PSU Enough

[JamesPromIII]

I have a 400W power supply I was just wondering if I would be able to run everything good.

Geforce 9600 GT
Asus P5QL-CM board
Intel Core 2 Duo E7300
Seagate Barracuda SATA 250GB HD
DVD Drive
Microsot XP Home basic
2 G SKill 1 gig ram PC6400

 

[tastegw]

what are the 12v rail's on it

how many rails and how many amps on each rail

 

[JamesPromIII]

I'm not exactly sure where would I find them on the PSU? Output: 400W Max. +3.3V 20A, +5V 14A, +12V1 14A, +12V2 13A, -12V 0.3A, +5VSB 2.5A Does that help?

 

[adweston]

What brand is it? That would make a difference. Amperage is very low on the 12V rails. It's a pretty wimpy unit specwise. It's gotta run quite warm with those components in it. You're probably losing more power output to heat than normal.

 

[JamesPromIII]

The brand is rosewill, it came with the case the only problem is i'm not going to have enough money to buy a new PSU. I plan on doing some light gaming that's about it really.

 

[tastegw]

The brand is rosewill, it came with the case the only problem is i'm not going to have enough money to buy a new PSU. I plan on doing some light gaming that's about it really.

psu is nothing you want to save money on.

this should be one of the nicer things you buy.

just looking at wattage isnt the way to go.

some newer video cards require as much as 50 amps or so on your 12v rails.

be sure to get a quality brand with a little extra headroom on the psu incase of future hardware upgrades.

here are a few brands to look for:

pc power and cooling
antec
abs
silverstone
seasonic
corsair
ocz

there are others that make good psu's but i cant list them all.

 

[adweston]

Yeah those Rosewill PSUs are really crappy. A good PSU, as mentioned, is very important to the health/performance of your system. Personally I'm all about the PC P&C and Seasonics, but again, as mentioned, there are other good ones out there. Rosewill (and Ultra) just isn't one of them.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

A Corsair 400CX will run all that. A Rosewill PSU will not and likely blow, possibly taking other components with it.

 

[captaincranky]

Know For Sure.....

Here is a link to Antec Corporation's Power Supply Calculator page:
http://www.antec.outervision.com/ This is the best one I've seen, just plug in your exact equipment and you'll know for sure what you need.

Nvidia claims a maximum of 90 Watts drawn by a 9600GT. So, with that particular card, histrionics of hundreds of extra watts needed really don't apply.

Your interests would be best served by replacing the Rosewill ASAP (as the others have said).

Here's a 430 Watt Antec "Earthwatts"; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006&Tpk=Antec EA430

I'm told these are made by Seasonic (by Rage I think) Newegg is blowing them out at the moment (39.95 free shipping) so this piece would do you proud also, if you've got 40 bucks laying around

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The EA430 is an excellent recommendation, and has the same +12V power rating as the 400CX. And it is an absolute steal at that price.

 

[JamesPromIII]

Another addition, if I wanted one with LED's would that consume more power and more money?

 

[captaincranky]

Hmmm....Let Me Think.....

Well, all other factors being equal, the one with lights would draw more power than the one without. And here's a wild guess, probably by the amount of current that the LEDs draw.

Rage, myself, and others make product recommendations based on serviceability, price, obtainability, reputation and personal experience. Please forgive us if flashing lights aren't at the top of our priorities.

You want LEDS buy some case fans. Oooo, pretty.

 

[JamesPromIII]

Well, all other factors being equal, the one with lights would draw more power than the one without. And here's a wild guess, probably by the amount of current that the LEDs draw.

Rage, myself, and others make product recommendations based on serviceability, price, obtainability, reputation and personal experience. Please forgive us if flashing lights aren't at the top of our priorities.

You want LEDS buy some case fans. Oooo, pretty.

No I didn't mean anything by that. I appriciette everything you guys recommended, and I'll probably buy the Antec, but I was just wondering if I could find one with LED's around that price.

 

[captaincranky]

I fully understand what you meant but, understand this, I have a screen name that I fully enjoy and intend living up to. C'est la guerre.

Power supplies in the power and price range that are being discussed here don't normally have LEDs. Those that do, sometimes are of lower quality, and have the lights as a talking point. If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull**** as the saying goes. Well, here the brilliance is masking the BS, but the principles certainly apply.

I enjoy the glow of LEDs myself, but I'm not going to insist on buying something different because the item I need doesn't have them..

Because it's on sale (at the moment), the EA-430 is probably your best option. Antec has, and honors a 3 year warranty, which they've done for me personally.

