VOGONS


First post, by Lylat1an

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I'd like to switch out my loud AT power supply for a quiet ATX model in my Super Socket 7 build, but I don't want to overload the 3.3/5v rail(s).

My hardware specs are as follows:

Motherboard: ASUS P5-99B

CPU: 500MHz AMD K6-2

Memory: 512MB

Video: Nvidia GeForce 6200.

Audio: Sound Blaster 16 with Roland-licensed wavetable board.

Removable Storage:
-> Floppy: 1.2MB 5.25"/1.44MB 3.5" combo drive.
-> Optical: Slot-loading DVD-ROM.

Fixed Storage: Promise Ultra133 TX2 IDE controller.
-> SD card adapter behind the full-height drive plate, with extension cable running beneath the keyboard for swapping operating systems.
-> CF card adapter for storing backup images of the SD cards.

Input: Tripp-Lite USB to PS/2 converter connected to IOGear USB KVM switch.
-> Keyboard: Beige Key Tronic model E03600U1.
-> Mouse: Logitech P7-3F with ISA controller card.

Also, should I invest in a Voltage Blaster for this "conversion"?

Reply 2 of 18, by Lylat1an

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Thanks, Keropi.

I still don't know how much 5v amperage will be drawn though. I just know that modern systems rely on the 12v rail more than they used to in the old days, so I'd like to know the minimum 5v rail amp rating I should look for in a new PSU.

Reply 3 of 18, by majestyk

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Any medium range ATX PSU will do. It´s SS7...and no power hungry CPUs are involved.

Reply 4 of 18, by Horun

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Agree ! Anything from 350 watts and up should work OK. As a suggestion look for the 3.3v+5V combined above 100 watts on the spec label, many newer 450's (example EVGA 450 BR) are 120 watt. More than enough.
added: even the EVGA 450 W3 would be fine...but would go for a Bronze or Gold rated for better efficiency and save on power cost of the long run....

Hate posting a reply and then have to edit it because it made no sense 😁 First computer was an IBM 3270 workstation with CGA monitor. Stuff: https://archive.org/details/@horun

Reply 5 of 18, by Sphere478

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Are you able to use that geforce 6200? Because I’ve had nothing but issues with them. I figured it was the drivers needing sse or something

As for your question.

Literally every atx psu that I have ever tried has worked for a ss7 build.

Ones with -5v are handy though for some sound cards. But there are ways around that.

I try to give em a quality psu though. The modular fanless ones are nice. 😀

Sphere's PCB projects.
-
Sphere’s socket 5/7 cpu collection.
-
SUCCESSFUL K6-2+ to K6-3+ Full Cache Enable Mod
-
Tyan S1564S to S1564D single to dual processor conversion (also s1563 and s1562)

Reply 6 of 18, by Repo Man11

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I made this post in the "AMD K6 3DMARK, aiming for stars" thread about my Super 7 system - when overclocking one and using a GeForce 3 Ti200, my five volt line began to falter. My Epox board is one of a very small number of Super 7 motherboards that has hardware monitoring sensors that allow you to use software such as Motherboard Monitor.

"Something I meant to mention but left out is the power supply. I had been using a vintage Allied 300 watt PSU that appeared to be in good condition, thinking that it would be more than adequate for a Socket 7 system. But I noticed that the + five volt was shown in the CMOS as 4.78. With it dropping that low as it was, that could potentially be a problem when trying for a higher overclock. I swapped in a much newer 500 watt Enermax PSU that has a 30 amp +5, and now it is at 4.97."

Re: AMD K6 3DMARK, aiming for stars.

"We do these things not because they are easy, but because we thought they would be easy."

Reply 8 of 18, by majestyk

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Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-08-22, 14:47:

I swapped in a much newer 500 watt Enermax PSU that has a 30 amp +5, and now it is at 4.97."
Re: AMD K6 3DMARK, aiming for stars.

I think this is rather a question of Enermax vs. Allied than of 500W vs. 300W.

There were and are vendors that are cheating by rating the power of one rail under the condition that another rail is idling or by giving you a maximum power for more than one rail in total so you can´t tell the true values for each single rail.
Renowned manufacturers like Seasonic, Enermax or Delta prooved to be far more reliable and had better build quality plus better components.

Reply 10 of 18, by Repo Man11

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majestyk wrote on 2022-08-22, 17:23:
I think this is rather a question of Enermax vs. Allied than of 500W vs. 300W. […]
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Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-08-22, 14:47:

I swapped in a much newer 500 watt Enermax PSU that has a 30 amp +5, and now it is at 4.97."
Re: AMD K6 3DMARK, aiming for stars.

I think this is rather a question of Enermax vs. Allied than of 500W vs. 300W.

There were and are vendors that are cheating by rating the power of one rail under the condition that another rail is idling or by giving you a maximum power for more than one rail in total so you can´t tell the true values for each single rail.
Renowned manufacturers like Seasonic, Enermax or Delta prooved to be far more reliable and had better build quality plus better components.

