Re: Problems with Promise SATAII TX4

[Erik Slagter <erik@slagter.name>]

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On Sat, 2005-10-08 at 13:06 -0400, Mark Hahn wrote:
> > I'm not sure why the system needs more than 430W, but with the new
> 
> unfortunately, total watts is inadequate for characterizing a PSU.
> it's about like classifying cars by how tall they are.
> 
> in particular, many non-server higher-watt PSU's are designed to provide
> extra power for systems which consume power mainly on the CPU/video voltages,
> and may not provide enough power for disks.  further, modern motherboards
> have voltage converters for the CPU and video which are less sensitive 
> to power quality, and will thus "brownout" some power buses.  after all, 
> a typical CPU wants 1.5V or so at an obscene current.  disk electronics, 
> as far as I have seen, tend to treat their supply as clean and regulated.

BTW my system has a 300W PSU but consumes about 195W according to a
power meter on the primary (230V) side. Which of course is only
comparable up to a certain level.

Also BTW note that besides a total max power, PSU's also have ratings
per voltage and some even per outlet. Maybe that's where the pain comes
from ;-)

A nice "bogus power" error message in the (S)ATA standard would have
been ehrm... beneficial.

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