Can this PSU handle another hard drive?

[lollybo]

I have an Ultra Xfinity 600 watt PSU, and I am thinking of adding another harddrive to my system. Can this PSU handle it? I heard the wattage on this PSU is high, but the efficiency is low.

Currently, I have:

q6600 2.4 ghz
2 gigs DDR Ram
Ip 35 mobo
1 Maxtor 300 gig HD
LG CD/DVD drive
Audigy SE sound card
8800gt

Would my system be able to support another hard drive? Thanks!

 

[HOOfan 1]

Efficiency has nothing to do with how much hardware your PSU can run.
Your PSU should have enough juice to add another harddrive.

 

[lollybo]

Dumb somewhat noobish question: how much does a PSU matter? Is it worth upgrading my mediocre PSU for a new one?

Is it just a question of heat/efficiency/longevity, or does a PSU boost performance? I keep hearing how the PSU is perhaps the most important part of a rig, but I somehow can't see that.

 

[HOOfan 1]

Having a PSU that doesn't provide enough power can affect performance, as some videocards will scale down a bit if they don't get enough power. Mostly a PSU that doesn't provide enough power will cause system instability, and cause the system to crash and or reboot.

However, if you have a PSU that provides enough power for your system, then no upgrading the PSU will not affect performance at all.

Why is the PSU one of if not THE most important part of the system? Because it provides the power for all the other components to do their work, no electricity and your components don't work. Or if it provides unclean power (ripple and voltage fluctuations) then it can damage your components and cause system instability. A PSU that goes bad can also possibly damage or destroy your other components.

Yes, inefficient PSUs produce more heat, heat can shorten the life of certain components in the PSU.

Whether or not it is worth it to upgrade is up to you. The X-finity isn't the best of PSUs out there, but it isn't really horrible either. As long as it is running everything you want it to run, you should be fine.

 

[lollybo]

Thanks for the informative reply. I might upgrade as a safety measure, and this PSU looks pretty cheap. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817341010

Is that a good PSU?

 

[HOOfan 1]

Yeah that is a decent PSU, but depending on which X-Finity you have, it might not be a HUGE upgrade. Does your X-Finity have the little red selector switch to choose between 115V and 220V?

 

[lollybo]

No, this is the model http://www.modders-inc.com/reviews-story--1.html

If this PSU is mediocre, what is a good PSU that will be quiet, cool, and able to power my rig? I am looking for PSUs that are around $60, less would be better.

 

[HOOfan 1]

Originally posted by: lollybo
No, this is the model http://www.modders-inc.com/reviews-story--1.html

.

If that is the model, then yes it does have the switch I was talking about. $60 isn't very much money to buy a quality 500+ Watt PSU. The OCZ you chose is good enough, and IS certainly an improvement over what you already have.

 

[lollybo]

I really appreciate your help, thanks for helping me sort this out.

What sort of improvement are we talking about? 20 percent? 30 percent? If so, is it worth the money?

 

[HOOfan 1]

Improvement in what category?
Quality? It is hard to put a number on something like that.

Efficiency? I don't have any numbers for the Ultra, but without Active Power Factor Correction (it has that red switch which means no APFC) I would say it is no more than 75%-77% efficient. The Stealthextreme is about 82%-87% efficient. It won't save you a huge amount on electricity though. Like I said, if what you have is working for you then really it is up to you to decide the worth of an upgrade. The OCZ is capable of more power on the 12V rails though...which is the most important output on modern computers.

 

[lollybo]

Thanks for the response. I have heard some really low numbers on my current PSU, something like 65 percent efficiency due to its heat generation. But even then, PSUs can be hard to quantify I suppose because it is like a reliable car; you can't really put a number on how much more reliable a honda is versus a ford, but based on statistics they are much more reliable and require less maintenance.

In my case, the OCZ is practically free. I can sell my old PSU for 30 bucks to a friend, newegg gives me a 12 dollar promo discount and a 30 dollar MIR, and I get free shipping so I am basically paying almost nothing for a better PSU and a free flash drive. Win win in my situation.

 

[Rike]

Remember that efficiency changes with load and that the same load will land in a different spot on each PSU's efficiency curve. If you're looking for some general info on PSUs, AT just ran an informative little article on PSUs.

http://www.anandtech.com/casec...us/showdoc.aspx?i=3413

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Use this code: EMCAKCDAC to make the OCZ StealthXStream 600W $38 shipped.

EDIT: I see you already knew that.