300w-enough?

[Theman7747]

do we really need more than 300 watts....?

what kind a system requires as much as 500?

 

[equalizr]

id say at least a 350W power supply...try and stay away from no name stuff...

stick with stuff like Enermax and Antec, etc.

they have high rails

 

[mdcomp]

300w should be enough for an athlon xp, without overclocking. With everything at stock a 300w should be fine, but to be safe I would go with 350w.

 

[Arghuin]

300w should be enough for an athlon xp, without overclocking

How much would the rest of the components actually affect the PSU-buying decision tho? (gfx card, sound, nic, hdd, dvd....)

 

[malon]

I have a 300W generic PSU with my sig and it works great! my +5v has never gone under 4.95v

 

[PYROMANIAC]

nothing should take 500w...this is what i run with 350w and it doesnt overdraw or cause any problems....

cdrom/dvdrom (2 sep drives)
newq plat graphic analyzer
crystalfontz lcd
6 80mm fans and 1 120mm
mobo/cards
5 HD's
neon light that i broke

my guess is the only reason you'd need a 500w supply or more is for pelts...im not into that kind of cooling just yet so u would be asking the wrong person

 

[spazzkid]

atleast 350 watts for a full loaded un-overclocked xp system.

 

[PYROMANIAC]

atleast 350 watts for a full loaded un-overclocked xp system.

true..mine used to be oc'ed but its not anymore...i'd go with at least a 400w these days if not 450

 

[larrymoencurly]

Has anybody actually measured either the power on the AC side or the current on the DC side? PSU ratings are so wildly inaccurate that they're almost meaningless.

 

[flapperhead]

the biggest problem is the abject lying that some ps manufacturers claim on their specs. for instance the powmax 500 watt psu is only good for about 450 watts while some good brands like the 330 watt antec true, is good for close to 400 watts. so the uninformed get bs'd by big numbers..