Question about a power supply

Flash_AAA · 03-16-2005, 08:40 PM

My power supply has been making some noise after i moved it to my house. So I'm considering on buying another one, a 420 watt thermaltake but it says it's P4 complient but nothing about AMD. Do you think it is compatable.

Thermaltake Silent PurePower, 420W ATX power supply.UL, CSA, TUV, CE Approved. Intel Pentium 4 Compliant
Specifications:
Type: ATX
Maximum Power: 420W
PFC: No
Power Good Signal: 100-500ms
Hold-up Time: >16ms at Full Load
Efficiency: >65%
Over Voltage Protection: +5V trip point<+6.8V;+3.3V trip point<+4.5V;+12V trip point<+15.6V
Overload Protection: Not specified
Input Voltage: 115 VAC / 230VAC
Input Frequency Range: 47-63 Hz
Input Current: 10.0A (Measuring 90-132Vrms);5.0A (Measuring 180-264Vrms)
Output: +3.3V@30A;+5V@40A;-5V@0.3A;+12V@18A;-12V@0.8A;+5VSB@2A

Thx your time

**Praetor** · 03-17-2005, 04:45 PM

Quote:

12V@18A

Surprisingly, a bad PSU

1. P4 compatible = it has an ATX12 connector = AMD compatible
2. You'll want to look for a PSU with an absolute minimum of 24A off the 12V rail (if you want to be a bit more futureproof, set it at a minimum of 30A). Older systems made heavy use of the 3.3/5 rails, not so much of modern systems, all the major components are nailed off the 12V rail.

Yeti · 03-17-2005, 05:08 PM

Quote:

You'll want to look for a PSU with an absolute minimum of 24A off the 12V rail

Really? Most PSUs that I've seen have 18A off the 12V rail. Also, if there's dual 12V is it additive (ie a 16A on 12V1 and 15V on 12V2 = 31A)?

**Praetor** · 03-17-2005, 05:27 PM

Yeah, take the PC Power & Cooling TurboCool 510 or OCZ Powerstream 520 for instance (the PC P&C being the unquestionable god in PSUs and the Powerstream being the it-doesnt-cost-three-billion-dolllars-and-is-uber-insanely-good).

The PC Power & Cooling is rated as 3.3@30, 5@40, 12@34 (38 peak)
The OCz is rated as 3.3@28, 5@40, 12@34

Two features of modern PSUs, ActivePFC and dual 12V rails: neither of these groundbreaking PSUs have dual rails and the OCz doesnt feature APFC (at least not on their North American models)

1. ActivePFC, in Canada/USA (and other places but I dont know them specically to comment directly) is arguably a bad thing. APFC is there to provide power correction at the expense of a bit of efficiency ... sure.... great ... thats a good thing ... however in Canada/USA the power is generally quite stable 115@60 almost universally and generally speaking the power is mostly clean to start with thus meaning the APFC is reducing the efficiency of the PSU for no reason. Generally speaking passive PFC is good enough if you have "normal" power (it is interesting to note that for the PowerStream PSUs, only the international models ship with APFC)

2. Two rails is a nice feature and provides additional stability when connecting heavy drain devices. But if the single rail is solid as hell, as these ones are, "twin rails" is just a marketing trick (although it does have benifits but the benifits dont correspond to the price jump). The OCz PowerStream 600 features twin rails (20A and 18A respectively) and the PC Power & Cooling 850 packs four rails (17A,17A,17A,17A). But getting back to single rails -- you dont NEED them, it IS a good thing to have but it should not be the first thing on the "stuff to look for" list

Quote:

Also, if there's dual 12V is it additive (ie a 16A on 12V1 and 15V on 12V2 = 31A)?

