home server psu question

Bad_Boi · 11 Mar 2011 at 12:15

This is the 1st time I've attempted to do this.

I'm in the process of striping a old pc & building a home file server with the spare parts. I'm wanting to do this as cheap as possible.

The parts that I am recycling are-

MicroStar MSI KT4AV (MS-6712)
Athlon XP 2600+ AXDA2600DKV3D
1028mb RAM
160GB IDE drive (for OS)
Case
Optical drive (for installing os + drivers)

I also have 3x1TB Samsung HDs (with the possibiity of adding 1 more in the future)

I'm going to buy a sata pci card & a new psu for this build.

So here is my question.

As I will be keeping this system on 247, What is the smallest PSU I could use, as I want to keep electricity costs down low.?

Any help would be greatful

m3csl2004 · 11 Mar 2011 at 12:18

Doesn't matter about the power rating of the psu - the PC will draw the same current from a 300W supply or a 1200W supply. Just get a reliable one.

Bad_Boi · 11 Mar 2011 at 12:53

I see.

so I could use a 250w then.?

discobiscuits · 11 Mar 2011 at 12:56

Yes pretty sure 250 would easily be enough for that.

pcAnywhere · 11 Mar 2011 at 13:04

Bad_Boi said:
I see.

so I could use a 250w then.?

If the system is on 24/7 then you want a high efficiency (85%+) PSU to keep the running costs down.

That's pretty old tech so I've no idea what the max power draw would be, but as you don't have a dedicated GPU, it should be less than 200 watts.

The PSU I would recommend is the 530w Bequiet. It's a complete overkill based on power requirements, but it is very efficient and quiet. As previously said, the PSU will only supply the power that a system needs.

Bad_Boi · 11 Mar 2011 at 18:31

the 530w Bequiet sounds like the one I need. Plus its on offer