s12 330w enough for my athlon xp system?

Renoir · Post by **Renoir** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 3:40 pm

Hi, been lurking round here a bit for the past few weeks and would like to say hi to all and to congratulate Mike and the team on a fantastic site that really sets the record straight on all things quiet computing related (particularly with regards to psu's)!

As for my question, It seems my current no name psu has decided to die on me so I'm looking to replace it with a quieter model and have decided on a s12 series psu but am unsure as to which to get. My system is as follows:

Athlon xp 2600 barton 1.916ghz
Asus A7V880 mobo (only takes 20 pin atx connector doesn't require additional atx 12v 4pin connector)
512MB DDR400
Geforce 4 mx440 128MB
2 HDs
2 Optical Drives
Floppy
Audigy 2zs

I am eyeing the 330w psu but just want to confirm that it would be compatible with this older system which isn't as hungry for the 12v rails as newer systems for which the psu is more aimed at.
I realise that overall the system doesn't need anywhere near 330w (nor likely will my next system upgrade according to stuff I've read here at spcr) but just need to know if the capacity on the 3/5 volt rails will be sufficient.
The psu really only needs enough capacity on these rails to serve the exact spec above as any upgrades I make will inevitably effect the load balance in favour of the 12volt rails after which I know the psu will be perfectly sufficient.

So what do you think?

Congrats again on a great site!

Renoir

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 3:59 pm

yes, 330watts is enough for that system.

unless your gunna run an SLI setup, 330watts will fit 99% of your applications.

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 4:00 pm

Hi Renoir, the Seasonic S12 330 will be just fine for your PC. In SPCRs testing their Socket A system drew less 3A on 3.3 & 5V rails. see here
The S12 330 spec sheet gives it 20A on the 3.3 & 5V rails.
Regards, Seb

Denis54 · Post by **Denis54** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 8:33 pm

I just bougth a S12-330 for my P4 3.0, 4 X 256 MB, 2 HD, DVD-ROM, NEC 2500a.

My S12-330 is rock stable and very quiet

spolitta · Post by **spolitta** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 11:19 pm

if you dont overclock then 330 is more than enough.

Renoir · Post by **Renoir** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 4:36 am

Thanks for the fast replies guys!

I'm sold, will order the 330w s12. Like I said I'm well aware that a 330w atx12v 2.x based psu is more than enough for most systems based on new p4 or athlon 64 based systems but was unsure if it was enough for an older system which favours the 3/5 volt rails more than the 12volt one/s. I had just recently read the review of the antec neoHE and was drawn to the comment about how it wasn't appropriate for an older system because of the lack of capacity on the 3/5v rails. I realise that as was mentioned in the review the neoHE has unusually low capacity on the 3/5 volt rails and that the s12 330 has more but just thought I'd check.

Spolitta - As I mentioned the spec I gave is not going to change in terms of the amount of current draw from the 3/5 rails because I don't plan to overclock and any upgrades I make will actually end up causing more load to come from the 12v rails and less from the 3/5 because newer components tend to favour the 12volt rails.

So I consider my question well answered. Thanks again guys really appreciate it. Hope you all had a good new year!

HaloJones · Post by **HaloJones** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 8:44 am

One thing to be careful of. Newer PSU with twin 12v rails can result in quite low amperage on each of the two rails. Older motherboards can then have problems with there being insufficient power on whichever 12v rail is powering it.

I bought an Antec 3700BQE with an Antec SmartPower 350W and it can't complte POST for a small Athlon XP rig while an older PSU works perfectly. I could just have a dodgy Antec (whodathunkit?) but I won't know that until it gets replaced.

Renoir · Post by **Renoir** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:23 pm

Received my s12 330 yesterday and so far everything seems to be perfectly stable although I haven't purposefully tried to test it yet so that's still on my to do list.

On a side note the fan seems to be very quiet as when i had the psu hooked up outside of the case I could only hear it when I put my ear within 6 inches of it! It has made me painfully aware that it is my cpu cooler that makes most of the noise from my pc so will have to look into replacing it. The s12 has actually taken the place of both the previous psu fan (obviously) and 80mm rear exhaust fan so it'll be interesting to see how that affects temperatures and whether the fact that the psu is now performing the "evacuate the heat role" leads to the fan speed being ramped as discussed in the following thread
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... e+psu+work

Thanks for your help guys!

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:47 pm

that would be the worst setup, to have the psu as an exhaust fan. when it "ramps up" in speed, it is no longer quiet.

you need a lot of openings in the front of the case or side, and an exhaust fan. otherwise, the psu will ramp up. You need both a free flowing case and a low speed exhaust. Unless this is a super low wattage setup, like some centrino 1.2 ghz setup with passive cooling and only a ducted psu fan drawing air, I would say the noise level will be better if you add some fans from the recommended fan list on here.

tjpark1111 · Post by **tjpark1111** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:20 pm

S12-330 is even enough for a dual-core system with a 6800GS, hdds, etc. and that rig on full load only took 190 watts! amps can be a problem, yes, but overall in my opinion, power supplies are getting way to overpowering.