Is my PSU powerful enough for my new rig?

def4106

Member
Aug 6, 2004
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I'm going to have the following running on a Seasonic S12 430W

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L (or the abit equivalent not sure yet)
4 gigs Mushkin ddr2 800 (5-5-5-12)
Evga 8800GT SSC
e6400 (no OC) - will be upgrading this later most likely a q6600
3-4 fans
x-FI Platinum (no front connector)
Thermal take cpu cooler (don't remeber exact model)
2-3 USB devices

Side question - how big of a performance boost would I get switching from the e6400 to a q6600? I don't want to spend the ~300 for the q6600 right now but if it would be a huge (10-15 fps) boost in games I'd do it.

 

SerpentRoyal

Banned
May 20, 2007
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You should be able to get the E6400 north of 3.2GHz. At such speed, you're not going to see a 10fps gain unless you run the game at very low resolution. GPU will be the bottleneck.
 

def4106

Member
Aug 6, 2004
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Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal
You should be able to get the E6400 north of 3.2GHz. At such speed, you're not going to see a 10fps gain unless you run the game at very low resolution. GPU will be the bottleneck.

How about the 430w PSU? will that be fine if I try to OC (never done it before - how safe is it)
 

Lunyone

Senior member
Oct 8, 2007
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How about the 430w PSU? will that be fine if I try to OC (never done it before - how safe is it)

You should be fine for the e6400. Not sure if the q6600 OC'd would work. Here's a link to see what is possible with a 380w Antec EW PSU.
8800gtx & e6600 OC?d on 380w Antec PSU!
http://www.overclockers.com/articles1452/
It can do alot and your 430 Seasonic would be a step above the review posted, so I wouldn't worry too much about your proposed plan.