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550 Watt Power Supply enough for my Quad system?
SkillCosby
Member Posts: 684
Hey all, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to help me
Here is my current system:
Quad-Core Q9550
Nvidia GTX 260
ASUS P5QL PRO
4GB (2x2) G-Skill DDR2 1066
Creative X-Fi
250GB Western Digital Hard Drive
1 DVD/RW
4 Case Fans (Antec 900)
I need a new power supply; however, am running short on my "entertainment funds". I really can't spend more than $80.00. I know that pickings are slim, but I've had my heart set on a modular power supply for some time.
Will this power supply be enough to run my system without worries? It's only 550 Watts: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341022
With the coupon, I can get it for 59.99 w/ free shipping. It also has a $20.00 rebate on top of that; thus, 39.99. However, I'd rather be safe than sorry.
What say you?!
Comments
I had problems with a similar system and a 500w power supply, which is why i've now gone to a 800w power supply.
I'd probably recommend going a little higher? Try taking a look at www.aria.co.uk, can pick up a bargain there!
You can get a 700 watt for less then $80. Dont get the 550 Watt.
The PSU is the heart of a machine, don't cheap out on it. One cheap PSU and a fried motherboard later and you'll regret it. The 550W will probably just skirt by what you need now. May I recommend a Corsair 750 Watt unit (http://www.corsair.com/products/tx/default.aspx)? They're very realible and plenty of power for even my rig.
____________________________
Telthalion Rohircil - Guardian - Elemandir - Lord of The Rings Online
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== RIP == Torey - Commando - Orion - Tabula Rasa == RIP ==
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Jordaniel Torey - Navy Megathron, Active Armor Tank - Tranquility - EVE Online
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Torey Scott - Rifleman - Fallen Earth
____________________________
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but I know World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein
Go with the Corsair 650TX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005). It's $20 more after the mail-in rebate from what I can gather, but it will run your system flawlessly without any doubt and leave you some room for extra HDs, fans, overclocking etc. It's not modular, but it looks like the Antec 900 has enough room to get the unused cables out of the way without obstructing the airflow since the PSU is bottom mounted and isn't system stability when you're on a budget more important anyway?
I'm a big ol' fluffy carewolf. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Don't even consider Newegg mail in rebates into it. They're really a luck thing, and with my luck, I haven't recieved one yet.
____________________________
Telthalion Rohircil - Guardian - Elemandir - Lord of The Rings Online
---
== RIP == Torey - Commando - Orion - Tabula Rasa == RIP ==
---
Jordaniel Torey - Navy Megathron, Active Armor Tank - Tranquility - EVE Online
---
Torey Scott - Rifleman - Fallen Earth
____________________________
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but I know World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein
your pushing it with 550. Dont try some cheap 700+. Do a little serching and get a good one. Some of the other posters gave you some good ideas..
I have no experience with mail-in rebates since I've never seen one where I live. In fact, I think they might be illegal here. But the OP seems to have faith in the rebate/coupon thing, so I just thought I would mention that. However, even at the full price of $99.99 it's a darn fine product. I know, because I use it and I got a bit more hardware (4 HDs, 8GB RAM, ASUS Rampage formula X48) in my machine compare to his and it's overclocked & overvolted on top of that. In short, I can personally guarantee that it'll do the job. I'm not so sure about the 550 watt one though. If it's a quality product (got no personal experience with that brand) it probably will work fine if he leaves it at one HD and stock speed, but that leaves no room for further upgrades down the road and if it's not a quality product, he might be in for a bumpy ride.
I'm a big ol' fluffy carewolf. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
BEST BRANDS:
corsair, pc power and cooling or seasonic.
i just ordered this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
The power requirements are built with inneffecient components in mind. 550watt should be enough considering nVidia thinks 500watt is enough for the GTX260. The powere requirements in components have also gone down considerably in the last few years.
If you do get a 550watt PSU, get a good brand like OCZ, Thermaltake, PC Power and Cooling(rebranded as OCZ), and Corsair. With a 12v rail running at 35amps. The last thing you want is a cheapo power supply that fries your system, going higher watts doesn't assure good build quality and if you do want it you will be paying a large premium. A descent 800w PSU costs nearly $200.
Here is my suggestion:
OCZ Fatality 550w $69.99 (2x25a 12v rail going to PSU)
That's what I run on my rig, and it's pretty hefty. Although I got mine 10 bucks cheaper. Still a great deal, awesome unit, and enough wiring for a gigantic Dell XPS case.
____________________________
Telthalion Rohircil - Guardian - Elemandir - Lord of The Rings Online
---
== RIP == Torey - Commando - Orion - Tabula Rasa == RIP ==
---
Jordaniel Torey - Navy Megathron, Active Armor Tank - Tranquility - EVE Online
---
Torey Scott - Rifleman - Fallen Earth
____________________________
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but I know World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein
im a newb at shopping for computer components.
educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html - Power supply calculator.
