PSU help

Adam135

Adam135

New Member
This seem a noob question but I have a packard bell Extreme (I hate them) but my question is-

Do I have to use the same PSU for the motherbord or can I use the one that comes with the case?

The PSU in the system is a 220V-230W, could I usethe 400W or the 350W?

Oh someone help me out. Please
Thank you in advance :)
 
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That will depend on whether that has a 20 or 24 connector. That has to be an old style setup to see only a 230w supply in it. If that doesn't have an atx model board in it you'll be stuck with the proprietary type it came with since it is probably an AT model. How old is the system itself? Are you running a cpu over a P2?
 
ya, you can put in a 350W or 400W PSU. you just have to make sure you get one appropriate for your case form factor (ie. ATX, Micro ATX, BTX) and it needs to have the same type of connector for the motherboard (ie. 20 pin, 20+4 pin, 24 pin)
 
It is a two year old computer.

ATX, yes.

AMD XP, how would I know how many pins? Isnt amd 20+4 or 24 pins?
 
Adam135 said:
It is a two year old computer.

ATX, yes.

AMD XP, how would I know how many pins? Isnt amd 20+4 or 24 pins?
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I would just get one with 20+4 pins so that that way, it will work for you mobo no matter what.
 
Adam135 said:
It is a two year old computer.

ATX, yes.

AMD XP, how would I know how many pins? Isnt amd 20+4 or 24 pins?
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The newer designed boards for AMD now have an extra four plug for a more direct 12v feed to the cpu itself due to the increased power demand there. Without that plugged in the system will fail to boot. Keeping that in mind to make sure the supply you get has that plug whether 20 or 24 pin.
 
Well if I look at my motherbord it has the main power and a 4 pin off to one side near the CPU.

So is that a 20+4?
 
An ATX PSU (be sure you don't have a mATX case or other small form factor or you'll never fit a full sized ATX PSU in) with 20/24pin Main Power (one that has the extra 4pins on a little slide on/off connector) and an ATX12V (4pin 2x2 connector) will make sure you have all the important connections you need and that they will fit. I believe all Athlon XP boards only use a 20pin main but the option to add the extra 4 will leave open possible upgrades to Athlon 64 while keeping the PSU.
 
With the Socket A(462) model boards you would generally see a 20pin plug for the main power there. The newer 64bit model cpu since have an additional four wire plug as mentioned earlier that plugs into the board right near the cpu socket itself. I am definitely surprised to see that low power psu in an Atholon case. A supply that low powered was generally for the old I486-586 AT or flat desktop model cases. Once the Atholons and P3s came out the system boards have always been run from 300w and up. It sounds like someone threw an Atholon board into an old P.Bell AT case there.
 
So what is the purpose of the 4 pin connector, surely the 20 pin would be able to run a AMD Athlon Xp 2800?

Oh I have looked at the PSU and my mistake it is an 280W, that is really low! This is suposed to be a £800 pound computer? I do not like the Packardbell systems at all, i nrver have and prob never will
 
Cromewell said:
(be sure you don't have a mATX case or other small form factor or you'll never fit a full sized ATX PSU in)
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WRONGO! A technicality but you could mod the box or mount the PSU externally.
 
WRONGO! A technicality but you could mod the box or mount the PSU externally.
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I said you'll never fit a full sized ATX PSU in, outside the case is not in it :P
Modding could be done but you would have to cut up the case and build a bigger enclosure.
 
Adam135 said:
So what is the purpose of the 4 pin connector, surely the 20 pin would be able to run a AMD Athlon Xp 2800?

Oh I have looked at the PSU and my mistake it is an 280W, that is really low! This is suposed to be a £800 pound computer? I do not like the Packardbell systems at all, i nrver have and prob never will
Click to expand...

Now you are getting the idea of why so many simply prefer to custom build their own cases. The four pin connector leads over to a four pin plugin near the cpu on Socket 939 not Socket A model boards like yours. That was added to meet the new power requirements seen with the 64bit cpus. You won't have to worry about plugging that in on the board you have there. If you could borrow an atx power supply you could see if that would fit in without any case modding needed. That will depend more on the case since that is an atx board. Then you could throw in a 400W+ standard atx supply.
 
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