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Old 02-16-2006, 05:10 PM   #1
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2nd Build - is PSU sufficient?

Hey guys, this is my second time building a computer, but I'm not sure if the 350w psu included with the case I'm considering is enough for the system. Tell me what you think:

Rosewill R203A Black Steel ATX Mid Tower with 12V 350W PSU
ASUS P4P800SE Socket 478 Intel 865PE ATX Intel Mobo
Intel Pentium 4 3.0E Prescott 800MHz FSB Socket 478 CPU
CORSAIR XMS 1GB DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC3200) (x4 = 4GB)
ATI 100-437510 Radeon X1600PRO 512MB GDDR2 AGP 4x/8x Vid Card
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 7.1 Channel PCI Interface Sound Card
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250 GB 7200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s HDD (x2)

plus a few other things, like the case fans, a multimedia card reader, a dvd+/-r drive i'm recycling from my last computer, etc. i'm also getting a samsung 24" LCD monitor. :-D should i worry about upgrading the power supply on this system?

any other comments or suggestions? have i made any big mistakes with this configuration? feedback greatly appreciated. thanks!
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Old 02-16-2006, 05:13 PM   #2
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350 watts is sufficient, but I don't trust the quality of Rosewill power supplies. If you want a low priced case with a decent PSU, look at AOpen and Enlight.

You will not be able to use all 4 gigs of ram without a 64 bit processor and 64 bit OS, by the way.
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Old 02-17-2006, 01:51 AM   #3
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What's the most ram I can use without the 64 bit processor/OS, then?
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Old 02-17-2006, 09:00 AM   #4
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I believe something like 3 gigs. There was just a discussion in one of the forums here within the last few days on this very question, but I can't find it at the moment. Realistically, 2 gigs should do everything you want and then some unless you're doing intensive video encoding work.
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Old 02-17-2006, 11:12 AM   #5
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I would recommend one dual channel kit - 2x1 gb. You also don't need XMS - value ram is fine. Spend the money on a decent power supply instead, and if you are going to game with that thing, you need a better video card. A faster video card with 256mb ram will be better than that 512mb card. The X1600 is not a very good gaming GPU.

Actually, as long as you are building essentially from scratch, why don't you get a 64 bit processor (AMD or Intel - doesn't matter) and a PCI-Express setup? That will allow you to upgrade to a 64 bit OS when they get it sorted out. You have speced out a good system there, but it's using technology that's just about obsolete (Socket 478, AGP) and your future upgrade possibilities are very limited. There's really not much cost difference now.
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