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Building an old rig how much power am i going to need?
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Junior Member
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1. December 2010 @ 03:29 |
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Building an old rig just so i can play some of the old games i can never play these days (not even a virtual PC does the trick but anyways) I'm in process of building an old rig that isn't too old I guess...I could run XP on it but I'm going to Run Windows 98 SE PLUS (if this effects power i don't really know?) not sure about every little detail about everything as there parts from other computers I've got (such as HDD i don't know the RPM etc)
Specs are (or going to be)
2 HDDs IDE(one's Samsung the other Western Digital both 80GB)
MSI MS-6533 Motherboard with a Pentium 4 processor at 2.4GHz (the max it can read is 2.8GHz if this helps not going to be overclocking though)
512MB of DDR ram
ATI Radeon X850 (AGP) (not going to overclock)
PS/2 Samsung Keyboard and "scroll mouse" haha doesn't have a brand (its a balled mouse)
Might add an 80mm and 120mm fan if there's spots free for the case when i get it
LG LCD screen Flatron L1530S
Speakers - not sure yet just a cheap 2.0 system id say or if i go out a little bit 2.1
Not sure yet with the CD player/burner yet not wanting to spend much on it
So I'm not sure how much power I'm going to need I've been looking at some in the 400W-550W area as i have no clue how much power i really need so I'm welcome to any suggestions (different brand or model etc) or one that i list here that will do the job and wont break within a few months time
Corsair CX-400 400W
Antec ATX NEO 450C ECO PSU 450W
Antec ATX NEO 520C ECO PSU 520W
Antec Basiq Plus ATX PSU 550W
So can i go lower in watts or need to get another model or anyone of them would do the trick? if there's anything else needed to help out then just let me know
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience
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AfterDawn Addict
1 product review
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1. December 2010 @ 05:29 |
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200W should be more than enough for that stuff...a basic corsair would fit the job well, but you might want to go with something cheaper on this.
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Junior Member
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1. December 2010 @ 06:35 |
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Originally posted by KillerBug:
200W should be more than enough for that stuff...a basic corsair would fit the job well, but you might want to go with something cheaper on this.
ah really? sweet thanks for the reply
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience
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ps355528
Senior Member
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1. December 2010 @ 12:57 |
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why put 512 ram in a win98 box?.. 64 will be more than enough.. 128 is greedy.. your big problem with an old operating system and modern hardware is going to be drivers... drivers drivers drivers.. and that processor is WAY too fast .. most old games will either run way too fast or be very unstable.. I know from experience a lot of games of that era will crash all the time on anything above a p3-800 regardless of the operating system. You need to run hardware which matches the specs the games are expecting.. or how about just running win98 in the dosbox emulator?.. hahahaha.. it can be done..
for win98 and before era games you need something like a junkheap pentium2 -333 or similar.. (if you can dig up an amd k6 even better) free from a dumpster near you... seriously.. I have found 3 in the last week on my way to town. Ask family and friends if they have a scrap antique in their shed or outhouse.. or your local indie computer shop.. they always have a couple of doorstops or "bench supports" kicking around.. I use mine to test drives that I get given as "dead" or to hold up shelving or as handy places to store spare drives.......
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Junior Member
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1. December 2010 @ 13:51 |
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Originally posted by ps355528:
why put 512 ram in a win98 box?.. 64 will be more than enough.. 128 is greedy.. your big problem with an old operating system and modern hardware is going to be drivers... drivers drivers drivers.. and that processor is WAY too fast .. most old games will either run way too fast or be very unstable.. I know from experience a lot of games of that era will crash all the time on anything above a p3-800 regardless of the operating system. You need to run hardware which matches the specs the games are expecting.. or how about just running win98 in the dosbox emulator?.. hahahaha.. it can be done..
for win98 and before era games you need something like a junkheap pentium2 -333 or similar.. (if you can dig up an amd k6 even better) free from a dumpster near you... seriously.. I have found 3 in the last week on my way to town. Ask family and friends if they have a scrap antique in their shed or outhouse.. or your local indie computer shop.. they always have a couple of doorstops or "bench supports" kicking around.. I use mine to test drives that I get given as "dead" or to hold up shelving or as handy places to store spare drives.......
well it comes with 512MB of ram plus 256MB plus i also happen to have 512MB of ram with me from another PC so i thought why not (least i know 1GB would be plain stupid haha) and yeah i thought a P3 would be the go but i live in a small town nothing to do with computers here not even a shop so im not sure if ill be able to find anything lower if so i may try get my hands on it also ive got all the drivers for it and made sure the gfx card works with Win98 so yeah hopefully most of the games i want to play will work im sure some will run with problems or not at all and others will work fine but ill see what happens i guess
sorry forgot to mention i got the mobo off ebay so it comes with the ram and and processor i was just wanting an old socket type
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 1. December 2010 @ 13:53
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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1. December 2010 @ 15:46 |
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400W Corsair CX, but definitely not the 430W version, it's crap.
