I have an upgrade question. I have a system I built about 3 months ago. The specs should be at the bottom. I also have a firewire pci card, pci modem and an external 60gig hard drive which is connected to the firewire. I have a micro atx case by apex model number tm-302 with an allied 250watt power supply.

I want to add a 10000 rpm hard drive as the master and put my 80 gig 7200 for storage. I also want to add another cd burner.

My question is do you think this power supply can handle the extra hardware. I don't want to get a new case cause I don't like those tall cases, for me the smaller the case the better. I noticed that newegg doesn't have a large selection on PSU for micro ATX

Intel P4 2.8 prescott 800 HT
Asrock mobo p4i65gv
Mushkin 2x512mb ram dual channel
80 gig hatachi sata
Sony dvd burner Dru-530A
Mad Dog Nvidia Geforce4 mx 4000 128mb

If both HD's will both be external (with external power), you should muddle thru...as Allied PSU's go.

That said, a Prescott and small case are also one hot combo.

Most builders/fixers/upgraders HATE small cases.

I would be having two internal and one external. The external is used for work the internals are for personal use. I have been toying with the idea of getting a bigger case but desk space is limited. I have considered the fact that adding more hardware will create more heat in there. My processor is currently running at 45 C. with I believe is a 5000 rpm after market heatsink. I was considering getting the big brother to my case. Since, I really like the look. It has 4 5.25 slots and an allied 300 watt PSU.

If anyone thinks I am pushing it with my current micro atx case then I will definietly consider getting a bigger one. Do you think the 300 watt on the new case would do the trick. What's the word out on these allied PSU are they any good.

Intel P4 2.8 prescott 800 HT
Asrock mobo p4i65gv
Mushkin 2x512mb ram dual channel
80 gig hatachi sata
Sony dvd burner Dru-530A
Mad Dog Nvidia Geforce4 mx 4000 128mb

The bigger case/PSU should handle the internal load fine. I know, swapping cases is quite the laborious pain. But the guts of your system are years from obsoscence...and deserve nicer environs.

This has been mentioned many times before, but amperage on the +12v rail is the important factor when selecting a PSU. 18A is the general recommendation. The following are approximate, but you can do some quick math to figure your amperage needs:

CPU = 6-10A (depends on make/model)
HDD = 2A each
optical drive = 1A each
cooling fan = 0.25A each
motherboard = 0.50A

video card = ??? In your case, this isn't a factor. The MX4000 is low end DX7 card that doesn't require an extra 12v plug in from the PSU. But if you plan on upgrading it in the future, wattage/amperage for video should be taken into consideration.

Here's a few PSU related links I have saved:

http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=133

http://www.firingsquad.com/guides/power_supply/

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/ati-vs-nv-power.html

http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @8x210mhz
512mb PC3200
Ti4200/8X 128mb
WDC 60GB

Thanks Jam those links were extremely helpful. No, I don't plan on ungrading the video card at all. I don't use my PC for gaming, so I should be okay with this card for a while.

Intel P4 2.8 prescott 800 HT
Asrock mobo p4i65gv
Mushkin 2x512mb ram dual channel
80 gig hatachi sata
Sony dvd burner Dru-530A
Mad Dog Nvidia Geforce4 mx 4000 128mb