Yes they are

Hope that was helpful

xelliottxsmithx · 03-23-2005, 01:12 AM

im really new at this and im buying parts. is an 18A power supply good?
you may haveposted it above but i dont understand everything fully

**Praetor** · 03-23-2005, 01:39 AM

18A is acceptable as a minimum for a mainstream system however really the minimum should prolly be 24A ... power users should be looking at 30A or more.

xelliottxsmithx · 03-23-2005, 03:56 AM

so your saying if i want a nice gaming computer to go with a like 24A
and how much would that be for a decent one

**Praetor** · 03-25-2005, 01:32 PM

Quote:

so your saying if i want a nice gaming computer to go with a like 24A

Here's a cheap but very solid PSU http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...189-002&depa=0 ... of course ive never heard of the brand nor had a chance to verify the current ratings but purly on paper thats a very solid PSU

mgoldb2 · 03-25-2005, 01:49 PM

On paper does this look like a good PSU. It the one that came with my case which seems to work great but am curious if you would consider it good

**Praetor** · 03-25-2005, 01:58 PM

Power output there looks great however a few other things to consider too:
1. Voltage tolerance: while not all PSUs can keep up with PC P&C's 1% variance, most good ones fit within 3% (ATX spec calls for 5% for everything except -12V which is 10% and the +12V can also go 10% at peak)

2. Holdtime: the longer the better: this is more of an issue with people dealing with not-so-great-power and holdtime is a measure of how long a PSU can hold its power output when there is ... um ... no power

Usualy 16ms is normal

3. Power efficiency, the more the better

03-16-2005, 08:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
Flash_AAA Silver Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: San Antonio, Tx Age: 24 Posts: 132	Question about a power supply My power supply has been making some noise after i moved it to my house. So I'm considering on buying another one, a 420 watt thermaltake but it says it's P4 complient but nothing about AMD. Do you think it is compatable. Thermaltake Silent PurePower, 420W ATX power supply.UL, CSA, TUV, CE Approved. Intel Pentium 4 Compliant Specifications: Type: ATX Maximum Power: 420W PFC: No Power Good Signal: 100-500ms Hold-up Time: >16ms at Full Load Efficiency: >65% Over Voltage Protection: +5V trip point<+6.8V;+3.3V trip point<+4.5V;+12V trip point<+15.6V Overload Protection: Not specified Input Voltage: 115 VAC / 230VAC Input Frequency Range: 47-63 Hz Input Current: 10.0A (Measuring 90-132Vrms);5.0A (Measuring 180-264Vrms) Output: +3.3V@30A;+5V@40A;-5V@0.3A;+12V@18A;-12V@0.8A;+5VSB@2A Thx your time __________________ AMD 3000+, ASUS A7N8X-LA, 512mb PC2700, 17in LCD, ____________________________________________ "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths. Prov 3:5-6

03-23-2005, 01:39 AM	#6 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 19,955	18A is acceptable as a minimum for a mainstream system however really the minimum should prolly be 24A ... power users should be looking at 30A or more. __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI

03-25-2005, 01:49 PM	#9 (permalink)
mgoldb2 VIP Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Age: 25 Posts: 1,259	On paper does this look like a good PSU. It the one that came with my case which seems to work great but am curious if you would consider it good __________________ Acer A11912B 19"montior Aspire x-superalien case Asus k8t800 pro motherboard athlon 64 fx-55 2GB(2 of 1GB) of Geil DDR ram Geforce 6800 ultra 2 Seagate 200GB 7200RPM Model ST3200822A configure as RAID 0 1 DVDRW and 1 CDRW 3.5 drive sound blaster audigey2 zs logitech 2300 thx certified 2.1 speakers

03-25-2005, 01:58 PM	#10 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 19,955	Power output there looks great however a few other things to consider too: 1. Voltage tolerance: while not all PSUs can keep up with PC P&C's 1% variance, most good ones fit within 3% (ATX spec calls for 5% for everything except -12V which is 10% and the +12V can also go 10% at peak) 2. Holdtime: the longer the better: this is more of an issue with people dealing with not-so-great-power and holdtime is a measure of how long a PSU can hold its power output when there is ... um ... no power Usualy 16ms is normal 3. Power efficiency, the more the better __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI

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03-23-2005, 01:12 AM	#5 (permalink)
xelliottxsmithx New Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2	im really new at this and im buying parts. is an 18A power supply good? you may haveposted it above but i dont understand everything fully

03-23-2005, 03:56 AM	#7 (permalink)
xelliottxsmithx New Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2	so your saying if i want a nice gaming computer to go with a like 24A and how much would that be for a decent one