430W Enermax PSU sufficient for upgrade?

[cnhoff]

Hi,

i have had an overclocked Pentium 4 2.66C on a P965 mainboard and a 6800GT for a while now.

Now i want to upgrade to something like

- Core 2 Duo e6400
- 8800 GTS
- 2 GB RAM
- 2 harddrives
- 4 Case fans etc.

What do you think? Will my Enermax 430watt psu be sufficient, given that i want to overclock to the max (within 100% stable limits -> e.g. cpu to 3.4GHz+)?

Have psus undergone changes, do they have extra connectors or something mine could be lacking? I initially bought the Enermax for my Thunderbird...

If you don't think i can use the psu, what units would you recommend?

Thanks

 

[myocardia]

That 430W Enermax would be enough to power the 8800GTS, but only if it's one of the newer ones, with higher output on the 12v rail. You'll definitely need a newer, more powerful psu. You would anyway, since your Enermax doesn't even have any of the many newer connectors that psu's are required to have today.

As far as which psu I'd recommend, there are quite a few, with PC Power & Cooling, Corsair (yeah, the memory company), and Seasonic being at the top of the list. Anything 600 watts or above will be fine. You could go with a slightly lower power version from one of those companies, but do you really want to replace a $130 psu, when you upgrade your video card to an 8800GTX?:laugh: Also, remember that overclocking stability requires stable voltage, which you don't get when a psu is running @ it's peak output.

 

[Noubourne]

The 8800GTS requires at least 400W I think, but they want at lesat 26A on the +12v rail.

What does your PSU say about that?

Since you plan to do a good OC, I wouldn't be skimping on the +12v rail. I'd shoot for more like 40 to be safe, but maybe someone who knows more about power could give you a better idea.

 

[cnhoff]

The sticker on the side of the psu says it can deliver 20amps on the +12v rail...

OK, e.g the OCZ Gamextreme 600 watt has 4 12v rails@18A...but it costs 100 euro :Q
Do i really need such a psu?

 

[BassBomb]

I have the dual rail version of Enermax (noisetaker)

I think you will be fine w/o overclocking. With overclocking might be a little risky but I think you should be fine, if you notice problems then upgrade it!

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: cnhoff
OK, e.g the OCZ Gamextreme 600 watt has 4 12v rails@18A...but it costs 100 euro :Q
Do i really need such a psu?

That's an awfully weak psu for an 8800. It won't push an 8800GTX. You'd need the 700 watt version of that psu, at least, unless you plan on replacing your psu when you replace your video card. Think PC Power & Cooling, Corsair, or Seasonic.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: BassBomb
I have the dual rail version of Enermax (noisetaker)

I think you will be fine w/o overclocking. With overclocking might be a little risky but I think you should be fine, if you notice problems then upgrade it!

Your entire system uses less power than the video card he plans on buying, though.

 

[cnhoff]

OK, last question

I have narrowed it down to these Corsair 500W+ or 600W+ models:

Corsair HX520: 3 +12V rails @18A, combined 40amps
Corsair HX620: 3 +12V rails @18A, combined 50amps

No SLI planned, just Core 2 Duo@3,4GHz+, 8800 GTS@max stable OC, 2GB RAM, 2 harddrives.

Don't you think i can get away with the 520W model ?
The 12V specs seem to be enough and this one would only cost 88 Euro...

 

[StopSign]

That's more than enough.

 

[myocardia]

While I wouldn't say more than enough, either of those Corsairs will be enough. The difference between them and the OCZ psu's are that the Corsairs can actually combine their 12v rails. Well, maybe borrow would be a better word. Anyway, if you're only using 9A on one of them, the other rails gets the spare 9A, making the 520 watt Corsair more powerful than a 700 watt OCZ.

 

[cnhoff]

Than you all so far!

 

[Zurxel]

Is it just me or has PSU:s become totally hyped? A 8800GTX can't draw more than 225W right? PCI-E slot deliver 75W, two additional 6-pin connectors make another 150W. Isn't this the maximum a PCI-E graphics card should be able to draw? Or am I missing something here?

 

[StopSign]

Yes, power supply requirements are exaggerated by most members here.

 

[josh609]

I have the OCZ 600 Gamerxtreme, I highly recommend it. It has allowed me to overclock my E6600 to 3.4Ghz and my GTS to 627/2000Mhz.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: StopSign
Yes, power supply requirements are exaggerated by most members here.

No, power supply outputs are what are being exaggerated, and not by us users: link. Warning, it's interesting, but it's 19 pages long.

 

[Brunnis]

Originally posted by: myocardia
While I wouldn't say more than enough, either of those Corsairs will be enough.

Yes, it will be more than enough. Way more than enough. A Core 2 Extreme 2.93GHz with 2GB RAM and an 8800GTX tops out at around 230W with GPU and CPU loaded with Oblivion, according to The Techreport. [Notice that I've subtracted the ~20% that are turned into heat in the PSU due to inefficiencies.] Even if both CPU cores aren't fully loaded and the test system didn't have multiple harddrives and other stuff, we're still looking at a sub 300W power consumption for a fully specced system. Even if all of those 300W are taken from the 12V rails, you've still got 180W to spare with a 520W Corsair PSU. I think that's a pretty hefty margin. You could actually put another 8800GTX in there and be fine.

