computer power supply

Bogdan Vaglarov · September 21st, 2003, 10:40 PM

Here I found a good educational article from Antec which explains many things.

www.antec-inc.com/info_DIYArticle1.html#

Yi Fong Yu · September 22nd, 2003, 10:34 AM

underpowering your computer will kill components. if presented with a choice go with as much as you can afford. it's just like audio. you can never have enough power.

Charles King · September 22nd, 2003, 12:15 PM

Thanks for the tip. I think I'll get the 550w beast. It'll also be prepare for any future additions.

Scott Osborne · September 22nd, 2003, 07:12 PM

If you want to go all out and get the top of the line may I suggest
checking out this site

http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/products/power_supplies/index.htm

These are rock solid super stable PSs. I have checked all of the outputs with my scope and have found them to to be some of the Most clean and solid around....Not just for PC powering mind you.
I actually use a couple of these for my 1/32 Slot Car track. Those high wind DC motors require absolutely clean power to perform the best.

In all of my most important system I use PC power and cooling. For the not so critical stuff I use Antec. Which is almost as good.

For your needs you wont really need the PC PnC supplys but hey its nice to look at the topend. You know to get a basis for comparison

Hope this is of use,

Curt Kay · September 22nd, 2003, 09:37 PM

Charles-
If you do go with the 550w, make sure you have enough capability to get the heat out of your case. Those suckers can really get hot. I'd suggest getting a couple sealth fans, they are quiet and move lots of air.

-Kay

Charles King · September 23rd, 2003, 01:31 AM

Good points guys. Thanks for the continious tips.

Mike Rehmus · September 23rd, 2003, 08:56 AM

The power supply does not force its cooling air into the case, it vents directly to the outside. The case of my 550 watt ps doesn't contribute to case heat as it doesn't get warm.

Still, today's setups just about demand fans on the disks, the PCI & AGP boards and one on the memory too.

I have 11 fans in my main editing computer case to keep the 11 drives and all the other stuff cool.

Yi Fong Yu · September 23rd, 2003, 10:08 AM

as mike pointed out don't go with less on the fans. the most important about stability and heat management of computers is airflow. you must be able to trace which fans are sucking then follow the airflow and trace how it is vented and by which fans. if you're path stops dead center of the case (ie no fans in the back) then you WILL be garaunteed problems with your computer. you MUST have a nice airflow. it's far far more important than anything else in your computing experience.

Rob Belics · September 23rd, 2003, 11:15 AM

Jeez, how many fans do you need to cool the heat generated by all those fan motors?

And disk drive fans are a new animal I've seen around. Man!

I know it's been a few years since I've designed motherboards (from scratch) for medical computers, SGI and others but things have not changed that drastically.

I have three fans for my 3ghz AMD machine. One on the gpu because it came with it, one on the cpu and one in the power supply. Been running fine and below temps for a year now.

Yi Fong Yu · September 23rd, 2003, 09:51 PM

a LOT of fans =D:

http://www.fongunlimited.com/htpc/fansgalore.jpg

Mike Rehmus · September 24th, 2003, 10:25 AM

Six of the drives are Seagate Barracudas, the SCSI type. They get fairly hot. The others are a mixed bag of WD drives.

Drive life is inversely proportional to the operating temperature at which they run (to a point). So if I cool one, why not cool them all?

The computer case is one of those large cubes with enough space for 2 power supplies and thirteen drives.

Some of the SCSI drives are as old as the case and the editing system (A Canopus DVRexRT that is 5 years old this year) and are still going strong.

All of the SCSI drives can be replaced with a single 250 gig drive which is something I'll do today (and tomorrow and the next day considering how much data has to be moved).

This case doesn't use the little drive fans, it has space in front of all the drives for standard 100 mm fans.

