First computer

galleon · TweakNOOB Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 7

Hey i'm building my first computer and i had a case question or two. I'm looking at the aspire x-infinity...it has all the options i want at an affordable price and a couple of really cool features i like. The only problem i see with it is the power supply....i don't want to have to get a new case anytime soon and i thought 350 was on the low end. I'll be running a p4 3 gig (possibly amd not sure), 160 gig 7200 rpm hd, 1 gig pc3200 ddr ram, not sure of the motherboard yet, three 80mm fans, a dvd-rw drive and a dvd-cdrw combo drive, and.....a good sound card soundblaster 5.1 or whatever, oh and a 256 radeon video card. Will 350 be enough for all that? I will not be overclocking at all (with 3 ghz and 1 gig of 3200 ram i don't see the risk/reward ratio as all that great).

Also, is there a way to upgrade the power supply in the case or do i have to use the one that comes with it?

Anyone have any other recommendations for cases? I like the glass side panel and the removable other side panel, and the top blowhole and front usb 2.0 and audio connectors. The thermostat and removeable mother board tray make it seem like buy far the best value at $60 ( i can get 50 on ebay).

Thanks for helping

Google · Sponsor

JayDubya · Posted: Mon May 03, 2004 9:36 am Post subject:

$60 for that case doesn't sound too bad.

as for the psu in that case, you will need to upgrade it to a good name brand (antec, vantec, thermaltake, enermax) power supply that is at least 400watts if your going amd. looking at your system, i would probably get a 430 watt psu or maybe a bit more if you are going p4 (go bigger b/c we all know we'll use more power in the future). if you dont have enough power, you can very easily damage many of your components.
_________________
JayDubya aka JW Jay JD ^> ﺵ

ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

and yes, you can certainly change the power supply in the case.......you DO NOT need to use the same on that came with the case......=]

just in cas ehta wasnt toally clear from what jay said.....other than that....jay is dead right
_________________

[TN] Nathan · ALMIGHTY PWNER! Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 7406

350 might be ok for your purposes if you aren't overclocking at all.
_________________
Owner & Administrator
www.Tweaknews.net
www.Pocketbookpinch.com

JayDubya · Posted: Mon May 03, 2004 2:47 pm Post subject:

it'll be very close. try this site out to see what it recommends. it seems to use a bit more than you actually need but its better to be safe than sorry.
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
_________________
JayDubya aka JW Jay JD ^> ﺵ

galleon · TweakNOOB Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 7

i went to the site and it says 351....how crappy is that lol. I think i'll just go out and buy a 500 watt psu

JayDubya · Posted: Mon May 03, 2004 4:45 pm Post subject:

if that site says 351, you can probably get by. just don't go out and buy any 500watt psu. that will get you in trouble. make sure it is a good name brand psu with a decent reputation.
_________________
JayDubya aka JW Jay JD ^> ﺵ

Sally · UberTweaker Joined: 31 Mar 2004 Posts: 1158 Location: WA

not only name brand like JW said, but also keep an eye on the current per given voltage. This should be listed on the label panel of the PS. For instance, 10 Amp @ 12Volts would yield 120W to the 12V devices...that's pretty damn low. if you are gonna have enough fans to make your case into a wind tunnel and storage in the terrabytes (or just lots of little drives), be sure that you have a big number for the 12 volt....like 20amp would be a fairly ok number. Often times you get what you pay for. It really depends on the quality of components as to which you'll be using. If I were to do it all over again, I'd have footed the extra 50 bucks and went with the ANTEC TRUPOWER 430...there are plenty of leads, lots of power, its proven and solid in performance, and it has dedicated leads JUST for fans.
_________________
|¤|

[TN] Nathan · ALMIGHTY PWNER! Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 7406

400 watt should be fine.

You won't be overclocking so you don't need the overhead.
_________________
Owner & Administrator
www.Tweaknews.net
www.Pocketbookpinch.com

ghahat · TweakNOOB Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 142

I was also looking at the x-infinity for a new PC but i didnt like the 350W PSU either.

if your gonna pay $60 for the x-infinity and then pay extra for a PSU, you might want to consider the raidmax cobra w/ 420W. it lists for $80 but ive seen it for $50 on pricewatch.
it comes with more fans and space for fans than the x-infinity. but you will have to put your own blowhole in.

you can check out the features at xpcases.com

galleon · TweakNOOB Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 7

I thought about that too but I wanted to get a 500 w power supply anyway (I want to keep it for a long time) and i really like the x-infinity. I can get a startech 500w silent fan for 60 bucks and I heard they were pretty good....that means for 120 bucks i'll have the case i want and a pretty awesome fan. Anyone heard anything about the startech? on techwarelabs it beat the antec 480 in just about every test they had.