micro ATX case maximum PSU ?

[Sazar]

was wondering whats the largest psu one can get for a micro-ATX case ?

most of the prebuilt cases I have seen happen to be 200watts...and I am considering getting a little case for portability purposes... and I want to know what I can scale the PSU up to so I know what I can throw into the case :)

any information provided will be helpful.. cheers...

[Gator]

i did a search on pricewatch, the larget MATX PSU they had listed was 230W :(

if i find anything else i'll post

[Sazar]

well its a SFF case...

just need something likely to power the following...

around 3000+ barton or 3.0c intel... 512mb ddr... s-ata driver... usb hdd... 1 dvd +/- r/rw... AIW video card... likely the 9800pro or perhaps my current 9700pro...

[ricercar]

My experience may answer your question, Sazar. You may also wish to review the most excellent SFF forum at sudhian.com. there are MANY posts regarding 9700/9800 in SFF using the stock 200 W PSU.

There are no genuine SFF PSUs above 200W, although a Shuttle representative on Sudhian.com forums has hinted that a 250 is in the works. Current 200 W models are made by two companies, Achme and by Enhance. The Achme are apparently better (more dependable and provide more current) than the original Enhance models; however, I've seen a few posts indicating that a new Enhance#2 model is available that's significantly quieter than the Enhance#1 or Achme.

A Radeon 9700 Pro or 9700 AIW is powered sufficiently with the Shuttle 200 W PSU, even if you have two WD 120 gig drives and a PCI card.
A Radeon 9800 Pro is NOT powered sufficiently with the Shuttle 200 W PSU if you have two WD 120 G drives. however, most people with one HD report that the 9800 Pro works fine with the SFF PSU.

--

I have a configuration with power draw approximately like the one you discuss: SN41G2 SFF / Barton 3000+ / 1G DDR / 120G HD / Wireless PCI NIC / GeForce FX Ultra 5800 / DVD-CDRW.

A GeForce FX 5800 Ultra cannot be powered above 800x600 resolution with the stock Shuttle 200 W PSU.

I experimented with a 1RU 300W Server PSU in the Shuttle SFF. Heat was a problem, because I had to remove the PSU case to fit it into the SFF chassis. Therefore PSU heat was venting directly into the SFF chamber, creating temperatures well above 60°C and apparently frying my HD and graphics card the first day. Luckily both companies RMA'd the failed devices lightning fast.

Currently I use an external 350 W Antec TruePower PSU on the SFF. MBM Temperatures are 39°-46°C depending on room temp and load. The difference between 300 W and 350 W is tangible in benchmarks (16K -> 17K 3DMark 2001), but not in normal games such as UT2003.


EDIT
http://forums.sudhian.com/messageview.cfm?catid=46&threadid=31958

[Sazar]

Originally posted by ricercar
My experience may answer your question, Sazar. You may also wish to review the most excellent SFF forum at sudhian.com. there are MANY posts regarding 9700/9800 in SFF using the stock 200 W PSU.

There are no genuine SFF PSUs above 200W, although a Shuttle representative on Sudhian.com forums has hinted that a 250 is in the works. Current 200 W models are made by two companies, Achme and by Enhance. The Achme are apparently better (more dependable and provide more current) than the original Enhance models; however, I've seen a few posts indicating that a new Enhance#2 model is available that's significantly quieter than the Enhance#1 or Achme.

A Radeon 9700 Pro or 9700 AIW is powered sufficiently with the Shuttle 200 W PSU, even if you have two WD 120 gig drives and a PCI card.
A Radeon 9800 Pro is NOT powered sufficiently with the Shuttle 200 W PSU if you have two WD 120 G drives. however, most people with one HD report that the 9800 Pro works fine with the SFF PSU.

--

I have a configuration with power draw approximately like the one you discuss: SN41G2 SFF / Barton 3000+ / 1G DDR / 120G HD / Wireless PCI NIC / GeForce FX Ultra 5800 / DVD-CDRW.

A GeForce FX 5800 Ultra cannot be powered above 800x600 resolution with the stock Shuttle 200 W PSU.

I experimented with a 1RU 300W Server PSU in the Shuttle SFF. Heat was a problem, because I had to remove the PSU case to fit it into the SFF chassis. Therefore PSU heat was venting directly into the SFF chamber, creating temperatures well above 60°C and apparently frying my HD and graphics card the first day. Luckily both companies RMA'd the failed devices lightning fast.

Currently I use an external 350 W Antec TruePower PSU on the SFF. MBM Temperatures are 39°-46°C depending on room temp and load. The difference between 300 W and 350 W is tangible in benchmarks (16K -> 17K 3DMark 2001), but not in normal games such as UT2003.


EDIT
http://forums.sudhian.com/messageview.cfm?catid=46&threadid=31958

thanks :)

I had looked @ sudhian a coupla weeks ago for some info... as well as other sites...

I want to make the SFF case my primary entertainment/gaming system and use my current system as a less portable multimedia center :)

weighing the info @ hand... I think I will hold off till the next gen of SFF cases/psus come out to accomodate my needs :)

thanks ricecar... appreciate the info..