New PSU

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eijmaster1

Posts: 25   +0
Need some opinions on choosing the right psu. I'm looking to stay under $50 (US dollars) here is my setup:

P4 3Ghz Northwood
1.5 Gbs DDR400 (4 sticks)
4x HDD's (1x SATA, 3x ATA - 7200)
1x DVD-RW/CD-RW
HIS X1650GT 512mb
Wireless Keyboard & Mouse via USB
Sound Card

-Actualy the video card I don't have yet, but I will be getting it soon. My current GPU is a ATI 9200 AGP and current PSU is 350w +12v:16a.

Efficiency is not a big deal but I would like it at least around 70 (My computer is always on). Also I do lots of gaming. 2x +12v rails preferably. Any opinions would be appreciated
 
pioneerx01 said:
Your system will need about 450W or more (more preferably) so these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817709011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339012
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817162017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817190017
Click to expand...

How do you figure his system will need 450W or more?

*Edit*

Just about all of the PSU's you suggested only have a single 12v rail at 25A or so, and they have no form of PFC.

Furthermore, it's insane to suggest he needs a 500W-600W PSU.
 
I reread the post and then found out about the 2x rails (my fault), however I have used the wattage calculator on the Newegg to figure the # of watts. I have used the info he has provided us with and I got 460W. The reason I am saying to get bigger PSU is that he will get 460W on a full load which is not always good to be running at all the time. If you get bigger PSU you will be running at lower load, but still with sufficient watts. Plus if he has any fans or other accessories they might require more power.
 
To be honest, I'm not sure how Newegg's calculator works. I think they just give a ridiculous amount of headroom. His machine (even with 10 fans), is not going to require a 500W PSU.

I can't imagine his PC demands more than 300W at full load.
 
I know they are overdoing it a little, but my system requires 750 according to them and my actual watt draw according to my backup is arround 575 so they missed by about 24% so 450W - 24% = 340W. So, you are kind of correct, but still I would go with 450W just for the "load sake".
 
Very rough math. You are working off the hope that they do indeed just increase the requirements by a static 24%.
 
Zenosincks said:
Very rough math. You are working off the hope that they do indeed just increase the requirements by a static 24%.
Click to expand...
Not as rough. As you were responding to my previous post I have tested my second system. Newegg states that I should have about 330W, actual load about 240W that is 27% difference. I could test my even older system, but I don't want to rewire the power plugs. So we can safely assume Newegg overdoes it 25-26%. I know each system is different, but like you said rough(ly)
 
The following was posted under the incorrect assumption that pioneerx01 was the author of this thread, but the information is still applicable. :)

pioneerx01 said:
I know they are overdoing it a little, but my system requires 750 according to them
Click to expand...
P4 3Ghz Northwood
1.5 Gbs DDR400 (4 sticks)
4x HDD's (1x SATA, 3x ATA - 7200)
1x DVD-RW/CD-RW
HIS X1650GT 512mb
Wireless Keyboard & Mouse via USB
Sound Card
Click to expand...

700w.. You're kidding right? lol :p

In reality, a system FAR superior to yours MIGHT draw 350w. That's something pretty cutting edge with an enormously powerful graphics card (about 100w more than what yours uses). Don't buy into it and don't give the man an extra 50 bucks for an ultra-high end PSU that you don't need.

Yes, that P4 is power hungry and you DO have 4 drives, but it just doesn't add up anywhere close to 700w. I had a very system in terms of power consumption using a 460w Enermax... no issues. I'd stick to something around 500w unless you have some extra cash burning a hole in your pocket (Just for future upgrades, this system could run on 400w easily)

Rick said:
At Intel, during server validation, we had dual core, dual CPU servers (Xeons that use twice the wattage your little AMD does, each), 4GB+ memory, at least 2 drives... 700w PSUs. Given the nature of servers, you KNOW the engineers planned a spacious headroom as far as wattage goes.

A second example.. In the consumer equipment validation lab, ~500W PSUs were standard. Many of the test systems were Prescotts (3.6GHz, very power hungry) or Core 2 Duo (2.4Ghz - cutting edge then, this was 6 months before the Core Duo) with 2 x GeForce 7800 GTX in SLI, 3GB RAM and 2 x WD Raptors in RAID 0, not to mention premium components like high end sound cards, newest Intel reference boards (Badaxe etc, Broadwater..)

Considering these are labs for validation, there is no room for error, so the general consensus was 500W (Usually Antec) PSUs were more than enough. And they were.

And for the final decision, you can use something like killawatt to find out what your computer's REAL power usage is. I bet money your computer's peak consumption doesn't even break 350w.
Click to expand...
 
pioneerx01 said:
I said my uses 750W not his! (according to Newegg)
Click to expand...
Oops, thought you were the original poster for some reason. :D
I'll leave a note above that I'm full of crap.
 
Are you still willing to bet $ that my system does not break 350W. Here is the picture at my current usage. Not really idle or full use...
powerng4.jpg
 
I'm a little confused how you are getting such high power usage pioneerx01. Unless you are running 2 pentium Ds like your system specs says. I think its much more likely you are running just 1 though. Are you actually running 2 seperate pentium Ds?

The highest power hungry pentium D they made was 130W, if you overclock I could see you getting that to 150, with 2 of them then 300W. Then with several hard drives and 4Gigs of RAM and the 8600 I could see you being at 477, maybe.

If you are just running a single, then I'd question your UPS and would like to see it verified with a Kill-a-Watt meter.
 
The Antec Earthwatts 380W would be more than sufficient. Where power is delivered makes more difference than the total power delivered. A 450-500W PSU with weak power delivery on the +12V rail(s) is a stupid investment.
Also, the best way to accurately measure power draw is by using a multimeter. No software gives you accurate results.
 
SNGX1275 said:
I'm a little confused how you are getting such high power usage pioneerx01.
Click to expand...

Well I have one dual core Pentium D overclocked (3.5 per core). 4x 1GBDDR2, 6x HDD's, 2x raid cards, 3X DVD-RW, 512MB 6800, 7x silverstones (6W each at max) with external fan controllers, freezer 7 pro, and few LED's. I have a higher end MoBo as well. I had also 2.5" HDD (usb powered) connected to the PC and I was burning 2 DVD"s at once from 2 HDD's when the measurement was taken.

I am sorry eijmaster1, but this thread seem to be less about you by every post... (I have used the software that came with by battery to measure wattage)
 
Then you cannot be pulling more than 350-400W from the PSU combined. A figure of 477W is off the mark IMO and you need to make sure by using a multimeter. PSU recommendations have to be as accurate as possible, since we don't want the OP spending money unnecessarily.
 
cool sounds like that antec 380 2x+12v is the way to go for me. THANK YOU to everyone who answered me (zeno, rick rage..)and "thanks for taking up space" to all the rest of you.
 
Come on man, you didn't need that last bit, all that does is irritate me and make you look bad. I was trying to understand the comments of another one giving you an opinion. I was trying to point out why I didn't understand what he wrote in order to keep you from taking potentially bad advice.
 
in that case, get this
Product.aspx

Although you may encounter problems with defects, as I currently am now with my EA430 and need to work on RMA. Waste of $$$ and time :(
 
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