Is this Power Supply good enough for this system?

[SSUSeaWolf]

OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341022


I was thinking of using for a system build that will probably have the following components, more or less:
CPU - i7 860
Motherboard - Mid level ATX motherboard
Video - 5850
RAM - 4-8 gigs
Hard Drives - 2 WD Black
Optical Drives - 1 or 2 burners


I already have the PSU, so if it would work for the above then that'd be great.

 

[Rifter]

Should be fine, the quality seems to be midrange from what i have read and 550w is enouygh for that system.

 

[wwswimming]

yes, definitely.

not too familiar with OCZ power supplies. a lot of companies buy power supplies from Fortron/ FSP & re-brand them.

i doubt OCZ would assign their "fatality" brand to a lame power supply.

anyway, a solid 550 watt power supply is enough for that config., unless you're going for a world-record OC on the 860.

on the 860 reviews, a lot of people say what power supplies they're using, just for comparison.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16819115214

 

[HOOfan 1]

The Fatal1ty 550W is made by Sirfa, which is about on par with FSP's Epsilon platform....meaning it is mediocre.

 

[SSUSeaWolf]

The Fatal1ty 550W is made by Sirfa, which is about on par with FSP's Epsilon platform....meaning it is mediocre.

Does that mean it's a bad option for the above setup?

 

[SSUSeaWolf]

The Fatal1ty 550W is made by Sirfa, which is about on par with FSP's Epsilon platform....meaning it is mediocre.

Actually these reviews seem promising:
http://www.xtremecomputing.co.uk/review.php?id=478&page=6

http://www.pcshoptalk.com/content.php?168-OCZ-Fatal1ty-550W-Power-Supply-Review/view/5

Perhaps I have a decent PSU after all.

 

[HOOfan 1]

Does that mean it's a bad option for the above setup?

No, it just means it is mediocre. It should work with your planned setup.

The review you linked is hardly comprehensive. They hooked it up to a mid-range system and probably only drew 250W-300W out of it. They can't tell you how much power they are pulling from it and can't tell you how efficient it is, nor did they even nearly pull the type of power the PSU is rated for.

But it should be good enough for what you plan, unless you want some massive overclocks. I was just pointing out that OCZ will slap the Fatal1ty name on anything to sell it as long as they have the right to use the name. It certainly doesn't have to be premium.

 

[M0RPH]

When the power supply snobs here say that a psu is 'mediocre', that means it's perfectly adequate. It's just not a Corsair or a $100+ psu so they can't give their full approval.

 

[SSUSeaWolf]

When the power supply snobs here say that a psu is 'mediocre', that means it's perfectly adequate. It's just not a Corsair or a $100+ psu so they can't give their full approval.

Hah. I'll take mediocre as a compliment then

 

[MagickMan]

When the power supply snobs here say that a psu is 'mediocre', that means it's perfectly adequate. It's just not a Corsair or a $100+ psu so they can't give their full approval.

If by snobs you mean people who expect their PSUs to run reliably at full load @50C, then yeah, I guess we are.

Put that OCZ in a hot box running 550W and we'll see how long it lasts.

 

[garritynet]

Most computers that end-users build don't actually use near as much power as their PSUs rate themselves.

Mediocre means that it will run your system fine because your always gonna be a couple hundred watts under whats rated.

Good means it will do what its rated to do without destroying itself.

 

[kalrith]

If by snobs you mean people who expect their PSUs to run reliably at full load @50C, then yeah, I guess we are.

Put that OCZ in a hot box running 550W and we'll see how long it lasts.

For the record I'm on my 2nd Antec True Control 550W power supply (which you would probably say is mediocre or less). The first one lasted 4 years, and I only upgraded it because it didn't have the connections for my current system. I also sold it on the forums and wouldn't be surprised if it's still working just fine even though it's 6 years old. I've had my current psu for 2 years now and have had 0 problems with it. I've had my cpu and gpu overclocked in every system I've used with these power supplies

I'm curious just how much longer a $100+ psu is supposed to last than that OCZ? Will it last 15 years instead of only 8? How long do people really keep the same psu?

Edit: I think by snobs, people mean that they think they're better than other users because they have a $200 psu that does the exact same thing as a $60 psu, and then go on to say that people shouldn't even be building a computer if they can't afford $200 for a psu.

