On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 11:13:10 -0600, Jack Surek <jsurek at mn.rr.com> wrote:
> well-designed supply would not fail over the life of a computer--it would be
> designed with parts rated at twice the voltage stress seen in worst-case
> operation.

One of my machines started to reboot periodically.  Long, painful,
multi-day story made short.  By opening box and adding up amps by
voltage, from each disk drive, fan, etc., I found I had for a long
time pulling 18 amps 12v on a supply rated at 16 amps 12v.  A modern
Antec power supply with 28 amps on 12v solved the problem for me.

I decided that amps by voltage rather than watts seemed the safer way
to size a power supply.  If my conclusion is incorrect, please
explain.