Antec Earthwatts EA430 in Core i7 920 System

totalcommand

Platinum Member
Apr 21, 2004
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Hi Guys,

I'm in the process of building a new PC.

I've gotten the first few parts:

Gigabyte EX58 UDP4 Mobo
Core i7 920 130W CPU
3x2gb OCZ Gold DDR3-1333 Ram

I'd like to test out the RAM with Memtest86+ and the CPU with Prime95 while I'm waiting for my other parts which should get here in a week. So, I'd like to test these parts out with some old components:

Antec Earthwatts EA430 430W PS
Seagate 7200.10 320 GB SATA HD
LiteOn DVD+R Burner IDE
ATI Radeon X600XT

1)Will the EA430 be enough to power the above parts throgh Memtest86 and Prime95 testing?

2) The EX58 UDP4 has an 8-pin 12V socket for CPU power. The EA430 has a single 4pin 12V connector for CPU power. Would plugging in this single 4 pin connector into the 8 pin socket be okay for a 130W CPU like the i7? Or should I hold off till I get a new PS with the appropriate connector?

For reference, the parts I'm waiting for:
Corsair 650TX 650W PS
MSI ATI Radeon 4890 OC

Thanks for the help.
 

HOOfan 1

Platinum Member
Sep 2, 2007
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It should work ok....but presumably you will have some sort of graphics card in there, so you can get a display.
 

totalcommand

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Apr 21, 2004
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Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
It should work ok....but presumably you will have some sort of graphics card in there, so you can get a display.

Lol, quite right. Forgot to say I have an old Radeon X600XT. So putting the 4pin in the 8 pin socket is ok for this CPU?

Thanks.
 

HOOfan 1

Platinum Member
Sep 2, 2007
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Originally posted by: totalcommand
Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
It should work ok....but presumably you will have some sort of graphics card in there, so you can get a display.

Lol, quite right. Forgot to say I have an old Radeon X600XT. So putting the 4pin in the 8 pin socket is ok for this CPU?

Thanks.

You can always check your motherboard manual...but I would think the worst that would happen is that the CPU would not get enough power, or the motherboard just wouldn't boot
 

Eureka

Diamond Member
Sep 6, 2005
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You should be fine... to be honest the power hungry component in your system is the 4890, and that hasn't arrived yet.
 

totalcommand

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Apr 21, 2004
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Originally posted by: Eureka
You should be fine... to be honest the power hungry component in your system is the 4890, and that hasn't arrived yet.

I think the problem I'm concerned about isn't that the power supply couldn't supply enough current. I've been reading around since I posted, and saw some stories of power connectors melting because current that should have been distributed over the 8 pins is going through the 4 pins instead. Basically, 4 pin connector wires aren't a large enough gauge to handle that current. Is this true?
 

HOOfan 1

Platinum Member
Sep 2, 2007
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Originally posted by: totalcommand
Originally posted by: Eureka
You should be fine... to be honest the power hungry component in your system is the 4890, and that hasn't arrived yet.

I think the problem I'm concerned about isn't that the power supply couldn't supply enough current. I've been reading around since I posted, and saw some stories of power connectors melting because current that should have been distributed over the 8 pins is going through the 4 pins instead. Basically, 4 pin connector wires aren't a large enough gauge to handle that current. Is this true?

should be 18AWG braided wire right? Usually with 90C insulation. I think they are supposed to handle at least 10A...but the information on the net about max current is kind of varied. Even if the processor was pulling 150W though, you have 2 12V wires, that would be 75W each or 6.25A each.
 

nyker96

Diamond Member
Apr 19, 2005
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I think this should work just fine. probably below 200W at full load. you only got a small vid card, no problem. but with a 4890, check the outlet meter, although I think you got quite a bit left for that card. It should work out fine. with that card I say 400W is enough.

if you not sure, xbit tested a similar system to yours for PSU needs:
http://xbitlabs.com/articles/c...m-wattage_7.html#sect0