 

[MagickMan]

It comes down to how often you want to buy a new PSU. You'll usually pay about the same amount over time, one way or the other.

 

[garritynet]

Edit: I think by snobs, people mean that they think they're better than other users because they have a $200 psu that does the exact same thing as a $60 psu, and then go on to say that people shouldn't even be building a computer if they can't afford $200 for a psu.

Im sure your 550w PSU is putting out 250w all day long. Why wouldn't it. A "good" PSU will put out 550w all day long if its rated at 550w.

A PSU "snob" wants that 550w PSU to run a 280 SLI rig all day long because its rated to do so. A medicore PSU won't be able to. That Fatal1ty won't be able to. A PSU snob wants a PSU that can run put out the wattage its rated to put out and remain stable and not have to worry that the thing may fry the box. People like me with 5770 and a 500w PSU don't need to be "snobs" but you can bet that when I had my GTX295 in this same box and I was running my PHII at 4.0 that I made damn sure I got a PSU that could actually put out the wattage I needed.

Bottom line: Snobs are just those with a vested interest in PSUs that perform as advertised. Everyone else will never get close to the rated wattage and so its all the same to them.

280 SLI using 546w under load
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/01/08/nvidia-geforce-gtx-295-quad-sli-review/16

 

[kalrith]

It comes down to how often you want to buy a new PSU. You'll usually pay about the same amount over time, one way or the other.

I disagree with this. I've only replaced my psu when my new system requires connections that my old psu doesn't have. Even if I had spent $300 on a psu in November 2003 (when I bought my first Antec 550W), I wouldn't be running it today, because it wouldn't have SATA, PCI-e, and 24-pin power connections.

Im sure your 550w PSU is putting out 250w all day long. Why wouldn't it. A "good" PSU will put out 550w all day long if its rated at 550w.

A PSU "snob" wants that 550w PSU to run a 280 SLI rig all day long because its rated to do so. A medicore PSU won't be able to. That Fatal1ty won't be able to. A PSU snob wants a PSU that can run put out the wattage its rated to put out and remain stable and not have to worry that the thing may fry the box. People like me with 5770 and a 500w PSU don't need to be "snobs" but you can bet that when I had my GTX295 in this same box and I was running my PHII at 4.0 that I made damn sure I got a PSU that could actually put out the wattage I needed.

Bottom line: Snobs are just those with a vested interest in PSUs that perform as advertised. Everyone else will never get close to the rated wattage and so its all the same to them.

280 SLI using 546w under load
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/01/08/nvidia-geforce-gtx-295-quad-sli-review/16

I wouldn't use any 550W psu with a 546W load. I can see your point about most psus not running at their rated wattage, but I don't think that makes them crap psus. I wouldn't pay more for a 550W premium psu than a mainstream 700W psu if the 700W psu will do the same for less money. I'll also say that I don't think people should go really cheap on their psu either, but I wouldn't call the decent OCZ and Antec psus cheap.

After reading through the thread again, I do see that HOOfan said it will work fine with the planned setup. That's really what I was getting at. This thread isn't about someone running 280 SLI, so it shouldn't have been made into a pissing contest about whose psu would last forever at 546W load 24/7 when the OP will be lucky to ever hit 350W load with his setup.

 

[garritynet]

I wouldn't use any 550W psu with a 546W load. I can see your point about most psus not running at their rated wattage, but I don't think that makes them crap psus.

If you need 546w you are better off with a well made 550w PSU that can put out 550w than with a 650-700w PSU that starts having problems over 450w. Thats what I am saying. Really, you are beter off with a 650-700w PSU that can put out 650-700w.

Also: No one called it a crap PSUs. It was called medicore. 7 out of 10. Passing.

The Fatal1ty, that is supposed to be an enthusiast level part, is not junk. Its medicore because its not capable of putting out its rated voltage or running top-end systems.

I wouldn't pay more for a 550W premium psu than a mainstream 700W psu if the 700W psu will do the same for less money. I'll also say that I don't think people should go really cheap on their psu either, but I wouldn't call the decent OCZ and Antec psus cheap.

I don't think anyone is disagreeing with you on any of those points. OCZ and Antec both make PSUs that I have and will continue to use in my builds. In fact my computer has an Antec in it right now, and of my two current build projects one has the Fatal1ty in question and another has a 400w OCZ in it.

