should run just fine but i want a second opionion.

[[-0MEGA-]]

would i be able to use a 6800GS with my dell powersupply it has 305 watts and 18 amps on each rail.  i think it should run just fine but i want a second opionion.

If it has dual +12V Rails then yes it should, but if your getting errors and/or blue screens, try unplugging and disconnecting any devices that you dont need.

[ckfordy]

would i be able to use a 6800GS with my dell powersupply it has 305 watts and 18 amps on each rail.  i think it should run just fine but i want a second opionion.

If it has dual +12V Rails then yes it should, but if your getting errors and/or blue screens, try unplugging and disconnecting any devices that you dont need.

ok thanks.  it does have dual +12v Rails and if i get those erros or blue screens ill do that.

[Identified]

If I plan on getting a PSU for gaming, the 36A on the 12v rail is only if you have one rail right?

If it's duel rail then I should be fine with 18, and 17 on the 12v rails right? 550 watts....

[Kyle]

If I plan on getting a PSU for gaming, the 36A on the 12v rail is only if you have one rail right?

If it's duel rail then I should be fine with 18, and 17 on the 12v rails right? 550 watts....

Correct, dual rails anything with 14 on each is fine, and single rail anything over 28 should be fine. You can add up all the useage from each part in your PC if you really want to make sure


I forgot about this thread, Next week sometime, when we get the articles page done, can i put this up there?

[m0nk3ys1ms]

My video card says it required a 300w PSU, yet me whole PC with all the extras never goes over 200w


There is also another thing to look at, and that is just the plain quility of the PSU, if it is a low quility PSU, it can have alot of electrical noice which cn cause system crashes, and harddrive corruption.

i ran a card that said it required a 250w psu on a 90w psu

[Intel_Owns]

My video card says it required a 300w PSU, yet me whole PC with all the extras never goes over 200w


There is also another thing to look at, and that is just the plain quility of the PSU, if it is a low quility PSU, it can have alot of electrical noice which cn cause system crashes, and harddrive corruption.

i ran a card that said it required a 250w psu on a 90w psu

Haha, did it run well?

[Angel of Death]

heh.. I ran a 6800GT in a standard HP with a  200w PSU..   it boots up (naturally)  but as soon as you start loading the card, it will comsume more power..   till the point where the PSU is (over)loaded so much that the voltages drop below the margin,.. and the pc crashes/reboots.

[m0nk3ys1ms]

My video card says it required a 300w PSU, yet me whole PC with all the extras never goes over 200w


There is also another thing to look at, and that is just the plain quility of the PSU, if it is a low quility PSU, it can have alot of electrical noice which cn cause system crashes, and harddrive corruption.

i ran a card that said it required a 250w psu on a 90w psu

Haha, did it run well?

Worked just fine.

[[-0MEGA-]]

haha, this thread is so old