Dead PSU? Need help finding new PSU.

[WhipperSnapper]

Would I really draw less than 180w with this:

Socket 939 Athlon 4400 (dual core) overclocked 10% to 2.42 Ghz.
4 x 512 RAM
8800 GT
2 HDs
6 80mm fans plus HSF plus fan controller with LED display
Illuminated keyboard

Overall, it seems like the rig runs a little cooler than it did before. The dead PSU just had an 80mm fan that blew out the back. The new one has a whopping 140mm fan facing downward towards the CPU.

I am wondering if the reason I couldn't overclock much beyond 10% was that it was bumping up against the limits of the old PSU. Perhaps that's what eventually killed it after 2 years.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I am wondering if the reason I couldn't overclock much beyond 10% was that it was bumping up against the limits of the old PSU. Perhaps that's what eventually killed it after 2 years.

That could well be true. Try clocking it up higher!

 

[MagickMan]

At idle I'd say it's pulling ~100w, and that may take it's efficiency down to 75% or less. Like I said, though, it's not a deal breaker and you won't hurt anything. For your machine, a good 400-450W PSU would have been ideal, but now you have a lot of room to expand in the future, if you want.

 

[fffblackmage]

I am wondering if the reason I couldn't overclock much beyond 10% was that it was bumping up against the limits of the old PSU. Perhaps that's what eventually killed it after 2 years.

Doubt it. Again, you're not coming close to 500W under a full load.

I know my rig idles at 100W (measured at the wall, unlocked 550BE at stock settings with CnQ enabled, 4890 manually underclocked at 200/200).

With my cpu overclocked to the max, and my 4890 OC'ed using an absurdly high voltage, my rig only drew about 500W at a full load of Prime 95 and Furmark, but that's more like 500W (from wall) * ~80% efficiency = 400W of actual power consumption by my computer. I still didn't hit the 500W limit of my psu.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

In that case the, Corsair 850w TX was massive overkill.

 

[fffblackmage]

In that case the, Corsair 850w TX was massive overkill.

Yeah, pretty much, but look at it this way - you'll never have to ask, "can my psu power this and/or that?" whenever you want to do an upgrade.

 

[john3850]

I also discovered that all three intake fans were caked with dust
Did you also clean clean cpu hsf and the hsf on 8800 GT
Would a dead CMOS battery prevent it from even attempting to start up? no