That calculator is useless. Doesn't even have the GTX 260 card on the list, so I had to pick the 8800GTX and then it says I need a 759 watt PSU. Really? Gee... mine runs just fine with a 650 watt and my system is overclocked and has a billion fans on top of that.
web.aanet.com.au/SnooP/psucalc.php - A lot more technical, but at least it gives my system a 621 watt recommended PSU and it looks like the OP can get away with that 550 watt PSU if it's decent enough quality. Doesn't leave much room for upgrades though.
I'm a big ol' fluffy carewolf. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
i have the same one. its great but i hope you have room to hide the extra cables. i call it the tentacle monster because of the extra long cables.
you can get a 1000w and it can last you for any configuration almost
Yeah... until the ATX specification or connectors used changes. Already had that happen on me a couple of times where I could in theory, have used the PSU from my previous system but ended up not being able to due to changes.
Also, why pay $200+ for a PSU (don't even think about buying one of an unknown brand that is strangely cheaper than all the other reputable brands) if a $100 one is all you need and you have no plans like running multiple graphics cards down the road?
Finally, if I'm to believe the experts, a 1000 watt PSU running a system that draws 200-500 watts is going to use more electricity than a 600 watt PSU running the same system due to PSUs not being as efficient converting when running at low usage. That's a thing to consider as well if you're the one paying the electricity bill or actually care just a tiny bit about the environment.
In short, what I'm trying to say is that there's too much of a good thing where PSUs are concerned. Bigger is not always better unless all you care about is impressing your friends with your new 1000 watt PSU hehe.
I'm a big ol' fluffy carewolf. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Go to this website to check what psu wattage is best for your system: http://www.antec.outervision.com. It has very specific options.
I would get a corsair PSU, i'm buying this one: Corsair 550w on friday for a rig i'm building. and they make 650, 750 and 1000w PSUs.
My sig is just as logical as your posts are
The link you posted doesn't work so i don't know what PSU it is, anyway a good quality 500watt plus PSU with a strong +12v rail should have no problem with your setup at all. That system would draw around 300watt at load.
Its a myth you need 750watt plus PSU to run a modern set up.
www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx
Techreport ran a similar config and only drawed 284watts at load.
techreport.com/articles.x/16504/10
LoL - The quality of the PSU and how cleanly and well it delivers the electrical power is more important then the wattage numbers. Manufacturers use wattage numbers to sell PSUs to dopes who think bigger is better.
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Game(s) I Am Currently Playing:
GW2 (+LoL and BF3)
You have a nice case that you will be using for a long long time. Just upgrading the components every now and then like video card, MB, ram and cpu so if i were you I would buy a antec 1000 power supply and never agaion worry about your power supply for your computer again.
Some of you people are so misguided about power supplies hahaha.
All that matters these days is the +12V(1-4) rating and the total wattage that the combined +12v gives you. The other rails/voltages will always be high enough these days, so nobody should really care about them.
Your rig will barely push a 550w top of the line PSU from any name brand such as Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, and OCZ.
You could have that rig and dual GTX 285's and easily be safe with a 750w Corsair.
http://www.tomshardware.com
http://www.anandtech.com
http://www.hardforums.com
Those are 3 simple enthusiast sites with questions like yours every single day that all get the same answer for a reason. Enjoy
Can you provide a link that works for the PSU.
And uhm in any case I would recommend you with a PSU that have as much A on as few 12v rails as possible. For you system a PSU that can deliver around 30A continuesly is perfectly good to use without any worries.
The biggest concern would be to not buy a malfunctioning one.
-------------------
- 1 rear (standard) 120mm TriCool Fan with 3-speed switch control*
3,6W = 12v * 0,3A
- 1 top (standard) 200mm TriCool Fan
3,6W = 12v * 0,3A
- 2 front 120mm Blue LED TriCool fans
2,88W = 12v * 0,24A
2,88W = 12v * 0,24A
Quad-Core Q9550
60W = 12v * 5A
Nvidia GTX 260
?
ASUS P5QL PRO
?
4GB (2x2) G-Skill DDR2 1066*
2,7W = 12v * 225mA
2,7W = 12v * 225mA
Creative X-Fi *
1,8W = 12v * 150mA
10,8W = 12v * 900mA
250GB Western Digital Hard Drive*
4,74W = 12v * 395 mA
1 DVD/RW
24W = 12V * 2A
The above hardware
120W = 12v * 9,975A
* For some products i was not clear on the power consumptions or I did not find the exact product. In those cases I looked at a similar product. For instance the memory I went a a Kingston HyperX mmodule.
Also note that I took power consumption data for when the hardware is used. For instance when the HDD is reading or writing. And it is only the 12v numbers.
Looking at a Corsair PSU with merely 450W. !
http://www.corsair.com/products/hx450/default.aspx
396W = 12V * 33A
296W - 120W = 276W
(Oh, yes. This leave little to no space for load on the rest of the PSU. Like 5v and such.)
So there is 276W left. That with no graphic card and mainboard in the above calculation. And looking that some sites give the full system power consumption on load somewhere around 280W with the GTX260 card.
Please provide any faults in my number.
I'm so broke. I can't even pay attention.
"You have the right not to be killed"
Totally agree with this. I upgraded from 500 to 750 because my system which is similar to yours kept rebooting because of the PSU.
Exactly. Well said. Don't go cheap on PSU. know your 12v rail ratings ect...