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500W (275 on 5+3.3) not enough???

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kahuna0k

Registered
Joined
Mar 16, 2003
Hello,

I have a 500W powersupply that is supposed to give 275W of combined power in the 5V and 3.3V, but it seems not enough for my setup. I know my setup is a bit out-of-spec, but anyway, do you know of any PSU available in Europe that will support it?

Tyan S2460 dual AMD mainboard
2x XP 2400+ @ 2250Mhz, 1.8V
1x ABIT Siluro Ti4400 (GeForce4 Ti4400)
2x Realtek 8139
1x SBLive Platinum!
1x Tekram DC390UW SCSI card
1x Miro DC10+
1x Avermedia TVPhone98+
2x Atlas 10k III SCSI disk
1x Plextor 12x10x32 SCSI CDWriter
1x Pioneer SCSI DVD-ROM
1x Internal Iomega ZIP SCSI
2x Seagate ATA IV 40Gb
1x Seagate ATA V 80Gb
1x Toshiba IDE DVD-ROM
1x Standar Floppy

My current PSU is a Superflower 500W and the readings for the 3.3V and the 5V are very low (3.19 and 4.54). I've modded the S2460 soldering two 5V lines directly to the mainboard. If I measure using a multimeter I get about 4.65 for the 5V line (I've not measured the 3.3V), if I check the molex going out of the PSU I get about 4.85 or 4.90.

Any idea??

Best regards,

- german
 
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I've just ordered an Antec TruePower 550W hoping to solve my problems, maybe Superflower isn't a good PSU maker, at least it is not as far wide known as Antec or Enermax.

Regards,

- german
 
Looks like your system has an awful lot on the 12v rail - since some PSU's have the 12 and 5 volt rails linked this could be a problem, especially for a dual Athlon system. Since that Antec only does 24 amps on the 12v, it may still not be enough for your system which I'd guess at closer to 30 amps.

The 550 Enermax is a lot more generous at 12v and 36 amps, as is the 550 Sparkle Power unit which I believe is rated the same. If the Antec doesn't work for you I'd suggest giving the Sparkle or Enermax a go. Here's a good guide for figuring out your power needs: http://firingsquad.gamers.com/guides/power_supply/

Edit: Just went to the Enermax site and they have a new server PSU rated at 660 watts - EG851AX-VH. Not sure if this beast would even be compatible with your mainboard and case, but it looks to be perfect for your system. I'm already drooling over the specs myself ;)
 
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