Great site! learned so much, can't figure this out tho:
If I calculate I will need say only something say 300W PSU (a little more later with upgrade next year or two), how can I get round the PSUs around that power level only having 2 SATA connectors (esp Seasonic)? are there power cable- [splitters]?
plus - I have a 160Gb PATA drive I wanted to keep, and planned to get any new drives as SATAs -up to 3more in time- but should I dispense with the PATA and move fully over to SATAs, for ease of compatibility?
...or direct me to a FAQ i missed! thanks
too high power vs too few SATA connectors?
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is it true that a higher wattage PSU will heat up less than a lower wattage PSU, at a given wattage use?
Such as a 500watt PSU giving 200 watts of energy will heat up less, than a 300 watt PSU.
And thus would need less cooling, ie. less fan rpm?
And that a higher wattage PSU will delivery cleaner power?
Jon
http://www.helpusall.com
"you can never win and you can never lose, because the game is always in-play" sp always do your best
"strive for stillness and urgent action, in accordance with your highest guidance"
Such as a 500watt PSU giving 200 watts of energy will heat up less, than a 300 watt PSU.
And thus would need less cooling, ie. less fan rpm?
And that a higher wattage PSU will delivery cleaner power?
Jon
http://www.helpusall.com
"you can never win and you can never lose, because the game is always in-play" sp always do your best
"strive for stillness and urgent action, in accordance with your highest guidance"
Any PSU will have connectors for the 160GB IDE drive. As for the SATA drives, just get adapters for the standard 4-pin Molexes like Howard says.
jonjan, it is not true that a higher wattage PSU will be more efficient or deliver cleaner power. Any quality PSU will deliver power that is sufficiently clean for all your computing needs. As for the efficiency, well, I believe the Antec Phantom 350W PSU is still the most efficient PSU that SPCR has reviewed so it will produce less waste heat than even those crazy 600+W PSUs. Of course, PSUs have different efficiencies at different power levels so a PSU that was really efficient in the 65-100W range might be great for most people but a power gamer with two high-end graphics cards might want something that is really efficient in the 250-300W range.
jonjan, it is not true that a higher wattage PSU will be more efficient or deliver cleaner power. Any quality PSU will deliver power that is sufficiently clean for all your computing needs. As for the efficiency, well, I believe the Antec Phantom 350W PSU is still the most efficient PSU that SPCR has reviewed so it will produce less waste heat than even those crazy 600+W PSUs. Of course, PSUs have different efficiencies at different power levels so a PSU that was really efficient in the 65-100W range might be great for most people but a power gamer with two high-end graphics cards might want something that is really efficient in the 250-300W range.
NOT true. Power supplies have their model-charasteristic efficiency curve, which maxes at some point, the highest efficiency output point of the lower wattage PSU being usually lower than the higher wattage PSU's.jonjan wrote:is it true that a higher wattage PSU will heat up less than a lower wattage PSU, at a given wattage use?
Such as a 500watt PSU giving 200 watts of energy will heat up less, than a 300 watt PSU.
For example, a 300W PSU might be WAY more efficient at 100W output than a 500W PSU, but the 500W PSU will probably be much more efficient at outputting 300W than the 300W PSU.
The efficiency means how much of the AC input is turned into DC output, and the rest is basically just turned into heat. So efficiency is the thing that matters. SPCR PSU reviews allways have the efficiency curve measured and displayed.
Because of this you should measure the idle and typical full power power draw of your system with some PSU that has a known efficiency curve, calculate the DC draw and buy a PSU that has it's highest efficiency at and around those.