PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2026-05-30, 03:03:

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-05-28, 23:17:

MagefromAntares wrote on 2026-05-28, 22:30:

Hmm, the MSI MS-6533E only supports 400 Mhz and 533 Mhz FSB, while the ASRock P4VM8 also supports 800 Mhz. However the MSI MS-65 […]
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Hmm, the MSI MS-6533E only supports 400 Mhz and 533 Mhz FSB, while the ASRock P4VM8 also supports 800 Mhz.
However the MSI MS-6533E is a SIS chipset, while the ASRock P4VM8 is VIA, generally I found SIS chipsets to be a bit more reliable and less driver version hunting than the VIA ones.
Personally I would still choose the ASRock one as the 800 Mhz FSB is the official FSB frequency for a P4 3.2 GHz and for P4s FSB frequency really matters because of their relatively low cache sizes compared to general performance, and generally driver version hunting needs to be only done once and after finding the good driver for a VIA board it can be a good performer.

EDIT: Also note that the MSI MS-6533 without any letters at the end only supports 400 Mhz FSB and that will really cripple the performance of faster P4s, so if going that route make sure it is really a MSI MS-6533E.

Thanks for the info; good to know. I still haven’t really settled on any yet. Just looking up options that will serve my needs, but are also affordable. I would ideally like to get the same as what Phil got in this thread - 10 Reasons for a Pentium 4 Windows 98 DOS Retro Gaming PC :)

Though they’re a bit pricier at £80-100.

I have one of these ( ASRock P4i65G ) kicking its heels in a cupboard somewhere - yours if you want it...PM me.

Really? 😮 That’d be awesome! Thank you. 😃

What would be a suitable PSU for the ASRock P4i65G and a Pentium 4? I still haven't decided on the graphics card yet, but that will also factor into it. I only currently have a generic Hipro HP-K1507A3C, which isn't going to cut it.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-06-02, 14:54:

What would be a suitable PSU for the ASRock P4i65G and a Pentium 4? I still haven't decided on the graphics card yet, but that will also factor into it. I only currently have a generic Hipro HP-K1507A3C, which isn't going to cut it.

It is hard to say an exact type if you hadn't decided on the video card yet as it will be either the primary(For high-end cards) or secondary(For Low-Mid-end cards) power consumers in the system, and for high end cards they might need an extra(or two) power connector besides the power from the AGP connector. One rule of thumb I like to follow is to calculate the needed wattage of all the components and put an extra 10-20% percent safety and future expansion margin on it. When decided on the video card a more concrete advice can be given.

Also note that a PSU failure might damage the whole system, so I also stay away from the cheapest brands, you don't need the most expensive ones, but avoid the no-name cheap ones.

MagefromAntares wrote on 2026-06-02, 18:57:

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-06-02, 14:54:

What would be a suitable PSU for the ASRock P4i65G and a Pentium 4? I still haven't decided on the graphics card yet, but that will also factor into it. I only currently have a generic Hipro HP-K1507A3C, which isn't going to cut it.

It is hard to say an exact type if you hadn't decided on the video card yet as it will be either the primary(For high-end cards) or secondary(For Low-Mid-end cards) power consumers in the system, and for high end cards they might need an extra(or two) power connector besides the power from the AGP connector. One rule of thumb I like to follow is to calculate the needed wattage of all the components and put an extra 10-20% percent safety and future expansion margin on it. When decided on the video card a more concrete advice can be given.

Also note that a PSU failure might damage the whole system, so I also stay away from the cheapest brands, you don't need the most expensive ones, but avoid the no-name cheap ones.

Okay, thanks. I’ll have to take a look at some GPU models that have a good performance to price ratio. I certainly don’t want to be spending hundreds on a vintage card.

But as it’s a micro PSU I need, I see there’s a lot of different brands on eBay, but I can’t say I’ve heard of the majority of them.

Okay, so I'm thinking, probably, either a Geforce FX 5600 or a 5700. Then again, there are a few 6600 GTs.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-06-02, 23:31:

Okay, so I'm thinking, probably, either a Geforce FX 5600 or a 5700. Then again, there are a few 6600 GTs.

All three of these are good choices for a Northwood or Prescott P4, do note that the 6600 GT is a generation later card than the FX-es, so it will have a better performance, but it is a power hungry card in comparison of both FX-es, the AGP version usually has a MOLEX connector to supply more power than the AGP slot can provide.

The 6600 GT uses somewhat less than 50watts, but round it up to 50 watts. The fastest non-extreme edition Northwood tops at slightly below 100W, so round it up to 100W, if it is a Prescott for the 478 socket then it goes up to slightly below 110W so round to 110W. Assuming two DDR sticks and power hungry ones the consumption for them 2x5W(Most likely lower but it is good to be prepared for the highest load possibility). The motherboard and chipset doesn't have an exact wattage listed but it is rare to get above 30W, so adding together and putting in the 20% safety margin 240W, 240W is a bit of weird number so a 250 watt or larger capacity PSU should be used (if my calculations are correct).

MagefromAntares wrote on Yesterday, 00:23:

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-06-02, 23:31:

Okay, so I'm thinking, probably, either a Geforce FX 5600 or a 5700. Then again, there are a few 6600 GTs.

All three of these are good choices for a Northwood or Prescott P4, do note that the 6600 GT is a generation later card than the FX-es, so it will have a better performance, but it is a power hungry card in comparison of both FX-es, the AGP version usually has a MOLEX connector to supply more power than the AGP slot can provide.

