OT: How many internal IDE drives maximum off of an ATX power supply?

[Tyler Aviss]

First thing I usually do when setting up a new machine is replace the
oftimes-crappy PSU with a decent Enermax. I've found that those tend
to last the longest (Antec are good but I have had those crap out on
me), and they tend to give the rest of the hardware a longer-lifetime
due to less noise/spikes/drops in voltage. Certainly I see hard-drive
lifetime a bit extended by ensuring the machine has a good PSU and
proper cooling.

If you have a decent PSU and it *does* happen to die, they're usually
built in such a way that it will do so without taking out everything
that's connected. In contrast, my last el-cheapo PSU fried an attached
hard-drive and fried my motherboard enough to leave a brown scorch
mark near the ATX connector.

In short, they cost more but tend to save you money in the long run.

On 9/21/07, Lennart Sorensen <lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbv44Nm34jS7GywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> On Thu, Sep 20, 2007 at 04:52:56PM -0400, Madison Kelly wrote:
> > Look up the max volt-amps drawn by each drive for the 5vDC and 12vDC
> > rails. Then look at the maximum amps available on each rail (5vDC and
> > 12vDC). I really doubt it, but you may have multiple 12vDC rails which
> > will have their own max draw plus a combined max draw across all rails.
> >
> > Lastly, you will need to determine how much amperage draw the rest of
> > your system draws on the 5vDC and 12vDC rails, and make sure those plus
> > the combined draw of your HDDs doesn't exceed the max draw of your PSU.
> >
> > Lastly, it is important to realize that switching PSUs have a curve of
> > efficiency. *Generally*, PSUs are most efficient around the 75%-85%
> > range. Most better PSU companies will show you an efficiency graph.
> >
> > One thing to understand, that *many* people miss, is that "wattage" on
> > PSUs is often *very* deceptive and often flat out misleading. I've seen
> > 500w cheap PSUs fail long before a well built 350w PSU. Shady PSU makers
> > love to play fast and loose with their wattage by doing things like
> > saying 500w PSU!!! (*max 350w on the 12vDC and 5vDC rails).
> >
> > So long answer short; it depends on the quality of your PSU and the max
> > amperage available on the 12vDC rail mainly, with the 5vDC rail being
> > important but much less so.
>
> Cheap power supplies will also give their rating based on running at 25C
> internal temperature, while normal operation is more like 40C inside the
> power supply.  500W at 25C isn't 500W at 40C for most power supplies.
>
> I buy power supplies from Antec, Enermax, Silverstone, and of course PC
> Power & Cooling.  If you want to be sure it never fails, get the PC
> Power & Cooling option.  Silverstone is good for quiet media systems,
> and Antec and Enermax make good power supplies for the money and are at
> least honest about what their power supplies are.
>
> The think included with a $25 case is a piece of scrap metal and should
> not be inflicted on your expensive electronics. :)
>
> --
> Len Sorensen
> --
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