New Some Help With Purchasing A Psu, Please..

[cchalogamer]

In my experience it takes ZZF an extra day or two to finally get credit card authorization all figured out. I usually get my ZZF stuff a day later than my newegg stuff if ordered on the same day. ZZF had good prices on cables and hard drives, so I use them primarily for that.

552732[/snapback]

If I order from newegg and ZZF on tues night/wed morning, Friday by lunch i will have both packages. everytime. Most of the time the prices on boh sites are within a $5 price range of each other after you factor in shipping. Plus you have to factor in ZZF stock certain things newegg doesnt, Like the DFI Infinity nForce 4 boards....i guess if newegg stocked them they wouldnt sell as many LanParty boards...

 

Anyway, as for the PSU, With your future improvement plans idk if i would stick with the neo 480. Good PSU, but You seem like the type that will jsut end up needing more than it can provide

 

With lilkev715 as our TRUE PSU guru, listening to him has made lots of ppl happy so you may want to take his advice and go with another PSU in that price range, or even spend a little more for a really nice PSU.

[BiPolar]

i would be alittle wary that a 480w PSU will be able to handle all the upgrades you are planning. have you done a wattage chart to compare your potential wattage use versus the rails provided by the psu? i know there is one on the net somewhere...

 

this is the first one that came up on google :

linkaroo

[Wildling]

The components you have listed like the Hard Drives, Optical Drive, etc will use little power when running. For example, a typical 200 GB HD will use around 10 Watts, however, during system startup and initialization, the HDs will draw about 2 to 3 times as much for spin-up surge. The Optical Drives don't go through this stage, so their power demand is nominal at around 12 to 18 watts. DVD Burners while in write mode will demand up to 45 watts. The mobo will like at least 200 Watts for its Memory, CPU, Audio, VidCard and other components. Most Mobos have extra power headers to get extra power from the PowerSupply. A common auxiliary connector is the P4 Molex (not Pentium 4, but 4 pin molex) in the shape of a square (2 x 2 Pins). This connector on the Athlon Boards provides extra power to the CPU's voltage regulation circuit. Some mobos also include a secondary auxiliary connector called the EZ-Plug. This connector looks like the 4 pin power header on the back side of a CD-ROM/HD. This connector is not to be confused with some older motherboards that offered this type of connector for Power Supplies that didn't have the square Molex Power Plug for a mobo. The EZ-Plug provides additional power to the AGP/PCI-E BUS for VidCards that tend to draw more power than the mobo's bus can offer.

For an Athlon 64 3200+, 1 GB memory, x800 (less power demand than the 9800 series), 5 HDs, 4 Fans (depends if the fans are low or high RPM - higher drawing more power); a solid 450 watt. Avoid Generics, ie 500 Watt for $30. They are no way near their advertised power. As well as their voltage regulators are a joke. And when they burn out, they usually let the line current (120V) hammer through the system as they have no TripCups that break the failed circuit.

 

As to a Brand, there are several.

There are also different types.

 

For you with all your HardDrives, I would suggest a Dual-Rail Power Supply. A multi-rail PowerSupply refers to the number of 12 Volt rails it has to offer. The most common voltage used in your PC is +12volts DC. Your mobo will use it; almost all the fans running full out will use +12 vdc, your HardDrives, your Optical Drives, and several voltage regulators on your mobo. An electric motor is like a small generator and will actually, induce voltage fluctuations back into the 12 line it uses. Motors aren't sensitive to these little spikes. However, logic components, like those on your mobo will be sensitive. The more influx form these motors, the more likelihood of system failure, data flow corruption or even component failure can occur. So, Power Supplies with Dual or Multiple Rails refers to more than one 12 volt rail. One rail can feed your drives while the other is in the ATX Molex header and the Auxiliary line from it. That's why it's not good to connect fans to that auxiliary line designed for mobo connection support.

 

So, consider a Dual-Rail ( 2 x 12 volt rails) Power Supply in the 450 Watt min. range. As to a brand; PC Power Make Pretty much the best, but for a price. Antec make some very solid models, ie TrueControl 550. Enermax isn't bad as they have a good life span. Most +550 watt PS will get warm, but most have a variable fan switch to help with that. They'll run either hot and quiet or cool and a bit noisy.

 

Considering a PowerSupply in your computer like a good Power Bar for your Electronics. It's not just there to provide Power Taps for devices plugged into it, but clean power that will not harm your valuable components.

Edited October 13, 2005 by Wildling

[Ste]

my vote is in for an OCZ or antec.