computer power supply?

Question

i have a few questions about the power supply for computer. does more wattage mean the computer runs faster? how can you tell if a computer underperforms or crashes bescause of windows or the power supply? sorry, i'm not too computer saavy. i think my computer has 250 watt power supply powering a dvd drive, dvd recorder drive, pentium 4 2.8gh, 280 internal gb hard drive, 80 gb usb external. is the power supply adequete enough? i saw an Ultra V Series 400W Power Supplyfor 25$ shipped and thinking about getting it. thanks for any help

atx ultra v

Answer 1

More power does not necessarily mean faster computer, but inadaquate power can damage your computer, due to power fluxation. 250 watt power supply is kind of low. I wouldn't risk it and spend the 25 dollars.

Answer 2

One of the answerers above claimed a PC in use is like having on a 40watt bulb. Well, if your 40watt bulb draws about 150-200watts, I'd seriously ask for my money back. I've checked a number of the PCs I've owned with a power-consumption meter, and they tend to use between 150-200watts. Power is measured in watt/hours, so a PC like this left on for an hour would use 200watt/hours of electricity. These PCs have had processors in the 1.5Ghz-2GHz range. If you're using a really fast processor and you do a lot of gaming with a fancy graphics card fitted, you could probably stick another 100-150watts onto that. A CRT monitor uses a fair amount of power too - my old 15inch one averages about 80watts. LCD monitors tend to be less power hungry than CRTs. Leaving PCs on when they're not in use is not only a waste of money but obviously also an uneccessary contribution to global warming. Another point to bear in mind is that electronic components have limited lifespans, usually measured in tens or hundreds of thousands of hours. Capacitors (you'll find plenty of these in your power supply and on your motherboard) have shorter lifespans than many other components, drastically shorter if they're run in warm or hot environments.

Answer 3

Wattage is power. Power is additive.Power is heat which =load.The total wattage(power)consumption of all devices in your pc should not exceed 90% of your power supplys rating, or your power supply will become unstable,not being able to provide for the hardware, and also overheating.Has nothing to do with speed per say, but will affect overall functionability.Hope this helps.

Answer 4

mark is right, you really need more power. I've got about a 400 watt power supply. I'm running dvd rom, cd rom, 2 hard drives, and a x1600xt Radeon card which needs its own power. My power supply is the lower limit of the system.

Answer 5

If you have the money. Get the better power supply. your hardware will run better because it has the power it needs. There is no over kill of power, the hardware takes what it needs. I would make sure you can take the pwr sply with you to your next machine.






Pick me

Answer 6

wattage is amps x volts, normally the voltage for a computer should be 120, but your power supply should control the power automatically.

Answer 7

yeah i would recommend getting a new PSU since that power supply is running on max wattage, as for your question, a more powerfull PSU doesnt effect your computer speed.
since your motherboard is going to use up about 100watt, so i would recommend getting that new psu asap.

Answer 8

you cut defenetly used more watts .but wont run faster to use the extra power to run faster you have to mess with the prosesor
is call overclock you my wanna go to google and write the model number of your pc and ask how to do it there so many ways to do it .