In fact, I decided to buy an EA-430 about a half an hour ago, electing not to miss the sale this time, just to have a spare PSU handy, in case of emergency.

 

[red1776]

hey james, and lol captian.
do what they say James and dont buy a psu based on 'pretty lights' in other words its one of the most important components as they said....however, i work for a L.E.D. company in Mpls and if your talking about one of the ones i have seen, 12 of those lights @ 12v will only draw about 0.05 amps or .60 watts, so if you must have them, and dont sacrifice quality.......

 

[JamesPromIII]

You certainly do captain. I'm willing to fork out a little extra for the LEDs and not sacrifice power if that helps. I respect all of the advice but why is rosewill so bad? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182030 I understand it's rosewill but the 12v rails look like it would be able to handle what i'm putting in the new build.

 

[adweston]

It's the build quality. Rosewill is built out of crap. If you build a mansion out of maneur, you still have a big pile of crap.

A few days back we had a gentleman come in to buy a gaming computer. As we pieced the thing together for him the inevitable PSU discussion came up. Which one to buy? They have PSU's for $29.99.. Well yes, they do. I handed him a Codegen that I ripped out of a case. Then I handed him a Sparkle. Immediately a smile crossed his face and he said "oh, that's why". He ended up buying a PC Power and Cooling Silencer 620W. Best choice he could have made.

The best choice you could make now is realizing that specs on a box mean absolutely nothing. It's like Pioneer rating their 2 pound amp at 1000W, when in actuality it can't even hit 200W without shredding speakers with distortion. Root Mean Squared (RMS) or continuous power and efficiency (the 80plus rating) is everything. Peak Power Output (PMPO on amplifiers) is meaningless. Your Rosewill will peak at 600W just before it melts down into a pile of molten lava, putting out enough dirty power you could probably measure it on a geiger counter.

 

[JamesPromIII]

Would it even peak at 600W with what i'm trying to run though?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Rosewill uses OEMs who have questionable build quality. Common problems include excessive use of solder, using capacitors that cannot handle heat well and rating the PSU's power output for room temperature rather than 40C or 50C, which simulates actual operating conditions.

As for LEDs, they draw very little power as red1776 has stated, and if you want a good-quality PSU with LED lighting, the only one I recommend is the Antec NeoPower 650 Blue.

 

[captaincranky]

Why I Love PSU Threads, in 25 Epithets or Less......

I really enjoy PSU threads because they never end. It's always a pleasure to give yet another crash course in how specifications can be faked to people who know nothing about electronics. But, I suppose if they knew, they would know the answer, then what fun would this be.

Let's see if this flys; just buy the highest wattage PSU with the shiniest paint job, and the brightest LEDs you can find, for the lowest price you can find. The overwhelming satisfaction of ownership this will provide, will assure you of the fact that none of us here at Techspot have even the vaguest idea of what we're talking about.

There are precedents for doing just that. I enjoy Shoprite Cornflakes as much as I like Kellog's Corn Flakes, yet the Shoprite brand is quite a bit cheaper. Sadly, neither breakfast cereal comes in a box lit by LEDs.

Oh, woe is stupid me, I just ordered the EA-430 and my sense of false pride won't let me cancel the order. Hear me, I am inconsolable, despondent, and in an abject state of depression.

Would it even peak at 600W with what i'm trying to run though?

NO. it wouldn't. If you had checked out the PSU calculator page I linked above, you d know that.

But then, if they're calling the PSU 600 watts, you'd have to get inside the heads of a bunch of lying marketing execs, to imagine how much it actually puts out. The good news is, by doing this, you'd also give yourself the same headache I have at the moment

 

[JamesPromIII]

Jesus man, I went with what Antec earthwatts if that makes you sleep any easier.

 

[captaincranky]

That's Great News.........

I'm exicited for both of us! We can wait for our packages together! Granted, there'll be an extra days wait, accounting for the MLK holiday and the "annoy-goo-rashun", but that'll just be another whole day of excitement and anticipation.

I'm really excited and mine is only a spare, I can only imagine how you must feel. :wave:

Don't get me wrong, I love lights. I have a machine with a stock clocked E7300 and a EVGA 9500GT video card, built in an Antec 900 gaming case. Talk about all bark and no bite. And it has 3 lit fans, blue glow, very soothing. I don't miss having a PSU lit with blue LEDs, for verily, I know my EA-380 is supplying a clean, righteous, goodly sum of power to all my goodies. Well, truth to tell, I might miss them a little. A teensie, teensie, tiny, little bit.:haha: