HTPC Power supply advice

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › HTPC Power supply advice

Mattv

242 posts

Master Geek

#21172 17-Apr-2008 21:06

Hi there

I want to upgrade my mediacentre PC in order to get DVB-T in HD (see signature below for current specs)

I have just bought an HVR-2200 tuner and obviously I need to get a new video card (not sure what yet but probably 8600GT or 9600GT). I will probably add another HDD and possibly a BD-ROM in the medium term future.

My question is what sort of power supply will I need to cope with this? I currently have only 350W. Most "sales" websites don't give much indication of power requirements but I have seen the odd one that indicates the newer cards need around 500W at least. My PC case is just a standard ATX midi case and is in the cupboard behind my TV/AMP Reciever so noise is no too much of a consideration.

Any comments/suggestions much appreciated.

mcraenz

1140 posts

Uber Geek

#124545 17-Apr-2008 21:34

Check out this:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article28-page4.html

I always have a good laugh when I see 1200w power supplies advertised! 1200 WATTS!!! As if! That's enough to turn your your "leet haxor blue neon gaming rig" into a molten steaming pile of silicon and tin! All this stuff is just marketing hype for gamers who want to spend money. In reality all you need is ~350watts, main thing is that it has all the appropriate connectors/rails. Ok maybe if you have multiple gfx cards SLI and overlocked to the eyeballs, then, just maybe you might even need 400 watts!

Help me build a better way of doing politics in Aotearoa New Zealand

political.nz

mentalinc

3196 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#124555 17-Apr-2008 22:03

The amps on the 12v rail is also an "issue".

CPU: AMD 5900x | RAM: GSKILL Trident Z Neo RGB F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC-32-GB | MB: Asus X570-E | GFX: EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti| Monitor: LG 27GL850-B 2560x1440

Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX

Disrespective

1924 posts

Uber Geek

#124592 18-Apr-2008 07:46

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

It's an online power supply calculator. Very handy in situations like this.

My server has a silent 600W PSU as i couldn't find a smaller silent PSU... Sometimes you just have to go with what you can get.

See if you can find an external PSU option. They're like a laptop brick supply but for a big PC. Shuttle make them for a few of their boxes.The advantage of them is that they are external (no heat input into the case) and they are silent (les annoying fans)

ajst2duk

170 posts

Master Geek

#124745 18-Apr-2008 13:51

For my money this PSU is the best I've ever used..
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=3720

Mattv

242 posts

Master Geek

#124838 18-Apr-2008 19:50

Thanks for your replies. Looks like I'll be marginal with my 350w but may get away with it.

ajst2duk that power supply does look pretty good and not a bad price really so will keep it in mind. Have you had many dealings with Computer Lounge? I had to send my HVR-2200 that I bought from them back this week as it appeared to be DOA. It will be interesting to see how good their customer service is with this sort of thing. I have only really dealt with Ascent previously (who have been very good I must say)

STI

239 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

#124840 18-Apr-2008 20:22

Mattv: Thanks for your replies. Looks like I'll be marginal with my 350w but may get away with it.

ajst2duk that power supply does look pretty good and not a bad price really so will keep it in mind. Have you had many dealings with Computer Lounge? I had to send my HVR-2200 that I bought from them back this week as it appeared to be DOA. It will be interesting to see how good their customer service is with this sort of thing. I have only really dealt with Ascent previously (who have been very good I must say)

In most cases 450W should be sufficient unless you are overclocking or have SLi/Crossfire configuration. Check this thread on extremeOverclocking for a list of recommended power supplies.

Generally Corsair make high quality power supplies (think they are made by Seasonic), that HX series also come in 520W rating at a cheaper price if 620W is too expensive.

I haven't dealt with Computer Lounge personally, but people who do seem to be happy. Have a look at this thread at GP Forums where people rate online retailers. Computer Lounge was ranked on par with Ascent. Do let us know what happen with RMA.

ajst2duk

170 posts

Master Geek

#125279 21-Apr-2008 12:57

Mattv: Thanks for your replies. Looks like I'll be marginal with my 350w but may get away with it.

ajst2duk that power supply does look pretty good and not a bad price really so will keep it in mind. Have you had many dealings with Computer Lounge? I had to send my HVR-2200 that I bought from them back this week as it appeared to be DOA. It will be interesting to see how good their customer service is with this sort of thing. I have only really dealt with Ascent previously (who have been very good I must say)

I've only had one dealing so far with them, on a Hauppauge 2200 which was fine.

I recommended the corsair PSU for a number of reasons, in my long experience with computers, I have seen bad PSU's and Ram be the source of most problems, so I've decided that life is too short for either. These Corsair HX units are made by seasonic as sti pointed out, they are known for their quality. These units are quiet (good for HTPC's) and modular, so you only need install the cables that you require, reducing clutter.
Also with PSU's, it's often not just all about "watts", it is also the quality of the power, ie; is the power filtered, stable, and delivered with enough current? For the record (I bought mine overseas) when I did ask computerlounge how they rated them, they advised that they were the best they had ever sold.