Power supply question

dmaister · Dec 27, 2002, 09:22 PM

I am planning to upgrade my power supply to a (at least) 300 watt power supply. The problem is i dont know anything about power supplies. For example : "True330 is a 330 Watt 6-output, dual fan-cooled ATX (Baby AT or PS/2 Size) power supply designed for personal computer or industrial applications.

Its ATX 12V compliance allows its use with the latest Pentium 4 processors while its backward compatibility ensures its usability with any system.

Motherboards Supported: ATX"

what is ATX? or AT? cause some have AT instead of ATX, ps/2?, and will it fit in my case or no? are they standard for any case? I have a sony vaio rx-572, everything is standard
here are the specs of the pc : http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/support/...s/pcvrx570.pdf

I would like to know which power supply would work for my pc, heres a page of options: http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...rch_type=catg2

or here: not the cases just PSU http://www.bestbuy.com/ComputersPeri...t=552&scat=553

or if you find something else that would work it would be great.
if you need any more specs ask me... please i need help, cause the new video card wants 300 watts or more and i have 260 watts.

windows xp
pentium 4 1.8 ghz
60 gb HD
16X cd rw
16X dvd rom
256 mb ram
nvidia tnt2 m64 32 mb (getting the 9500 pro)
umm.. dont know the mother board, if anyone knows a way to figure it out, or tell me where to look i will appreciate it...
will they fit in the place of my old PS?
thanks in advance

ToshiroOC · Dec 27, 2002, 09:40 PM

Not a problem dude... Since you are running a Pentium 4 motherboard, you can know for certain that you are running an ATX-compatible motherboard. AT and PS/2 are old standards, and are no longer used in new hardware such as yours. The "ATX 12v P4 Compliance" is really just an extension from the power supply that is really only used on Pentium 4 boards specifically for extra power supply for the CPU... You can get adapters that convert normal power plugs (the DC ones from the PSU [power supply unit]) to this, so that is not a totally essential part even though you have a Pentium 4. 6 output sounds pretty bad to me - it would mean that you could only plug 6 things into that PSU before you would need to start using y-adapters to make more outputs from the given ones. Personally, I would recommend Antec or Enermax built PSU's, as both of them come woth more than plenty outputs, very reliable, for the most part good service, and quite powerful. I am running an Enermax 431 watt PSU right now and I love it - its quiet, circulates plenty of air, and its never causes me grief. I'm at a relatives house right now, so I don't have the bandwidth to spare to look at that PDF, but I'm hoping that you can change that power supply out of there without any problems... thats probably something you should check before buying a new PSU...

dmaister · Dec 27, 2002, 09:56 PM

thanks man, are all PSU's about the same size, that they will fit in the case? and you have any PSU's in mind that would support a ATI 9700 pro, because it needs a floppy connector to the psu and higher than 300 watts? have any ideas?

ToshiroOC · Dec 27, 2002, 10:06 PM

Well... not all PSU's are the same size. Look for ATX 2.xx versions - there are PSUs called FlexATX, microATX, and doubled, all of which wouldn't work for you (the first two are the same, and are for miniature computers like those aluminum shuttles. the last one is two normal ATX supplies basically tacked together for use in large servers, pretty rare but existent...) The ATI 9700 pro probably came with an adaptor for the larger 4-wire outputs to a floppy power connector, if not, you can get those most anywhere for a buck or so... Again, like I said above, I would recommend Antec or Enermax PSU's... though if you want me to give you a real model number, a price range would be most helpful... Just for reference, if your current PSU looks like it could fit (minus the wires) in about half of a small shoebox, then its a normal ATX one...

Dec 28, 2002, 02:14 AM

Anything about compatibility has been answered by the above posts but..

Do not get anything smaller than a 400 watt cause you may regret it.

If your looking for something popular there are many to choose
from .
Dont get a "no-name" because they are not to be trusted
power wise or lifetime etc.

Also note that a bad PSU can damage the whole system when it
dies or burns out.

Here are a few good ones:

Enermax PS 365AX-VE
Enermax PS 465AX-VE
Antec True Power 550W
Vantec Stealth Aluminum 470W Power Supply
Vantec Stealth Aluminum 420W Power Supply

here is a review/comparison of 21 power supplies and some info about them.

