- Joined
- Nov 6, 2001
I was wondering about this little column I read in the pcstats newsletter... ( i dont remember when or why i signed up, probably to try to win a video card or whatever...) But anyway this is it:
I wonder about the percived threat of the low wattage PSU's because I've been told computers use less than 200w at any given time and the current supplied is almost more important. Yes, amd and ati and such recommend 300watt psu's, but apparently MSI, shuttle, FIC etc don't find that neccesary. Whats the real deal here? I don't know much about electronics so this is why I'm posting this here. For the smart people to respond.
I shot of an email to the author that was rather rude and colorful because I was bored and didn't expect it to be read, but he or she did reply and referenced this link. http://firingsquad.gamers.com/guides/power_supply/page2.asp
and here, amongst other things, it says this:
I was under the impression that all cpu's derived power from the 5v line and 12v line was for Hdd's and other drives etc.
So there it is, reply away, I'm sure I have several things wrong.
The High Tech Low Down
By: Chris Angelini
A small form-factor revolution is sweeping the industry. It seems that the compact, highly integrated boxes are designed to prove that in some instances, less is more. But is a minimalist approach necessarily the best?
I recently had the chance to review a pre-built small form-factor system based on the nForce2 platform. A marvelous machine by all accounts, the primary weakness I found was its 200-watt power supply. Along the same lines, FIC recently released its Ice-Cube system with a 150-watt unit. And MSI has a Slim PC with 180-watts backing it. Admittedly, I didn't encounter any problems with the Athlon XP 3000+ and RADEON 9700 Pro combination, but I can only wonder how long a configuration like that will operate reliably. I'm not saying that the latest hardware isn't going to work in one of these small form-factor systems, but there has to be a reason ATI recommends a 300-watt power supply in its retail packaging. I'm not trying to warn you away from a SFF chassis, either. They make great platforms for convergence devices and even LAN gaming systems. However, if you do decide to build a cutting edge system using a small form-factor box, be cognizant of thermal issues, as cooling is one of the most important points to take into consideration.
I wonder about the percived threat of the low wattage PSU's because I've been told computers use less than 200w at any given time and the current supplied is almost more important. Yes, amd and ati and such recommend 300watt psu's, but apparently MSI, shuttle, FIC etc don't find that neccesary. Whats the real deal here? I don't know much about electronics so this is why I'm posting this here. For the smart people to respond.
I shot of an email to the author that was rather rude and colorful because I was bored and didn't expect it to be read, but he or she did reply and referenced this link. http://firingsquad.gamers.com/guides/power_supply/page2.asp
and here, amongst other things, it says this:
You see, the Pentium III and all CPUs before it ran on the +5V rail. Since the CPU remains the largest consumer of electricity in an x86 machine, power supplies were engineered to provide significant amounts of current on the +5V rail. Modern CPUs such as the Athlon and Pentium 4 run on the +12V rail. The problem is that many power supplies are still based on older Pentium III-era designs and so even for many mid-range gaming systems, chances are that the +12V component of the power supply is not going to be adequate.
I was under the impression that all cpu's derived power from the 5v line and 12v line was for Hdd's and other drives etc.
So there it is, reply away, I'm sure I have several things wrong.