I was just giving an example. My GTX295 setup probably used closer to 350w under load. I didn't get a super 350w PSU. I got a good 500w PSU that can out 500w out all day long. If I had got a medicore 500w PSU I may have ended up with a PSU that has a real hard time with long 350w loads. Thats more than most people use.



To sum up my point no one is calling these PSUs junk or crap or anything else but medicore. We just can't call them "good" or "great" because there are other PSUs that perform better.

 

[M0RPH]

To sum up my point no one is calling these PSUs junk or crap or anything else but medicore. We just can't call them "good" or "great" because there are other PSUs that perform better.

First of all, these PSUs that you call mediocre, I would call "good". I'll grant you that the top tier PSUs are better made, so let's call them "great". The thing is, these "good" PSUs are already good enough that for the vast majority of people they are not going to notice any difference between them and the "great" ones.

So it makes little sense to pay double for the "great" ones unless you really want the box to say "Corsair" on it, or you want bragging rights about your ripple being 2% less than the other guy, or your heatsinks 10% more massive, or whatever it is that you guys claim makes these PSUs so great. It's like the difference between a $40 and $80 hammer... the $40 one is already high enough quality that it will do the job just as well as the more expensive one.

So it bugs me when I always see folks here trying to steer people away from good, reasonably-priced PSUs like the modular OCZs, for example. What I see is that you try to scare people away from them by calling them "mediocre", or more often just outright saying or suggesting that they are crap. 95% of the time you want them to buy a Corsair, usually for double the price or more. It's gotten to the point where anything other than Corsair and a couple other high-brow, expensive brands get called "crap" around here... even Antecs are starting to be called crap now, which I think is a quite funny.

This whole idea that everyone needs to buy an ultra-high quality, expensive, overpowered power supply, sometimes amounting to 20% the cost of your entire build... that all started with you video card enthusiasts. The thing is, you are the same guys who were pretty easily convinced by the video card companies a while back that it's perfectly acceptable and normal to pay $600 for a high-end video card. Now it seems that the power supply companies have done a bang-up job of convincing you guys that everyone should be paying exhorbitant prices for power supplies. So excuse me if I question your advice to buy a $120 PSU for my $600 computer build.

 

[garritynet]

First of all, these PSUs that you call mediocre, I would call "good". I'll grant you that the top tier PSUs are better made, so let's call them "great". The thing is, these "good" PSUs are already good enough that for the vast majority of people they are not going to notice any difference between them and the "great" ones.

So it makes little sense to pay double for the "great" ones unless you really want the box to say "Corsair" on it, or you want bragging rights about your ripple being 2% less than the other guy, or your heatsinks 10% more massive, or whatever it is that you guys claim makes these PSUs so great. It's like the difference between a $40 and $80 hammer... the $40 one is already high enough quality that it will do the job just as well as the more expensive one.

So it bugs me when I always see folks here trying to steer people away from good, reasonably-priced PSUs like the modular OCZs, for example. What I see is that you try to scare people away from them by calling them "mediocre", or more often just outright saying or suggesting that they are crap. 95% of the time you want them to buy a Corsair, usually for double the price or more. It's gotten to the point where anything other than Corsair and a couple other high-brow, expensive brands get called "crap" around here... even Antecs are starting to be called crap now, which I think is a quite funny.

This whole idea that everyone needs to buy an ultra-high quality, expensive, overpowered power supply, sometimes amounting to 20% the cost of your entire build... that all started with you video card enthusiasts. The thing is, you are the same guys who were pretty easily convinced by the video card companies a while back that it's perfectly acceptable and normal to pay $600 for a high-end video card. Now it seems that the power supply companies have done a bang-up job of convincing you guys that everyone should be paying exhorbitant prices for power supplies. So excuse me if I question your advice to buy a $120 PSU for my $600 computer build.

I have no idea what post or advice of mine that you are referring to.

I will restate for clarity that a "good" PSU outputs what the little sticker on the side says it can output. A great PSU will exceed it's claims. A medicore PSU, though good enough for most people, will not do what it says it can do. Also: "Good enough" = Medicore.

I would also suggest that you carefully re-read the thread. No one told him that his $50 PSU was insufficient.