375W PSU...Seems Low

[thepeach]

My employer is about to pull the trigger on a 2 Dell Workstations that only have a 375W PSU and this seems a bit low to me considering the following vitals:

PROCESSOR Intel Extreme QX6850 (3.00GHz/1333MHz/2X4MB L2) 375W
VIDEO CARD 512MB PCIe x16 nVidia Quadro FX1700, Dual Monitor DVI Cable
HARD DRIVE/RAID CONFIGURATION Raid 5 (3 HDDs)
MEMORY 4GB, 800MHz, DDR2 SDRAM Memory, ECC (2 DIMMS)
OPTICAL DRIVE 16XDVD AND 16XDVD+/-RW,
MONITOR Dell 24 inch UltraSharp? 2407FPW-HC Widescreen, adj stand, VGA/DVI
LARGE DISPLAYS Dell High Color 30 inch UltraSharp Widescreen Monitor

375W seems low to me based on the above basic configuration...I can only assume Dell knows better than me....what say you???

I think they plan to pull the trigger tomorrow...

Any comments are appreciated

Thank you

 

[Zap]

If the system is spec'd like that from Dell with all those parts, then the PSU can probably handle it. There are reports about high end gaming rigs being powered off 380W Antec Earthwatts units.

Of course if it doesn't work, then Dell will warranty it.

 

[thepeach]

Originally posted by: Zap
If the system is spec'd like that from Dell with all those parts, then the PSU can probably handle it. There are reports about high end gaming rigs being powered off 380W Antec Earthwatts units.

Of course if it doesn't work, then Dell will warranty it.

Thanks for the excellent comments

I agree Dell would warranty any failure....

I was at the Dell site tonight and found the system that was spec'd out but it looks like to me they picked a lower end Workstation (with a 375W PSU) and then spec'd it up to include high end CPUs and Raid 5 (w/3 HDD)...this puts it into the next higher Desktop model that has a 585W PSU and that is what got me concerned.

To spend $5100 each on two Desktops with a 375W PSU is pennywise and pound foolish considering these 2 workstations are a real PITA when they are down for anyreason.

I ran 3 different PS Calculators and they all ran from 520-625.

I'm afraid that the first time someone decides to stick a newer/faster Graphics card in one of these Workstations, we might lose more than just a PSU.

Thanks very much for you comments

 

[amdfansftw]

i agree with you on the fact that it's crazy to spend that kind of cash just to get a junk psu to run it all. but they will have a corp warranty through dell if it's like my company. and if anything goes wrong you call IT they call dell and dell fixes the problem no questions asked. also when IT upgrades computers they should always call dell or whoever to see if the new hardware will pass the psu first. so i wouldn't worry about that unless of course your IT dept. isn't too smart. then you have more things to worry about than a psu in a workstation...

 

[John]

eXtreme PSU Calculator v2.5

System Type: Single Processor
Motherboard: Regular - Desktop
CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 3000 MHz Kentsfield XE
CPU Utilization (TDP): 85% TDP
RAM: 4 Sticks DDR2 SDRAM
Video Card: NVIDIA Quadro FX 3450*
Video Type: Single Card
SATA HDD: 3 HDDs
DVD-RW/DVD+RW Drive: 2 Drives
PCI SATA RAID Card: Yes
USB: 2 Devices
Keyboard and mouse: Yes
System Load: 90 %
Recommended Wattage: 366 Watts

*According to my research the FX3450 should consume more power than the FX1700.

 

[thepeach]

John...Thanks for keeping me honest. Looks like I made the novice error of choosing the "Quad Socket" rather than Single.

But I would "Feel Better with a PSU of 500+

 

[John]

You're welcome. If you're looking at the Precision T3400 it looks like Dell is charging $50 to upgrade to the 525W psu.

http://www.dell.com/content/pr...&s=bsd&~tab=bundlestab

 

[mageslayer]

my 375 watt dell psu is runnng:

c2d e6400
4GB ddr2-667mhz
2 Hardrives
7950 gt ko overclocked to 600core/1550bus

 

[mageslayer]

dell power supplies are very reiab;e and stable, it hould have no problem powering your rig