do you think a 300w will do it

[Crash893]

okay i currently have a 250 watt psu in my computer

i added two hdd and

4x hdd ( 2x 7200 40g 2x 5400 8g and 3g)
2x cdrom
1xagp
1x pci video
1x pci ethernet
1x pci 56k modem
1x pci at 100 ide conrole card ( hense the 6 hdd)
1x pci sound blaster live

so i pluged up the hdds and the fans stoped working
so im guessing that means i need more power ( captin)

my question to the mass's is do you think the 50 extra watts from a 300 watt atx psu will do it or not

the reason im fixated on the 300 wat is becuase they ahve a opend item one at compusa thats pretty cheap 32 bucks

 

[PLtNmHeLiX]

hmmm I think 4 HDs is pushing it too much...

 

[rogerdugans]

It should but may not.

The only 300 watt psu that I would be 100% confident in would be PCP&C but there are some others that do well....
I'm not sure if anything from Compusa would do it though.

A really good psu costs a bit of dough, and even spending $100 is not a guarantee that you are really getting a good one Enermax has been a good example of that and Antec too although to a lesser degree: quality control lets some weak units through so if you get a "bad" one it won't provide the needed power.

BUT- all is not lost
With the stuff you will be running it might not be a bad idea to run dual psus if you don't want to spend the bucks on a premium psu. Only trick is finding room in the case!

 

[larva]

Do it right, do it once:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=17-104-972

 

[NiTrO bOiE]

300 Watts is pushing it very close. I think the extra 50 watts will be needed. Or run dual PSUs like Roger said.

 

[CrashOveride]

i would get a new one... i would get a Fortron.. they are cheap and good

 

[Crash893]

well i think i might do it cheap and do it twice

im going to swap it out with a 350 watt from downsatirs and if it works then depending on my mode put the 250 in there and never tell anyone or actually put the 350 back and go get my own

 

[epion2985]

oh god, are you blind!!? READ THE STICKY ON PS's IN THIS SECTION by larva!! marked wattage means jack ****.

 

[CrashOveride]

oh god, are you blind!!? READ THE STICKY ON PS's IN THIS SECTION by larva!! marked wattage means jack ****.

well it does mean somthing but you cant tell a PSU's quality by its wattage... no need to get touchy

 

[rogerdugans]

READ THE STICKY ON PS's IN THIS SECTION by larva!! marked wattage means little.

(quote edited by ME)

That is exactly why a 250 psu may be enough but a 400 watt may not be.

There is only one power supply manufacturer that I have NEVER read any performance complaints about, and that is PC Power and Cooling. Every other make I have heard of has proponents and naysayers, but the only complaint anyone ever makes about PCP&C is the high price.

I think swapping out the 350 as a test is a good idea, although I am not so sure about forgetting to put it back where it came from

epinion2985- pointing out the stickies is always a good thing, but doing it in an inflammatory way ("Are you blind?") is not- its also a good idea to try and avoid getting the swear filters to kick in.

 

[star882]

All I can say is:

And go for at least the 430w.
What CPU do you have?
What video card do you have?

 

[CrashOveride]

All I can say is:

And go for at least the 430w.
What CPU do you have?
What video card do you have?

 

[larva]

There is only one power supply manufacturer that I have NEVER read any performance complaints about, and that is PC Power and Cooling. Every other make I have heard of has proponents and naysayers, but the only complaint anyone ever makes about PCP&C is the high price.

While the we-saw-you-coming price is certainly painful, that isn't the only complaint concerning PC P&C supplies I've seen around here:

http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=154790

http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=158990

I agree the number of complaints is low, but there simply isn't a very large market for a power supply that costs 2-3 times what it should, limiting the number of possible complainers. When you consider the huge numbers of Antec and FSP units in circulation the percentage of complaints is similiarly low. While PC P&C sells a quality supply, there is nothing inherent in doing so that justifies the pricing. Other makers manage to provide quality without the forfeiture of your first-born, and with investigation I'm positive it would prove that one of them makes the PC P&C units too...

 

[rogerdugans]

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!
You have destroyed my one bastion of faultless performance larva!

Such is life
And I agree with your point on playing the odds: Antec and FSP both have a huge number of supplies in circulation, so a certain number of complaints is just to be expected.

Hey, I even got one of the excellent Enermax psu's and I swear by Compusa's cheapos for my DC Farm rigs!

But checking just the wattage is not enough info to determine the quality of a psu, as stated above in this thread and in many other threads around here- and a strong psu is a good foundation for a strong pc.

 

[R4z0r4mu5 Pr|m3]

well PC P&C IS the only one with 1% regulation on +5, +12, +3.3, and 3% regulation on -5, -12, i believe

they are also rated only for 70% of their output, the fortron units are similar to them in this way

you get what you paid for, though that price may be rediculous

 

[epion2985]

I apologise, just cant stand stupid people ^^ please do accept my apology.

epion2985

 

[larva]

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!
You have destroyed my one bastion of faultless performance larva!

Heh, I am the devil's advocate (and there have been times people have suspected me of cutting out the middleman )

Roger's points are very valid though, you can get quality power supplies on the cheap if you luck upon a time when the cheapest thing comp ussr could find to buy was a Fortron, TTGI, or Channel Well. What I like about Fortron is it takes no luck to get stellar value. All their supplies are what they ought be, and priced like I'm not going to win the lottery any time soon. I've used about any power supply on earth, but I know I've got it made when the unit in front of me bears a FSP part number

 

[Crash893]

okay well i found out my freind was holding out on me

there was a 500 in there

so im keeping it

the problem is the drives still dont spin up witch leads me to conclude there is something else wrong

 

[Crash893]

and to clear things up

my freinds vid card went bad and he said he didnt have money and browed my voodoo3

i declare this payment and intrest on that.

 

[Crash893]

BOOOOOOOOOYA

it works they wernt working due to some sort of o jumper snafu

anyway did fix it i just ran a second ide ribion and it turns out one of the fans is going bad ( but like a stupid head isuper glued it inplace ( long story)) so all in all i probably could have gotten away with 250

for the record

its a amd athlon 1ghz

and my freinds is a 1.2

he has 1 hdd 1 cdrom 1 ethernet card and 1 agp gforce
so hes got plent of room to spare