Power Supply help, 380 enough?

[Mitsu3kGTVR4]

I'm finally building my computer, and I'm not sure if the 380 watt power supply that comes in the Antec Sonata is enough for what I have, but I like it's silence. If it isn't enough what could happen if I used it?

What would you recommend for:

MSI K8N Neo 2 Platinum
AMD Athlon 64 3500
3 hard drives
16x dvd burner
52x cd rom
108 mbps wireless network card
ati 9600 video card
1 gb ballistix

I think that's it for now...

 

[pc_boy]

your computer could run on a 380Watt PSU with those, but if you plan on adding other stuff it won't run that good, I mean a 380 isn't good enough for the future hardware, you've got a good computer there. If the computer doesn't have enough power, it will just freeze. The DVD RW drains a lot of power too. A good power supply would be some 450Watt ThermalTake. Look on newegg, they're like 50 bucks or so with little or no shipping.

 

[pc_boy]

oh... and what graphic card do you have? SE, PRO, XT? because those need a lot of juice too, especially if you are gonna play games.

 

[ChaosBlizzard]

I don't think his system will need anywhere near that amount of power.. For my system I have pretty much two of everything. Including processors, hard drives, and so on.

My APC unit report's that the system is drawing 216 Watt's, and that's with the monitor..

 

[Mitsu3kGTVR4]

hhhmmm.... so I guess I'll try it for now and if the computer starts freezing I will upgrade. As long as the 380 won't damage anything I'll try it out. Thanks, oh yeah it's a 9600 pro

 

[ChaosBlizzard]

No, it will not damage anything. The system only pulls as much power as it needs from the PSU.

 

[jaksback]

what you should watch for is probs mainly with your video output, if the monitor stops receiving signal sometimes at boot up, etc. i don't know how many fans you have or are planning to get but believe it or not that was what was a real strain on my PSU and ended up having to get a new one. i got a aspire 500 for like $60 and no more probs.

its the rails of amps that you have to look at in a PSU. good amp rails=good PSU, not necessarily the watts.

 

[ShoobieRat]

I think you're cutting it REALLY close. I would definately suggest something in the 450-500 range just to be safe and comfy.