If the 400 isn't available, go with a 380W Antec Earthwatts green.
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Junior Member
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1. December 2010 @ 21:40 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
400W Corsair CX, but definitely not the 430W version, it's crap.
If the 400 isn't available, go with a 380W Antec Earthwatts green.
cheers i was actually looking at the Antec 380W earthwatts a few times ill prob go for that as it helps keeping the power low or can save money on ya bill (as ive got one atm in this PC only a 600W or so or maybe 550W...i dunno) but yeah cheers for suggestion :)
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. December 2010 @ 00:12 |
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The system will only use the wattage that the parts need; it would draw approximately the same amount of wall current using a 1000W power supply.
Also, you might consider underclocking if you have too much speed. Most P4 processors I played with had no minimum clock multiplier...meaning you could drop the things down to Pentium 3 speeds or even lower.
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Junior Member
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2. December 2010 @ 01:22 |
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Originally posted by KillerBug:
The system will only use the wattage that the parts need; it would draw approximately the same amount of wall current using a 1000W power supply.
Also, you might consider underclocking if you have too much speed. Most P4 processors I played with had no minimum clock multiplier...meaning you could drop the things down to Pentium 3 speeds or even lower.
ah thats really helpful to know cheers for sharing that
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. December 2010 @ 01:57 |
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Newer, more expensive units do have higher efficiency though. It rarely makes buying a bigger PSU worthwhile, but it's something to take into consideration if you were considering buying an old, outdated unit.
For example, the PC Power & Cooling 610W wastes an extra 61W to generate 250W DC, and an extra 173W to generate its maximum 610W.
The Corsair AX 850W however, in addition to being quieter than the PCP&C unit by as much as 25dB, only wastes 27W to generate 250W DC, and an extra 112W to generate 700W.
If a PC is loaded at these levels for 8 hours a day for a high-end gamer, that can work out to be as much as £20 / $30 every year. Over the 3-4 year lifespan of a system, that can easily be as much as the PSU cost itself.
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Junior Member
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2. December 2010 @ 07:07 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
Newer, more expensive units do have higher efficiency though. It rarely makes buying a bigger PSU worthwhile, but it's something to take into consideration if you were considering buying an old, outdated unit.
For example, the PC Power & Cooling 610W wastes an extra 61W to generate 250W DC, and an extra 173W to generate its maximum 610W.
The Corsair AX 850W however, in addition to being quieter than the PCP&C unit by as much as 25dB, only wastes 27W to generate 250W DC, and an extra 112W to generate 700W.
If a PC is loaded at these levels for 8 hours a day for a high-end gamer, that can work out to be as much as £20 / $30 every year. Over the 3-4 year lifespan of a system, that can easily be as much as the PSU cost itself.
oh i see thanks for sharing
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience
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Junior Member
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2. December 2010 @ 10:22 |
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Also encase I do indeed need to Underclock is there anyone that can point me to the right direction on how to do it or some tips and such ive done a bit of googling but still a bit unsure as im thinking if i change one setting such as the clock speed im going to have to change something else such as vcore? or just explained here even though im pretty sure it would be explained here just thought id ask first
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience
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kendahlj
Newbie
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10. December 2010 @ 11:36 |
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This sounds more like a project you're doing just for the fun of it. But really the way to go is hit some thrift shops or garage sales and you'll be able to find a system like what you described for $20 or less.
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Junior Member
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10. December 2010 @ 12:56 |
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Originally posted by kendahlj:
This sounds more like a project you're doing just for the fun of it. But really the way to go is hit some thrift shops or garage sales and you'll be able to find a system like what you described for $20 or less.
yeah that could be possible but where i live its a really small town (in 2006 there was 873 people living here according to wikipedia hahaha) so theres no computer shops plus in one way i guess you could be right as the only place i think i could find an old pc like this is in the tip but im never down the tip as people here not everyone knows stuff about computers we got giving a free pc as it was slow and they thought it had a vius...it only had 64mb ram and i think it had XP on it but yeah the tip would be probably a garage sale xD
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience
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m4r0v3r
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1 product review
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10. December 2010 @ 19:04 |
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just find a cheap modular power supply. Theres no point in buying something good to be wasted
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Junior Member
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10. December 2010 @ 19:34 |
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Originally posted by m4r0v3r:
just find a cheap modular power supply. Theres no point in buying something good to be wasted
yeah i got an antec one it was cheap but ended up being a bit more because of GST and insurance i did have a spare cheap one but i fear i think it killed the last motherboard it was connected to
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. December 2010 @ 03:07 |
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Wouldn't surprise me, cheap PSUs are infamous for destroying hardware.
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. December 2010 @ 17:17 |
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Yeah, no matter what kind of PC you are using, always make sure that you have reliable and powerful enough PSU in it. It's sad to burn a PC because of bad PSU. Even if you bought it for 20£/?/$/Whatever.
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. December 2010 @ 18:02 |
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Yup, a £25 Qtec fried one of my drives and a stick of RAM in the past. only quality units since then.
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