The 6600 GT uses somewhat less than 50watts, but round it up to 50 watts. The fastest non-extreme edition Northwood tops at slightly below 100W, so round it up to 100W, if it is a Prescott for the 478 socket then it goes up to slightly below 110W so round to 110W. Assuming two DDR sticks and power hungry ones the consumption for them 2x5W(Most likely lower but it is good to be prepared for the highest load possibility). The motherboard and chipset doesn't have an exact wattage listed but it is rare to get above 30W, so adding together and putting in the 20% safety margin 240W, 240W is a bit of weird number so a 250 watt or larger capacity PSU should be used (if my calculations are correct).

Great. Thanks. 😄 That doesn’t sound too bad. Hopefully I can get something with a bit of extra head room. Do I need to worry about any specific amperage on the 12 or 5V rail?

I have come across this micro ATX PSU:

https://ebay.us/m/Pu3Dq5

…though I’m likely overlooking something that will make it unsuitable. The description does mention it has a 20+4 pin connector and a 4 pin 12v connector.

DustyShinigami wrote on Yesterday, 08:42:

Great. Thanks. 😄 That doesn’t sound too bad. Hopefully I can get something with a bit of extra head room. Do I need to worry abo […]
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MagefromAntares wrote on Yesterday, 00:23:

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-06-02, 23:31:

Okay, so I'm thinking, probably, either a Geforce FX 5600 or a 5700. Then again, there are a few 6600 GTs.

All three of these are good choices for a Northwood or Prescott P4, do note that the 6600 GT is a generation later card than the FX-es, so it will have a better performance, but it is a power hungry card in comparison of both FX-es, the AGP version usually has a MOLEX connector to supply more power than the AGP slot can provide.

The 6600 GT uses somewhat less than 50watts, but round it up to 50 watts. The fastest non-extreme edition Northwood tops at slightly below 100W, so round it up to 100W, if it is a Prescott for the 478 socket then it goes up to slightly below 110W so round to 110W. Assuming two DDR sticks and power hungry ones the consumption for them 2x5W(Most likely lower but it is good to be prepared for the highest load possibility). The motherboard and chipset doesn't have an exact wattage listed but it is rare to get above 30W, so adding together and putting in the 20% safety margin 240W, 240W is a bit of weird number so a 250 watt or larger capacity PSU should be used (if my calculations are correct).

Great. Thanks. 😄 That doesn’t sound too bad. Hopefully I can get something with a bit of extra head room. Do I need to worry about any specific amperage on the 12 or 5V rail?

I have come across this micro ATX PSU:

https://ebay.us/m/Pu3Dq5

…though I’m likely overlooking something that will make it unsuitable. The description does mention it has a 20+4 pin connector and a 4 pin 12v connector.

This seems to be mostly good, 400W will give you a lot of headroom. There are two things to note however:
1. CIT is not a well known brand in Hungary, I don't know if they are more widespread in the UK, but from my perspective I don't have enough familiarity with this manufacturer to recommend it or not based on that.
2. This PSU is one of those new ones that doesn't provide -5 Volts, however it was removed because -5 Volts is mostly unused in anything relatively modern, and by relatively modern I mean anything after the 486DX era, and even with 486DX-es the -5 volts were mostly used in some sound cards and analogue industrial GPIO controllers. P4 systems generally simply ignore it, so most likely it is not a problem.

MagefromAntares wrote on Yesterday, 08:57:

This seems to be mostly good, 400W will give you a lot of headroom. There are two things to note however: 1. CIT is not a well k […]
Show full quote

DustyShinigami wrote on Yesterday, 08:42:

Great. Thanks. 😄 That doesn’t sound too bad. Hopefully I can get something with a bit of extra head room. Do I need to worry abo […]
Show full quote

MagefromAntares wrote on Yesterday, 00:23:

All three of these are good choices for a Northwood or Prescott P4, do note that the 6600 GT is a generation later card than the FX-es, so it will have a better performance, but it is a power hungry card in comparison of both FX-es, the AGP version usually has a MOLEX connector to supply more power than the AGP slot can provide.

The 6600 GT uses somewhat less than 50watts, but round it up to 50 watts. The fastest non-extreme edition Northwood tops at slightly below 100W, so round it up to 100W, if it is a Prescott for the 478 socket then it goes up to slightly below 110W so round to 110W. Assuming two DDR sticks and power hungry ones the consumption for them 2x5W(Most likely lower but it is good to be prepared for the highest load possibility). The motherboard and chipset doesn't have an exact wattage listed but it is rare to get above 30W, so adding together and putting in the 20% safety margin 240W, 240W is a bit of weird number so a 250 watt or larger capacity PSU should be used (if my calculations are correct).

Great. Thanks. 😄 That doesn’t sound too bad. Hopefully I can get something with a bit of extra head room. Do I need to worry about any specific amperage on the 12 or 5V rail?

I have come across this micro ATX PSU:

https://ebay.us/m/Pu3Dq5

…though I’m likely overlooking something that will make it unsuitable. The description does mention it has a 20+4 pin connector and a 4 pin 12v connector.

This seems to be mostly good, 400W will give you a lot of headroom. There are two things to note however:
1. CIT is not a well known brand in Hungary, I don't know if they are more widespread in the UK, but from my perspective I don't have enough familiarity with this manufacturer to recommend it or not based on that.
2. This PSU is one of those new ones that doesn't provide -5 Volts, however it was removed because -5 Volts is mostly unused in anything relatively modern, and by relatively modern I mean anything after the 486DX era, and even with 486DX-es the -5 volts were mostly used in some sound cards and analogue industrial GPIO controllers. P4 systems generally simply ignore it, so most likely it is not a problem.

I see. Yeah, they’re a budget friendly brand in the UK/EU. For high end gaming systems, they’re best avoided.

Yeah, finding a good branded one is going to be very difficult. Worst case, I may have get a mid-tower case so I can use a regular ATX PSU.