Up until I discovered that, I'd assumed that any old 300 watt PSU should be more than adequate for a Socket 7 system. But it turned out that when you're overclocking the CPU and the GPU, it can start to load up on the +5. I doubt the OP will be running a K6-3+ @ 616 MHz, or a GeForce 3 also overclocked to its limit, but just in case he's thinking about it my experience is relevant. The Enermax I'm now using in that system is definitely overkill, but I had one on hand and I didn't want the PSU to be a possible weak link.

"We do these things not because they are easy, but because we thought they would be easy."

Reply 11 of 18, by Lylat1an

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Sphere478 wrote on 2022-08-22, 06:09:

Are you able to use that geforce 6200? Because I’ve had nothing but issues with them. I figured it was the drivers needing sse or something

I've mostly used it in DOS so far.

I was able to get 1920x1080 resolution in Windows 98SE with it, but I wouldn't say that I've "stressed" it yet.

Reply 12 of 18, by Sphere478

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Yeah, I was able to do all that no problem. It’s when I launch something 3d that it craps the bed. Have you been able to do that?

Even screen savers would give issue

Sphere's PCB projects.
-
Sphere’s socket 5/7 cpu collection.
-
SUCCESSFUL K6-2+ to K6-3+ Full Cache Enable Mod
-
Tyan S1564S to S1564D single to dual processor conversion (also s1563 and s1562)

Reply 13 of 18, by majestyk

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I just cleaned my trusty old 350W Seasonic AT PSU. All electrolytics are Rubycon, no need to replace anything. It just works day in day out.

The attachment SS350AT1a.JPG is no longer available
The attachment SS350AT2.JPG is no longer available
The attachment SS350AT3.JPG is no longer available

And it delivers stunning 35A at the 5V rail.

Reply 14 of 18, by Lylat1an

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Sphere478 wrote on 2022-08-23, 05:22:

Yeah, I was able to do all that no problem. It’s when I launch something 3d that it craps the bed. Have you been able to do that?

Even screen savers would give issue

No 3D PC games I enjoyed back in the day come to mind that haven't been released on modern systems.

And I don't use screensavers, but I can try a few.

Reply 15 of 18, by Lylat1an

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majestyk wrote on 2022-08-23, 08:58:

I just cleaned my trusty old 350W Seasonic AT PSU. All electrolytics are Rubycon, no need to replace anything. It just works day in day out.

And it delivers stunning 35A at the 5V rail.

That doesn't surprise me, I've been using Seasonic's ATX power supplies for years.

How loud is it though? I'm trying to eliminate the fan noise in this build.

Reply 16 of 18, by majestyk

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The fan is temperature controlled, it´s not loud at all, but far from a modern silent solution. (It´s still the original fan.)
I left it unchanged although the cooling would be sufficient with a fan at a lower speed. This PSU is mainly for testing so it´s a good thing when you can hear when it´s on.

Reply 17 of 18, by gdjacobs

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Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-08-22, 14:47:

I made this post in the "AMD K6 3DMARK, aiming for stars" thread about my Super 7 system - when overclocking one and using a GeForce 3 Ti200, my five volt line began to falter. My Epox board is one of a very small number of Super 7 motherboards that has hardware monitoring sensors that allow you to use software such as Motherboard Monitor.

"Something I meant to mention but left out is the power supply. I had been using a vintage Allied 300 watt PSU that appeared to be in good condition, thinking that it would be more than adequate for a Socket 7 system. But I noticed that the + five volt was shown in the CMOS as 4.78. With it dropping that low as it was, that could potentially be a problem when trying for a higher overclock. I swapped in a much newer 500 watt Enermax PSU that has a 30 amp +5, and now it is at 4.97."

Re: AMD K6 3DMARK, aiming for stars.

Watch out for group regulated 12V heavy power supplies. Because they try to regulate 5V and 12V together, an unloaded 12V rail will be pushed up as it tries to compensate for a sagging 5V rail. The solution is to find some kind of load (fans or whatever) to insert onto the 12V rail. Because both sag together, the PSU can apply more compensation pushing both rails up.

Having said that, Allied/Deer/L&C power supplies are known to be substandard ranging into downright hazardous.

All hail the Great Capacitor Brand Finder

Reply 18 of 18, by Repo Man11

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Something I'd forgotten; when using a weak power supply with my Soyo 5EMA+, it wouldn't POST with certain video cards and I assumed that this was because of the AGP power draw issue that Super 7 motherboards are known for. But after replacing the PSU with a stronger one I tried the cards again (one of them was an FX 5600) and it then worked fine. When used with strong +5 power supplies, both of my MVP3 boards work fine with every video card I've tried and also have no issue with AGP 2x.

"We do these things not because they are easy, but because we thought they would be easy."