I have that exact combination. The only thing that can theoretically cause problems are ISA cards and I haven't had any trouble at all so far (AWE64, EWS64 etc. all work fine). I think the only card that won't work without the -5V rail is the LAPC-I and perhaps other cards of similar vintage. Also I've read something about motherboards actually transforming the -5V from other rails, maybe someone else knows something about that.

You should take into account that modern PSUs are made for heavy loads on the +12V line and not on +3.3V and +5V, so it's probably better to get something bigger than ~250W to be safe. Especially with beefy AGP graphics cards.

I was curious about the ISA sound card part to (Have an AWE 64 Value on the way).

Thanks for the answer. I might look into the 380w Antec Earthwatts instead, was looking at a low end 250w 80+.

If you're going to install just a Voodoo 3 or something like that you probably won't have any problems at all with the 250W part, PIIIs don't consume a lot of power as well. But if you suddenly decide that you want a Ti 4800 or something like that I think such a "weak" modern PSU can definitely mean trouble...

Geforce 2 MX 400, SLI Voodoo 2s.

Can't imagine that using a whole lot of power.

Private_Ops wrote:

Geforce 2 MX 400, SLI Voodoo 2s.

Can't imagine that using a whole lot of power.

I used to run the rig in my sig on just an Antec Earthwatts 380D, though at the time it lacked a couple extra hard drives and another sound card. You should be fine with most anything you'd want to run on a P3 setup. The only reason I swapped was because I wanted to run a beefier PSU in the event I ever get my hands on a pair of 900Mhz/2MB Xeons. That and the Enermax is so pretty with its blue anodized casing...

Nah, I have same question about it. Can my Thermaltake EVO_Blue 550W handle my old Pentium II? It has 30A +3.3V and 28A +5V power.

I don't see why that wouldn't handle a Pentium 2. 28A sounds like plenty. True, modern power supplies dedicate less wattage to the 5v rail, but that's compared to 12v output. If you have a 450w power supply, it may only put out as much 5v amps as an old 200w unit, but with more more amperage in the 12v. So you're really not losing out on 5v amps, as much as you are just gaining unnecessary 12v amps. Mind you, that's with a good quality newer supply. I'm sure there are some cheaper new supplies that completely cheap out on 5v. Just look at the specs of the supply, and if it puts out enough on 5v, you're good to go.

Also, my 1.2ghz slot 1 Pentium 3 is running off a new 350w power supply which lacks the -5v, and it does fine. The only reason I noticed it doesn't have -5v is because it complains in the bios if you monitor voltages.