Power supply (PSU) concerns

You don't have the right motherboard model name there,the Asus M3A78 isn't an integrated board( i know because i owned a M3A78).

A 500\550w psu will be more than enough for the 5850.

right, fixed it it is M3A78 PRO.. ok, 550 it is, I might be upgrading other componenets and I read somewhere that gaming PC should not go under 500..
 
I would rather have extra power than be short of power.
A 550w would be perfect,i had 2 ATI 4770's in crossfire with a 550w PSU and never had a problem with power,even when i overclocked everything in the PC.
 
A good-quality 500-550W PSU will do; that Arctic Cooling unit is a very good choice, being built by Seasonic and delivering a decent (for its price) 33A on the +12V rail.

The Corsair 450VX has the same specs however and comes with a larger warranty, which makes it a better choice if it can be found for around the same price as the Fusion PSU. The only con I see with it is that you'll need a Molex-to-PCIE converter since the 5850 needs two power connectors. It should still deliver enough power for your system though, since a high-end system with an HD 5850 will not draw more than 300W or so; you should easily be on the safe side IMO. Read the links for proof of the power consumption.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5850,2433-13.html
http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/f22/amd-radeon-hd-5870-5850-power-consumption-summary-66340/
http://hothardware.com/Articles/AMD-ATI-Radeon-HD-5850-Performance-Review/?page=10
http://techreport.com/articles.x/17652/9
 
A good-quality 500-550W PSU will do; that Arctic Cooling unit is a very good choice, being built by Seasonic and delivering a decent (for its price) 33A on the +12V rail.

The Corsair 450VX has the same specs however and comes with a larger warranty, which makes it a better choice if it can be found for around the same price as the Fusion PSU. The only con I see with it is that you'll need a Molex-to-PCIE converter since the 5850 needs two power connectors. It should still deliver enough power for your system though, since a high-end system with an HD 5850 will not draw more than 300W or so; you should easily be on the safe side IMO. Read the links for proof of the power consumption.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5850,2433-13.html
http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/f22/amd-radeon-hd-5870-5850-power-consumption-summary-66340/
http://hothardware.com/Articles/AMD-ATI-Radeon-HD-5850-Performance-Review/?page=10
http://techreport.com/articles.x/17652/9

hmm I see, I decided to go either with this Arctic Cooling or with Corsair VX550 550W to be sure if I upgrade later on. So which one of those ? Corsair has 3 years larger warranty, but is like 25 bucks more expensive.. and would I need that, whatever converter on this corsair as well ?
thanks!
 
I would go for the Corsair VX550 and you wont need the molex to 6 pin converter.
 
Hey everyone, just recently joined these forums so I'm not quite so sure if this question would be bested placed in this topic. I've just recently ordered a GTS 250 video card along with a BFG 550 power supply after looking around for some new upgrades.

BFG GS Series BFGR550WGSPSU GS-550 Power Supply - ATX, 550 Watts, 140mm Silent Fan - That is the fan I've ordered.
As for the specs that are going to use these parts is a pre-built SR5710Y model using an MCP61PM-HM (Iris8) motherboard. They're replacing a stock 250w psu along with an intergrated 6150 SE gpu. The main concern I'm having or can just be paranoia is that the PSU is not sufficent enough or possibly have enough connectors for this tower. I know it has enough SATA cables, but after looking up the internal connectors for the motherboard I'm not sure has other cables that are needed.
If any other info is needed, I'll post it :S
Thanks in advance. Oh and if by chance the above psu isn't sufficent enough the budget for a replacement is about 60$ if anyone can find a suitable model. :3;
 
Power Supply Testers don't tell you much... and they are not accurate in details. The BFG is fine. The Corsair is better.
 
Hi guys i was just wondering would a Arctic Power 500w psu be ok for my setup?

Intel Dual Core E5700 3.0GHz
ASUS P5G41T-M LX2/GB
Rendition 2GB DDR3
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX (768)MB
250GB HDD

Thanks
 
Hi guys i was just wondering would a Arctic Power 500w psu be ok for my setup?

Intel Dual Core E5700 3.0GHz
ASUS P5G41T-M LX2/GB
Rendition 2GB DDR3
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX (768)MB
250GB HDD

Thanks

I would say get yourself a decent 550w if you can.A 750 is overkill for your PC unless you plan to upgrade to a sli\crossfire set up later.
 
BMfan - I would say get yourself a decent 550w if you can.A 750 is overkill for your PC unless you plan to upgrade to a slicrossfire set up later.

Cheers mate will get it today once I sort my pc start up problem :)
 
I would say get yourself a decent 550w if you can.A 750 is overkill for your PC unless you plan to upgrade to a sli\crossfire set up later.

Ran a similar spec machine to simpleton's on a quality 450W psu before, so 550W would be my recommendation too. Gives you a little extra for future additions to the system. Note that not all PSUs rated to xxxW will actually perform to that output under load. It's worth investing in the quality brands such as Corsair, Antec, Enermax and a few others. It's worth the little extra to get something that will definitely do the job.

My machine was running a Core2Quad Q6600@3Ghz, 4Gb Ram, Nvidia 8800GTX, 500Gb 7200rpm HD. Later it ran an ATI 5850 1Gb card.. all on a Shuttle 450W PSU.
 
Arctic Power is a rubbish low-end brand. Invest in a better quality PSU; be Quiet!, Antec, Corsair (except the CX series), Seasonic, Silverstone, Seventeam, Etasis, Zippy and OCZ are some of the good brands to consider.
 
Thanks guys but I dnt have the money ATM so the arctic power was all I could afford. I will look into get one of those higher brand psu's in a couple of months.

Cheers
 
How to eliminate the PSU as a suspect part? Is it shorting?

I have recently encountered a problem with my desktop and some people have suggested that it may be a short started in the PSU, going via the case, and into the ground contacts of the Mobo.

Is there any way, through the use of basic tools and gadgets i.e. voltmeter, tongue etc, to tell if the problem is originating with my PSU or if it is putting out power perfectly normally and fully isolated.

For your info I have an Enermax Liberty 500W which is 4 years and 9 months old.

I really don't want to bin 3/4 of the components and buy a whole load of new kit, so to eliminate the PSU as a problem would be a great help.

Cheers,
Tom.
 
Could I not, to see if there is any Voltage leaking from the casing, take my Voltmeter touch one electrode to the PSU case and the other electrode to the house earth connection and see if there is a short i.e. a flow of electricity?

Tom.
 
I have an ATX power supply on the bench that shows 120 Volts on the supply's case, when isolated from the computer. One of the filter capacitors connected to the 120 v line is shorted...
Tommygunn, just replace the power supply
 
Back