Simviation Forums

I found a real cool 500w power supply. One of those modular ones like this one.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... 1&NoMapp=0

I'm temped to  buy it but wouldn't 500w be way too much for my pc? If somebody could explain how the whole wattage deal works I'd appreciate it.

Thanks in advance
Selby

Quick and very "dirty" answer..........

The wattage is the maximum rating that all the computer systems can DRAW.  The wattage of the power supply does not "push" anything thru the electronics.  Too big is not a problem.  Too small can be.

If a component (say a video card) is drawing more current (Amperage) than the power supply is designed to handle..... a couple of things happen.

One is that the voltage regulation can go to crap... so what is supposed to be +5 VDC ends up being maybe 4.6 Vdc.  That makes the components attached to that voltage supply perform incorrectly.  Another possible outcome is that eventually it blows a fuse (you hope) or it "frys" itself thru overheating of stuff like insulation.

You can always have too big a power supply .... but not too small.

best,

.....................john

I found a neat little utility that you can use to calculate your power requirements. (ie minimum size of PS) It's online so there's nothing to download. Just tell it what you got and it will tell you what you need.
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

JBaymore,

Thanks for the info. I guess I need to wait until the price on that unit drops and I read more reviews about it to see if it's worth buying.
Right Now I have a Hipro 250w psu and accorind to Speedfan everything is running good excpet for the 12 rail which is at 11.19.

Iroquois,
Thanks for that link. I tried it and it seems that the 250w psu I have seems to be enough for now I'm still going to buy that 500w one just because I like the design and the fact that I can only use the cables I need.

Selbio, you can walk into just about any PC workshop an pick up a PSU pretty cheap.

I know it but I always scratch the cables during installation. That unit does look good though and it's fully sleeved.
Do you know of any PSU that does not hvae the AUX power connector? It really gets on my nerves.

Most mainboards now use the Aux power connector, for good reason, boards were burning out without it.

The aux connector isn't very big, why is it a bother, is it your tiny case?

You can always just buy a proper case and PSU, they are cheap. But, then, there is your warranty to consider......
for what it's worth.......

Also, maybe get to the cause of the chafing problem with your current case, tape up sharp edges or cover them with split tubing.

You might think this odd, but I just pulled my PC apart and screwed it onto a round sheet of Acrylic I had in the garage, It looks awesome!

I'm not talking about the 12V Auxiliary Connector(two yellow and two black cables right?). I mean the Server Connector the one that is a little flat and has like 3 orange and 3 black cables if I remember correctly.

Yeah my case is a Micro ATX case which does not have a lot of room inside.

 I just found that somebody with the same setup as mine bought a Thermal Take PSU which has like 10 molex connectors, 1 20 pin connector, 4 pin P4 connector, and a 6 pin auxiliary connector. It also has some real long cables too and his case is a MicroATX just like mine.
Could anyone explain how to arrange and tie up all the mess of cables inside the PC possibly post some pictures to see where I should put all the unused cables?

Hi,

If you scroll about halfway down http://www.7volts.com/casemods.htm then there are a few ideas for cable management or have a browse http://www.bit-tech.net fpr other ideas (and madness  ;D)

Thanks a lot,

I'll check it out and see what I can do. I can't wait to buy a good PSU and get all the Cables wrapped up!