Toms Hardware Guide PSU review

ToshiroOC · Dec 28, 2002, 02:31 AM

I would agree very strongly with Greekrage - I happen to have a 431 Enermax, as I said, and I have 5 7200rpm hard drives, two cd drives, an original stepping palomino, lots of fans, every PCI slot filled, etc. so on and so forth - and my PSU has only begun to protest to the unusual load I'm putting on it. If I ever upgrade my computer with something power hungry like a 9700 pro, I will need a bigger power supply, but in your case I think you will have plenty of upgrade room provided you have at least 400 watts...

dmaister · Dec 28, 2002, 02:25 PM

k i think i will stick to 400 watts, which power supply would be good enough to run an ATI 9700 PRO or 9500 PRO, i read they need to connect directly to the power supply, do the antec or enermax PSU's have that, im planning to upgrade GPU, but for that i need to upgrade my 260 watt PSU, anyone has a good 300watt and up PSU to recommend, thats not that expensive (less than 70$ USD) and supports that special connection to the 3d card? Im guessing ATX would be the one that would work for me and fit in my case.

WarGun · Dec 29, 2002, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dmaister
k i think i will stick to 400 watts, which power supply would be good enough to run an ATI 9700 PRO or 9500 PRO, i read they need to connect directly to the power supply, do the antec or enermax PSU's have that, im planning to upgrade GPU, but for that i need to upgrade my 260 watt PSU, anyone has a good 300watt and up PSU to recommend, thats not that expensive (less than 70$ USD) and supports that special connection to the 3d card? Im guessing ATX would be the one that would work for me and fit in my case.

ADDITIONAL POWER CONNECTION REQUIREMENTS
- The Radeon 9700Pro must be connected to the computer’s power supply to meet its performance and high-speed memory requirements.
- In order to supply the ATI Graphics Accelerator card with the necessary power, we have included the Power Extension Cable.
- Use the Power Extension Cable to connect the Radeon 9700Pro to the computer’s hard Drive power connector.
1. Remove the power cable from the hard drive.
2. Connect the 4-pin connector of the Power Extension Cable to the Radeon 9700Pro power connector.
3. Connect the Power Extension Cable to the power supply connector.
4. Connect the Power Extension Cable to the Hard Drive connector.

dmaister · Dec 29, 2002, 07:13 PM

ohh i thought you had to connect it to the power supply, now i see its to the HD, well why do you have to connect it to the HD? anyways, anyone that has a 9700 pro or 9500 pro, please tell me your power supply that you use, thanks for the responses, keep them comming

***craig5320*** · Dec 29, 2002, 07:29 PM

The Molex connectors white rectangle, lot's coming out of the psu on the black, red yellow wires, it jus' means on one of them, but they provide a through connector so it connects to the card and through to the hard drive so as not to take up one of your connectors all to its self

ToshiroOC · Dec 29, 2002, 08:38 PM

You don't need to use the hard drive connector - just that is the easiest way to get someone to identify a large 4 pin molex connector (since all hard drives nowadays use those)...

toddsmack2k · Dec 29, 2002, 08:49 PM

i just put in a 9700 pro and i have a 300 watt power supply with 2 cd drives 1 fan and a 80gig 7200 rpm hard drive. i am going to add a couple of fans and when i do i probably will get at leasy a 400 watt power supply then, but for now i have had no problems.

dmaister · Dec 29, 2002, 10:11 PM

todd, what PSU do you have? and does it work efficient

toddsmack2k · Dec 29, 2002, 10:38 PM

i have a amd athlon 2100 and so far i have not had any problems at all

dmaister · Dec 30, 2002, 02:13 AM

i meant PSU (power supply) not cpu sorry about the confusion

Necrosis · Dec 30, 2002, 02:27 AM

I have the Antec True Power 480 w/ the blue led and has rock solid rails with the specs of the system in my sig.

I will be upgrading to the Lite - On 48x24x48 (Computer Upgrade deal), and a stick of Corsair XMS PC3500 C2 here in the next two days.

toddsmack2k · Dec 30, 2002, 07:53 AM

sorry wasnt thinking i am pretty sure it is a generic

toddsmack2k · Dec 31, 2002, 10:49 AM

forget what i said earlier between the holidays and my 2 girls my brain is just now not becoming mush. i have a 300 watt sparkle sorry for the wrong info