September 22nd, 2003, 10:34 AM	#17
Yi Fong Yu Trustee Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vulcan Posts: 1,564	underpowering your computer will kill components. if presented with a choice go with as much as you can afford. it's just like audio. you can never have enough power. __________________ bow wow wow

September 22nd, 2003, 12:15 PM	#18
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	Thanks for the tip. I think I'll get the 550w beast. It'll also be prepare for any future additions. __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

September 22nd, 2003, 07:12 PM	#19
Scott Osborne Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Rochester NY Posts: 116	If you want to go all out and get the top of the line may I suggest checking out this site http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/products/power_supplies/index.htm These are rock solid super stable PSs. I have checked all of the outputs with my scope and have found them to to be some of the Most clean and solid around....Not just for PC powering mind you. I actually use a couple of these for my 1/32 Slot Car track. Those high wind DC motors require absolutely clean power to perform the best. In all of my most important system I use PC power and cooling. For the not so critical stuff I use Antec. Which is almost as good. For your needs you wont really need the PC PnC supplys but hey its nice to look at the topend. You know to get a basis for comparison Hope this is of use, __________________ Scott Osborne Infinite Video Productions

September 22nd, 2003, 09:37 PM	#20
Curt Kay Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: San Jose, Ca Posts: 50	Charles- If you do go with the 550w, make sure you have enough capability to get the heat out of your case. Those suckers can really get hot. I'd suggest getting a couple sealth fans, they are quiet and move lots of air. -Kay __________________ Fight the power. http://www.curtkay.com I WILL not be held down.

September 23rd, 2003, 01:31 AM	#21
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	Good points guys. Thanks for the continious tips. __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

September 21st, 2003, 10:40 PM	#16
Bogdan Vaglarov Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Yokohama, Japan Posts: 366	Here I found a good educational article from Antec which explains many things. www.antec-inc.com/info_DIYArticle1.html#

September 23rd, 2003, 08:56 AM	#22
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	The power supply does not force its cooling air into the case, it vents directly to the outside. The case of my 550 watt ps doesn't contribute to case heat as it doesn't get warm. Still, today's setups just about demand fans on the disks, the PCI & AGP boards and one on the memory too. I have 11 fans in my main editing computer case to keep the 11 drives and all the other stuff cool. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

September 23rd, 2003, 10:08 AM	#23
Yi Fong Yu Trustee Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vulcan Posts: 1,564	as mike pointed out don't go with less on the fans. the most important about stability and heat management of computers is airflow. you must be able to trace which fans are sucking then follow the airflow and trace how it is vented and by which fans. if you're path stops dead center of the case (ie no fans in the back) then you WILL be garaunteed problems with your computer. you MUST have a nice airflow. it's far far more important than anything else in your computing experience. __________________ bow wow wow

September 23rd, 2003, 11:15 AM	#24
Rob Belics Major Player Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 581	Jeez, how many fans do you need to cool the heat generated by all those fan motors? And disk drive fans are a new animal I've seen around. Man! I know it's been a few years since I've designed motherboards (from scratch) for medical computers, SGI and others but things have not changed that drastically. I have three fans for my 3ghz AMD machine. One on the gpu because it came with it, one on the cpu and one in the power supply. Been running fine and below temps for a year now.

September 23rd, 2003, 09:51 PM	#25
Yi Fong Yu Trustee Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vulcan Posts: 1,564	a LOT of fans =D: http://www.fongunlimited.com/htpc/fansgalore.jpg __________________ bow wow wow

September 24th, 2003, 10:25 AM	#26
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Six of the drives are Seagate Barracudas, the SCSI type. They get fairly hot. The others are a mixed bag of WD drives. Drive life is inversely proportional to the operating temperature at which they run (to a point). So if I cool one, why not cool them all? The computer case is one of those large cubes with enough space for 2 power supplies and thirteen drives. Some of the SCSI drives are as old as the case and the editing system (A Canopus DVRexRT that is 5 years old this year) and are still going strong. All of the SCSI drives can be replaced with a single 250 gig drive which is something I'll do today (and tomorrow and the next day considering how much data has to be moved). This case doesn't use the little drive fans, it has space in front of all the drives for standard 100 mm fans. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!