building a pc question!?

Question

i am buiding(well sort of repairing) a amd(socket a) mobo,256mb ram,40gb hdd,ect and i have a damaged psu
could i replace the faulty psu(180 watts)for the replacement (200watts)
the replacement psu is out of a compaq deskpro 233mhz pentium 2 and i want to put it into the socket a mobo,is it safe,as its 20watts over and what will happen if it isnt compatible,will it just not boot?
i have other psu,s but they are the old type with 2 identical clips,theyre crap
also can you test a mobo with a voltage meter or something similar to see if it is functioning ok,or is there a tool you can buy for such a job

Answer 1

if your amd is equivalent to a Pentium 2 your find, if its equivalent to say a p4 then just go pick up a new one, they are cheep, oh and more power doesn't hurt your comp, it helps it

Answer 2

Most power supplies comply to the same standard. As long as the connectors are the same. You want make sure that if the Mobo is an ATX psu that the 200 Watt psu is equal. The the wattage of a psu is how much power it can supply, it does not push this power to the computer. Thus, a psu that can handle more power is going to perform better with your computer.

Answer 3

Many AMD and P4 motherboards require an extra power connection to the board that is not found on older power supplies. The extra wattage certainly will not harm your system, and depending on the number of devices, fans ect that you are running it will help. You can buy upto 300 watt powersupplies for around $ 30 for a cheap one, so I wouldnt waste my time trying to mess with an older supply. Here is a link for power supply testers if you are interested.

Answer 4

Well the specs of your computer..... you don't need alot of power.

But to sum it up... Just make sure the conectors match up to your old one, if it does your in business. Extra power never hurts a computer. It only uses what it needs, and it never over powers.

So by an example if your computer uses 100W of power and you have a 400W PSU it will only use 100W. That why we say more is better for future upgrades, and also as with time PSU loose Full power as in if it's 400W than it may only be 350W max in 2 years time etc.

Answer 5

The PSU power is a maximum output power. They all supply the same power to the motherboard, the power rating is more for how many devices can be connected. The motherboard will only draw the amount of power it requires.

Answer 6

Personally I'd get an even bigger PSU...200w is low by todays standards.... the other PSUs you have will not work anyway, they're AT type and will not fit an ATX motherboard

Answer 7

There are differences in power supplies from "off the shelve" and DYI power sources. You will be better off getting a new power supply of 400 watts. They are not that expensive, using that compac ps may cause damage to the rest of your components.


http://www.newegg.com
http://www.tigerdirect.com

Answer 8

yes the amount of the psu simply means how many devices it can supply power to the higher the number the more it can do. but don't forget it can pump out more heat as well. and you don't anything overheating.