Is a 90W PSU enough for a 3570K?

[996GT2]

I'm building a SFF system, and because size is an important factor for this system, I am planning to use an Antec ISK-110 case, which has a 90W PSU built in. The PSU is rated at "up to 92% efficiency."

Link to case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129185

The parts:
Core i5-3570K + Gigabyte Mini-ITX Motherboard (Microcenter combo)
No dedicated GPU
No overclocking
No optical drive
8GB 30nm Samsung DDR3
128GB Samsung 830 SSD
500GB 5400 RPM 2.5" Hard Drive (WD Scorpio Blue)
No case fans, only fan in system will be the stock Intel CPU cooler

I am going with the 3570K because of the Microcenter combo deal. I wouldn't really save any $ if I went with a i5-3450 or something like that, so I figured why not go for the 3570K, especially since it has the faster HD 4000 GPU.

Will the 90W PSU of the ISK 110 be able to handle this setup?

Will it have enough power left in reserve to plug in a USB optical drive or a USB external hard drive?

[TemjinGold]

Should be more than fine.

The PSU's efficiency affects how much power it needs to draw from the wall, NOT how much power it can supply.

[Zap]

Should be fine under normal usage. Don't torture test the system.

I run a 2500K and a discrete GPU (Radeon 6670) for gaming in an Antec ISK 300-150. For some reason people are always amazed that it doesn't just spontaneously immolate itself.

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Is this really a good idea? Doesn't the 3570K have a TDP of 77W?

[onething]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing, 90w.. Your cpu alone will consume more than that under load.

[aaksheytalwar]

Only a crazy person would try this.

[lehtv]

Originally Posted by onething

Yeah I was thinking the same thing, 90w.. Your cpu alone will consume more than that under load.

Uh, no it won't.

[TemjinGold]

Originally Posted by aaksheytalwar

Only a crazy person would try this.

You tell him! He needs an x1000 to be safe!

[TemjinGold]

Originally Posted by 996GT2

I'm building a SFF system, and because size is an important factor for this system, I am planning to use an Antec ISK-110 case, which has a 90W PSU built in. The PSU is rated at "up to 92% efficiency."

Link to case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129185

The parts:
Core i5-3570K + Gigabyte Mini-ITX Motherboard (Microcenter combo)
No dedicated GPU
No overclocking
No optical drive
8GB 30nm Samsung DDR3
128GB Samsung 830 SSD
500GB 5400 RPM 2.5" Hard Drive (WD Scorpio Blue)
No case fans, only fan in system will be the stock Intel CPU cooler

I am going with the 3570K because of the Microcenter combo deal. I wouldn't really save any $ if I went with a i5-3450 or something like that, so I figured why not go for the 3570K, especially since it has the faster HD 4000 GPU.

Will the 90W PSU of the ISK 110 be able to handle this setup?

Will it have enough power left in reserve to plug in a USB optical drive or a USB external hard drive?

OP: Here's some logic to consider:

1) You are running one of the lowest power processors out there.
2) With minimal ram, only 1 SSD, and 1 2.5" HD.
3) You don't even have case fans and won't be overclocking ANY part of your system.

In other words, this is about as low power as a system can get practically. If that PSU can't handle it, then it won't be able to handle ANY thing--aka it would be totally useless in the market. Now you tell me, why would Antec (NOT some no-name brand) sell something that won't power anything for anyone?

Don't listen to the power greatly overexaggerating stuff. Your 77w tdp processor will never come close to using 77w under your usage scenario (not even half of that). You will be fine. I'd be surprised if your system loads past 50w total.

[videogames101]

Just to add another voice, you'll be fine.

[Charles Kozierok]

Anandtech tested it with a 65W TDP chip and it seemed to work okay. Personally, I'd be a bit worried about it, but if all else fails you might be able to find a beefier external brick for it.

[dave_the_nerd]

You should be fine. You've got maybe an extra 10w worth of stuff there, even assuming you EVER hit max TDP on that chip. (Not likely w/o overclocking.) Many (good quality) PSUs can eke out a little past their rated power without too much drama, too.

You could, theoretically, undervolt a la the S series. (Match the vcore of the 3570S and you'd be giving yourself insurance, essentially.)

That said, if the power supply is a boring old "stock" DC external power supply, you should probably be able to find a 120w unit without too much trouble as a replacement/upgrade.

You have no reason to expect it won't work, and options even if it doesn't.

[Zap]

Let me ask a pointed question of the OP. Do you intend to max the CPU utilization to 100% for extended periods of time (more than a couple minutes), for any reason (distributed computing, transcoding long videos, extended torture testing to appease paranoia)?