Why won't this PSU madness stop? It seems as if it's getting worse by each day.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Brunnis

Originally posted by: myocardia
While I wouldn't say more than enough, either of those Corsairs will be enough.

Yes, it will be more than enough. Way more than enough. A Core 2 Extreme 2.93GHz with 2GB RAM and an 8800GTX tops out at around 230W with GPU and CPU loaded with Oblivion, according to The Techreport. [Notice that I've subtracted the ~20% that are turned into heat in the PSU due to inefficiencies.] Even if both CPU cores aren't fully loaded and the test system didn't have multiple harddrives and other stuff, we're still looking at a sub 300W power consumption for a fully specced system. Even if all of those 300W are taken from the 12V rails, you've still got 180W to spare with a 520W Corsair PSU. I think that's a pretty hefty margin. You could actually put another 8800GTX in there and be fine.

Why won't this PSU madness stop? It seems as if it's getting worse by each day.

I've got a $100 bill for you, if you can run Oblivion with SLI 8800GTS's (not the GTX's you claim), plus a stock speed X6800, with any non-modified 300 watt psu on the planet. Care to back up your claims with cash? Yeah, I didn't think so.

 

[Skotty]

I'm running a Seasonic S12 430W PSU with a Core 2 Duo at 2.7GHz and plan on upgrading to an 8800 GTS. It's 2 12V rails are rated at 14A and 15A. Anyone think the PSU won't be enough? Seasonic is pretty good, no? I don't have a lot of extras. Only 1 hard drive and 1 DVD-R.

 

[myocardia]

The chances that a 430 watt S12 will run a 2.7 Ghz C2D plus a single 8800GTS, are nearly 100% that it will. Of course, you may have gotten a psu that has problems with high loads on one rail, etc, but my money says that you won't have any problems with your power supply and an 8800GTS.

edit: Your S12 has 50% more power on the 12v rail than the power supply we were discussing, plus it's a Seasonic, which means it's really able to supply more power than other brands who say their psu has the same amount of power.

 

[Brunnis]

Originally posted by: myocardia
I've got a $100 bill for you, if you can run Oblivion with SLI 8800GTS's (not the GTX's you claim), plus a stock speed X6800, with any non-modified 300 watt psu on the planet. Care to back up your claims with cash? Yeah, I didn't think so.

I was talking about running the SLI'ed GTXs on a Corsair 520W, not some 300W PSU. I think The Inquirer actually tested a pair of GTXs on a 500-550W PSU. They ran a host of tests and used the system for a while and had no issues whatsoever.

SLI'ed 8800 GTS on 300W PSU would probably not work. The PSU would have to provide close to 300W on the 12V rail(s), which no 300W unit will. A PSU specified for 300W on the 12V rail and actually able to deliver that could power such a system, though. It would however push the PSU to the edge, so it's not something to recommend.

You saying that a 520W Corsair isn't more than enough for the thread starter's system is quite misleading, though. The Corsair supply (which is a rebranded Seasonic) in question can actually supply power to back up its specs. One of the reasons (THE reason?) that AMD/Intel and Nvidia/ATI recommends such powerful PSUs for their products is probably that many PSUs can't live up to their specifications. Atleast not without blowing up within a month or two.

 

[myocardia]

Well of course a 520W Corsair could handle SLI'd 8800GTX's, it's got 40 usable amps on the 12v rail. I'd never recommend it for a system that gonna have SLI'd 8800GTX's, plus an X6800, though. Why? Because it's never a good idea to run any psu at 100% load for long periods of time, at least if you're wanting that psu to last any amount of time.

What I think you aren't realizing about your link is that they are listing the AC power coming from the wall outlet. I mean, you don't honestly think you'd be able to run an E6800, 2GB of RAM, a DVD-ROM/RW, a hard drive, and a 7900GS with a 200w psu, do you? That link says the entire system will only use 190 watts while running Oblivion @ 1600x1200, with a 7900GS.

 

[Brunnis]

Originally posted by: myocardia
What I think you aren't realizing about your link is that they are listing the AC power coming from the wall outlet. I mean, you don't honestly think you'd be able to run an E6800, 2GB of RAM, a DVD-ROM/RW, a hard drive, and a 7900GS with a 200w psu, do you? That link says the entire system will only use 190 watts while running Oblivion @ 1600x1200, with a 7900GS.

Huh? Those 190W get turned into DC power by the PSU with an approximate 80% efficiency. So, yes, the PSU in such a system would need to supply approximately 190*0.8 = 152W.

Naturally, with a PSU that could provide 200W distributed the right way across the 12V, 5V and 3.3V rails, you could easily power such a system.

I don't see what you're onto with the sentence "What I think you aren't realizing about your link is that they are listing the AC power coming from the wall outlet". Would you care to clarify? What is it that I haven't understood correctly?