can I use a generic PSU for a short period of time without damaging components

[Angerisagift]

I'm building a new system after Xmas

It's something I've been wanting to do for years, but it hasn't been in the budget, and for Xmas I asked my wife and a few other people to get me specific parts.

Current System

Pentium 4 Northwood @ 2.6Ghz

2 GB DDR 400 mixed pairs,( though 1 GB is corsair XMS throttled down to work with slower generic)

2x 80 GB HDD's, 1 SATA, 1 IDE

420 W Raidmax PSU 21 Amps

BFGTech Geforce 7800GS AGP 256MB


Future System, based on what I asked for

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
ECS 671-T LGA 775 mobo
(black friday deal, part of a combo, not the best board but a steal for $200)

2 GB OCZ PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz Dual Channel Kit

XFX Geforce 8800GT 512MB GDDR3


will use exisiting HDD amd optical drives.

My area of Concern is the power supply, I think my Wife may have asked someone that probably will just buy me something else because they don't want to deal with it, and I hate asking for computer components because I'm so particular but most of these people aren't the gift card type, or they would give me Best Buy Gift cards, where I wouldn't be able to afford anything due to their horrific price gouging (8600GTS for $279 I think not) so my fate lies in the hands of the novice.

having said that I don't think I'll have a new power supply when I have all my parts, I couldn't find specific amperage or anything like that on the XFX website, but I found it on EVGA and it said the card requires 26 amps,

I'm hoping to aquire a 500-600W 32amp name brand power supply, but don't know if I'll even get one, and will probably have to buy it myself after xmas when things settle down.

I'm wondering if I would take a risk of damaging anything if I ran the system on my so so power supply, for mayble just a few weeks, my birthday is in late january, so at most the system would have to run about a month under amperage. but probably less.

I just know come xmas morning, once I have my parts in hand it would be difficult to not start building.

let me know what you guys know about under amperage.

 

[Harvey]

The worst that will happen is that the system will be problematic. It may hang or give you spontaneous reboots. I doubt that it will actually damage any hardware. It could cause some problems with your software, especially if you're saving a file when it hangs.

 

[Angerisagift]

from what I've heard it's really only harmful, if you do this for the long term, but I know most people keep the same power supply for 2-3 years, so thanks for the info.

 

[Harvey]

"Doing it for the long term" simply sets up more opportunities for some data corruption if the system glitches, hangs or reboots while trying to write to a critical file.

 

[JEDIYoda]

all the above....
You would be suprised how many people use a generic PSU to power there high end gaming rigss.....
Yet nobody of sound mind will admit it..lol

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
all the above....
You would be suprised how many people use a generic PSU to power there high end gaming rigss.....
Yet nobody of sound mind will admit it..lol

me > raises hand.

I have a hipro 450watt powering a 7900gtx,e6700 that works fine.
Its a cheap ps, but I've tested it under load with a multimeter and scope and its very stable.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
all the above....
You would be suprised how many people use a generic PSU to power there high end gaming rigss.....
Yet nobody of sound mind will admit it..lol

me > raises hand.

I have a hipro 450watt powering a 7900gtx,e6700 that works fine.
Its a cheap ps, but I've tested it under load with a multimeter and scope and its very stable.

well almost nobody

 

[Angerisagift]

I was curious about the ratings, and I cracked open the case to have a look on the actual PSU, and it only says 13.0a on 12V, which is half of the recommended req for the 8800GT, can you actually run a video card at half amperage

apparently, I've been underpowering my 7800GS for over a year now, it says the minimum for that is 18.0a,
,

so here's a thought, what if I don't want to spend more than 50$ on a PSU, would I be better off to by a name brand PSU that's underrated, or buy an overrated generic PSU, like rosewill or ultra-x-connect with a higher wattage and amperage than I need and assume that because the lower efficiency it will balance out.

 

[Quiksilver]

Is that 13A on just 1x 12V rail or the combined of all 12V rails (IE - if their is 2 Rails each at 13A, thats 26A) if thats 13A combined, I don't understand how your system even turns on >_>

Anyway just look around for Antec Earthwatts 500W, you can usually get them with a mail in rebate(Which after rebate would be like $50-60). It would be the best option for your price range.

 

[Angerisagift]

as far as I can tell it's single rail, it works, pretty well actually, has only ever shutdown on my unexplainably while gaming, and it's usually been sound related.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: Angerisagift
I was curious about the ratings, and I cracked open the case to have a look on the actual PSU, and it only says 13.0a on 12V, which is half of the recommended req for the 8800GT, can you actually run a video card at half amperage

apparently, I've been underpowering my 7800GS for over a year now, it says the minimum for that is 18.0a,

The 8800GT consumes less than 11A under full load. The 22-26A that you're referring to is what the video card mfg's recommend for the entire system.

so here's a thought, what if I don't want to spend more than 50$ on a PSU, would I be better off to by a name brand PSU that's underrated, or buy an overrated generic PSU, like rosewill or ultra-x-connect with a higher wattage and amperage than I need and assume that because the lower efficiency it will balance out.

So you can afford to drop $270 on a Q6600 & $250 on an 8800GT, but you're unable to spend more than $50 on a psu? In any event an EarthWatts 430W for $30 AR will power your rig.

EarthWatts reviews:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=51
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article684-page1.html
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com...wer-supply-review.html

 

[JEDIYoda]

So you can afford to drop $270 on a Q6600 & $250 on an 8800GT, but you're unable to spend more than $50 on a psu? In any event an EarthWatts 430W for $30 AR will power your rig.


My thoughts exactly!!
Things that make you go hmm!~!

 

[Angerisagift]

actually it will all be gifts, me and my wife don't really guess, we just ask each other what we want for xmas and buy it, everyone's generally happier that way.

and the proc and mobo would have been part of a Black Friday combo deal Fry's was running, only $199

I'd rather just get what I want than be surprised,

it's hard enough to justify spending $60 on a 360 video game to my wife, let alone $250 video cards and $100 power supplies.

we're just young and still getting our lives together, saving for mortgage, saving for new cars, saving for a rainy day.

the only reason I'll get a quad core is because of luck and acting upon a deal.
I would have been fine with a decent dual core.

I've been wanting to upgrade for a long time now, and I couldn't really do anything else with my current rig without gutting it, so I might as well try to do it right, because it will probably be a while before I can upgrade again, but I still need to do what I can to keep costs down.