[996GT2]

Originally Posted by Zap

Let me ask a pointed question of the OP. Do you intend to max the CPU utilization to 100% for extended periods of time (more than a couple minutes), for any reason (distributed computing, transcoding long videos, extended torture testing to appease paranoia)?

No, the intended use of the system will be a workstation/media center type of PC. I expect light to medium CPU utilization most of time, with 100% utilization maybe a small amount of the time. I don't intend to fold on it or run Prime95 for extended periods of time.

At this point, after reading several reviews and forum threads from owners of this case, I'm relatively confident that the 90W PSU can handle the setup I had in my OP. The only thing that slightly worries me is whether the PSU could handle the power requirement of several additional devices like USB Wi-Fi adapters or USB external hard drives.


From the HWSecrets review, the PSU in the ISK 110 seems like a pretty decent unit. The power brick is made by Delta and the DC-DC converter seems to use high quality parts like Chemi-Con caps.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...-Review/1581/4

[dave_the_nerd]

Originally Posted by 996GT2

The only thing that slightly worries me is whether the PSU could handle the power requirement of several additional devices like USB Wi-Fi adapters or USB external hard drives.

A couple devices like that should be fine - there's only so much power the USB bus can/will provide. Use a powered hub if you're paranoid.

[MaxICH]

You are borderline, especially if you add aditional devices. Personally I wouldn't recommend it.

[Zap]

Originally Posted by 996GT2

No, the intended use of the system will be a workstation/media center type of PC. I expect light to medium CPU utilization most of time, with 100% utilization maybe a small amount of the time. I don't intend to fold on it or run Prime95 for extended periods of time.

Then you'll be fine. Just go...



... and build that little bad boy.

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Well, if you want to be absolutely sure, there's nothing like hooking up a Kill-a-Watt to the bad boy

[996GT2]

Originally Posted by Zap

Then you'll be fine. Just go...



... and build that little bad boy.

All the parts are ordered and on their way!

[dave_the_nerd]

Originally Posted by 996GT2

All the parts are ordered and on their way!

Cool.

Build pics or GTFO.

[Subyman]

You could always undervolt the 3570k to get a bit more wiggle room.

[TemjinGold]

He doesn't need wiggle room. That machine is going to load at like 50watts.

[996GT2]

Just found this review that said the ISK 110's PSU shut off with a 3770K, 8GB of 1.5V DDR3, Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe board, and 2x SSDs.

http://www.servethehome.com/antec-is...supply-review/

The power supply is a very mixed bag. I purchased the Antec ISK-110 thinking that the power supply was a 110w unit. A valuable lesson learned here is to actually read specs not try to interpret part numbers (especially incorrectly as I did.) Bottom line, I would see the unit with the Intel Core i7-3770K at stock clocks and voltages start the boot process sending the power draw over 92w then the system would shut down. I got a bit frustrated with this so shortly thereafter I this became my AMD E-350 chassis.

I'll be using a 3570K, 1.35V DDR3, an H61 motherboard (came with Microcenter combo, should use less power than the P8Z77-I, and one SSD/one 5400 RPM HDD). Do you guys think that's enough of a reduction in power consumption to be ok for the PSU, given that its limit is reached with a 3770K during Windows boot-up? The case gets here on Friday so I'll be able to find out for sure then.

[dave_the_nerd]

I still think you'll be fine.

First of all, I'm not quite sure how that guy got his system to use so much power at idle.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1922/10/

These guys build the same mobo/cpu with watercooling and toys, and only pulled 60w while running 3DMark. (115 watts running Prime95, but that's... well, that's Prime95.)

After a bit of Googling, I found people with your motherboard (GA-H61N-USB3?) building systems that used 30w of power or less. Now, they were mostly using dual core chips (Celerons and i3s), so your load numbers will be a lot higher, but at idle you should be seeing numbers in the same ballpark. You certainly shouldn't be pulling over 90w just turning the damned thing on.

Hell, my Q6600 rig only pulls about 100w at idle, (not counting monitors, router, etc.) and that's with GPUs and stuff.

But, his solution is interesting.

http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-150-XT

[996GT2]

Just got everything set up and it seems to run fine in Windows 7. Undervolted the CPU slightly, just in case. Was perfectly stable during Windows 7's hardware evaluation test.

Forget about neat cable management in this case. There is simply not enough room. The best you can do is keep the wires out of the CPU fan's way, and that's about it. However, the form factor is incredible considering that there is a 3570K and two drives inside.

Thanks for the help everyone.