Andy Smith <andy@???> wrote:
> On Sat, Mar 01, 2008 at 05:56:33PM -0800, Peter
> Brooks wrote:
>> So if people have got recommendations for a
>> good reliable PSU and which brand of hdd's
>> would be good.
> Just don't buy cheap tat; I think generally
> anything in the upper half of the price range
> will be OK. I would have thought 450W would be
> more than adequate for 4x7500 RPM SATA drives
> but there is not much harm in overspeccing a
> little.
The only way to be sure if a PSU can deliver the
power you need is to work out the maximum current
draw of your system. Drives are usually straight-
forward: most manufacturers publish specs on spin-
up and operation current. Processors are a little
more tricky, and the motherboard even more so.
> and that it has a power factor of at least 0.9.
> I have seen cheap PSUs go as low as 0.6PF,
> meaning they will draw almost 1.7 times what it
> needs to supply.
Unless you're polishing your green credentials, or
are using the PC in a large business, power factor
isn't a problem. Typically, only large, industrial
users are charged for poor power factor.
> As for HDD brand, everyone has their favourites
> and their horror stories. I've been burnt by
> Maxtor in the past and generally prefer Seagate
> these days (yes I am aware that Seagate now owns
> the Maxtor brand).
References I've used in the past are Storage
Review's reliability database,
http://www.storagereview.com/
and the posts of Odie Ferrous
<odie_ferrous@???>
on uk.adverts.computer. The latter runs a data
recovery business, and occasionally reports on the
balance of failed drives he receives.
Nick.
--
Nick Chalk ................. once a Radio Designer
Confidence is failing to understand the problem.
