Am I underpowering my rig?

[HomerPepsi]

Hey all, I was just wondering if I am underpowering my rig or not. When I bought all my new stuff, the guy at the store said I should be powering it with a 400w supply, but the case I chose only had a 380w supply and he said it should be enough. Im dont know much about how much power each compent in my computer will take, so I need your knoledge.
Specs
380w psu
Gigabyte K8VM800M Mobo
AMD Athlon 64 Sempron 3200+
ATI Radeon X800 Pro
2 Sticks of PC3200 DDR 400 Samsung ram
SB Audigy 2 ZS
D-Link Wireless pci card
CD Writer
DVD Drive
20gig WD 7200rpm HD In coolermaster Cooldrive 4 HD Cooler
200gig Maxtor 7200rpm HD In coolermaster Cooldrive 6 HD cooler
3.5 inch drive
10 case Fans
and im planning to throw another 200gig SATA HD in.

Do any of you guys know if i should up my psu?

thanks for the help

peace
aaron

 

[Bestmaxx]

Probably

 

[BrutalDrew]

A quality 380w is fine. What PSU is it exactly though?

 

[HomerPepsi]

Its a raidmax psu.

 

[Bios24]

Raidmax is pretty much the bottom of the barrel. I'd definitly spend the money and get a quality power supply. Are you going to overclock now or in the future? I'd look at a name-brand 400w to start. Maybe more if you are going to be doing some overclocking.

 

[Vertical_Zer0]

You'll probably be fine, but if you start having crashing issues then look into getting a higher quality (not necessarily higher wattage) power supply.

 

[larva]

You're risking blowing the machine up with a Raidmax power supply, the numbers on the side mean nothing. Replace it with a real power supply pronto.

 

[BrutalDrew]

You're risking blowing the machine up with a Raidmax power supply, the numbers on the side mean nothing. Replace it with a real power supply pronto.

I completely agree.

 

[HomerPepsi]

Can you point me in the direction of a good 450w-500w psu? I have been overclocking and been getting crashes at low numbers from the original clock speed.

edit: My mobo is also powered by 20 pin ATX connection and the standard ATX 12V power connection.

peace
aaron

 

[larva]

The most easily recommendable unit for you is the Fortron AX500-A, aka Blue Storm.

 

[BrutalDrew]

It depends on your budget. This would be my pick for a PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817189003

It will handle your system and is at a great price. The Fortron larva mentioned is also good.
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=PS-FS500A&c=pw

The Antec SP2 500w is another good choice.
http://www.costcentral.com/proddetail/Antec_SmartPower_20_SP_500/SP500/F09966/

 

[Janus67]

You're risking blowing the machine up with a Raidmax power supply, the numbers on the side mean nothing. Replace it with a real power supply pronto.

another vote.

 

[skotti]

Another vote for a new PSU

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Can you point me in the direction of a good 450w-500w psu? I have been overclocking and been getting crashes at low numbers from the original clock speed.

Since you're a fellow Canadian, grab this before they shut down the sale

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=14069&vpn=AX500-A&manufacture=FSP GROUP USA&promoid=1046

 

[HomerPepsi]

Thanks oklahoma, but i grabbed a aerocool 2 se from the store before i read your post for $110, which is pretty good price for a 550w psu. I read the reviews on ncix and it seemed to be a good choice and the fact it was at a local shop made it more tempting. I find its pretty stable and works pretty good.

Did i make the right choice or should a I take it back and get that fortron ax500? Sorry, I just kinda rush into things.

peace
aaron

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Aerocool used to use low end Topowers, but I don't think they do anymore. I'll have to look into them again. Will edit this post when I find out who the OEM is now, if I can. I can tell you it is unlikely the Aerocool will be anything like the quality of the Fortron.

Edit - if it's this model, it's a Wintech: http://www.systemcooling.com/aerocool_550w_psu-01.html

I have to admit this research doesn't make me feel too good about Aerocool - I know of Topower, I now know of Wintech, but there is a third OEM I have not confirmed yet. Wintech is average quality, and Topower is above average quality, but I don't care for any company who changes OEM's so often.

I would return it and grab the Fortron, but this unit isn't likely to be too bad of a unit I don't think. I'm on the fence about it.

 

[Susquehannock]

Another vote for a new PSU

Yet another vote.

Something which is not mentioned much is the fact that many lesser quality
PSU lack adequate overvoltage/overcurrent protection. Which means a power
spike is more likely to be passed along to the system burning up other components.
Given that cheap PSU are more likely to overvolt to begin with you can see
how thay are a losing proposition in more ways than one.

 

[threeme2189]

did i read right???
10 FANS?!?!?!?!


dude you need a better psu pronto.

 

[Susquehannock]

10 case fans? ... I missed that before.

Why so many? Too many fans can inhibit proper cooling sometimes actually.

 

[HomerPepsi]

I have the fans setup so theres lots of flow and circulation. I have 4 setup in the front of my case forming a square and 1 sitting in the middle of the squre in the front panel, all 80mm, sucking in air from the front. 1 80mm blowing air in from the side. 1 80mm on the top of the case blowing air out. 2 80mm on the back blowing air out. And 1 80mm sitting inside circulating air. Case sits at 22* C.