Is this PSU good enough for this higher end rig?

[TriggerHappy101]

CPU AMD 64 3700+ San Diego
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=1582

Video Card
eVGA GeForce 7800GT 256MB
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=3210

Memory
Corsair PC-3200 2x512MB Value
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=1799

Motherboard
EPoX nForce4 Ultra (939) EP-9NPA+Ultra
http://labs.anandtech.com/search.php?q=...rce4+Ultra+%28939%29+EP-9NPA%2BUltra+3

PSU #1)
FSP Group (Fortron Source) FSP350-60THN-R 350W Power Supply - Retail
$41 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104936

PSU #2)
FSP Group (Fortron Source) FSP400-60THN-R 400W Power Supply - Retail
$57 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104935

Can I squeeze by with PSU #1? Do I need more than 400w?

UPDATE:
According to http://extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp my system under full load will pull 300 watts. Doesnt that warrent a 400 watt for headroom?

 

[ShadowBlade]

i would advise 500W for the 7800GT
iirc, it takes about 230W under load

stick with fortron or seasonic though

 

[Ricemarine]

Originally posted by: ShadowBlade
i would advise 500W for the 7800GT
iirc, it takes about 230W under load

stick with fortron or seasonic though

I second that.

Forton, seasonic, Antec, PC P&C, and Enermax are all good brands.

 

[Rinaun]

stay away from no name brands.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine

Originally posted by: ShadowBlade
i would advise 500W for the 7800GT
iirc, it takes about 230W under load

stick with fortron or seasonic though

I second that.

Forton, seasonic,Zippy/Emacs, PC P&C, and Enermax are all good brands.

I *fixed* it.


...Galvanized

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: ShadowBlade
i would advise 500W for the 7800GT
iirc, it takes about 230W under load

stick with fortron or seasonic though

I would say 500w is a bit of an overkill..the 7800GT uses less power than the 6800GT, and I ran my 6800GT@ultra speeds with a 2.8 prescott overclocked to 3.5, with a pair of raptors on a 350w enermax(26A on the 12v rail)..so I would think any name brand PSU 350w and up with a decent 12v rail should handle it with no trouble, so I think either of those Fortrons would be enough, I'd get the 400w just to have some headroom though.

 

[Rinaun]

Originally posted by: stevty2889

Originally posted by: ShadowBlade
i would advise 500W for the 7800GT
iirc, it takes about 230W under load

stick with fortron or seasonic though

I would say 500w is a bit of an overkill..the 7800GT uses less power than the 6800GT, and I ran my 6800GT@ultra speeds with a 2.8 prescott overclocked to 3.5, with a pair of raptors on a 350w enermax(26A on the 12v rail)..so I would think any name brand PSU 350w and up with a decent 12v rail should handle it with no trouble, so I think either of those Fortrons would be enough, I'd get the 400w just to have some headroom though.

yea, but 500w would mean he doesnt need to upgrade again for AWHILE.

 

[TriggerHappy101]

According to http://extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp my system under full load will pull 300 watts. Doesnt that warrent a 400 watt for headroom?

 

[Ricemarine]

Originally posted by: TriggerHappy101
According to http://extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp my system under full load will pull 300 watts. Doesnt that warrent a 400 watt for headroom?

Well um... on load 7800gt takes 230w so Shadowblade said, and amd 64 cpu's take around 95w, so add that would be around 325w, and with everything else, blah blah.. Yeah.

Now keep in mind psu's should run at 75%-80% efficiency, at 25 C, which means that it would run less than 75% of the efficiency. So 400w X 75% = 300w, which is still below what you should really use.

 

[TriggerHappy101]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine

Originally posted by: TriggerHappy101
According to http://extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp my system under full load will pull 300 watts. Doesnt that warrent a 400 watt for headroom?

Well um... on load 7800gt takes 230w so Shadowblade said, and amd 64 cpu's take around 95w, so add that would be around 325w, and with everything else, blah blah.. Yeah.

Now keep in mind psu's should run at 75%-80% efficiency, at 25 C, which means that it would run less than 75% of the efficiency. So 400w X 75% = 300w, which is still below what you should really use.

I just looked up the power consumtion and it takes 220w under full load. Why would that site say its 94 watts?

So your saying a 450-500 watt should do it? Once they hit that, its like 80-100 bucks for the PSU

 

[Rinaun]

Originally posted by: TriggerHappy101

Originally posted by: Ricemarine

Originally posted by: TriggerHappy101
According to http://extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp my system under full load will pull 300 watts. Doesnt that warrent a 400 watt for headroom?

Well um... on load 7800gt takes 230w so Shadowblade said, and amd 64 cpu's take around 95w, so add that would be around 325w, and with everything else, blah blah.. Yeah.

Now keep in mind psu's should run at 75%-80% efficiency, at 25 C, which means that it would run less than 75% of the efficiency. So 400w X 75% = 300w, which is still below what you should really use.

I just looked up the power consumtion and it takes 220w under full load. Why would that site say its 94 watts?

So your saying a 450-500 watt should do it? Once they hit that, its like 80-100 bucks for the PSU

fine skimp on the psu. A PSU IS A INSURANCE POLIY. IF YOU FRY IT YOU HAVE A CHANCE OF KILLING YOUR WHOLE RIG. If 150$ is worth not loosing your whole rig, i would take it. Running a high voltage system on a small psu is asking for it.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Mr.Happy,

Happy New Years! :wine:

I'm not reccomending any of these PSUs but please do read the first four pages of this linked article.

http://www.pureoverclock.com/article15.html

Good PSUs are tested and rated at 40C and can carry their full output at that temp.
The very best, super expensive PSUs are rated at 50C. Some PCP&C and Zippy/Emacs are
at this level.

The linked article will explain how as temp rises out-put falls. If you live in an air conditioned
world a moderate out-put mid-quality PSU will do. But if you game hard on 100F days, you
should consider the best you can afford within reason. If this applies a 500 watt Fortron or
Sparkle is what you should seek.
You don't need over 30A on the 3.5V or 5V line. Cheap PSUs will hide wattage on these
rails and starve the 12V line for amperage. Gotta look at the spec. Chose well.

I have two Fortrons and one Zippy in use.


...Galvanized

 

[stevty2889]

I'd go with this Fortron. It's good quality, a great price, and will be plenty for your rig. I"m using one myself.

 

[mike3uz]

What about the Xclio 450? Very nice psu for the price.

 

[caz67]

You can never have enough juice..

 

[ribbon13]

#1. Don't buy 2x512MB. If you already have it, great, but if you have not bought yet, don't. 1x1GB and 2x1GB are what you want. 2x512MB isn't negative upon itself, but A64 memory controllers don't like more than than 2 DIMMs (4x512MB isn't as fast as 2x1GB). So get 1x1GB for your 2GB futures sake.

#2. Think of your PSU as the heart of your computer. Without it, theres no flow, no anything. Most important part of any computer. This is where the dollars really count. I guarantee you that PSUS are gonna cost about the same they do now a year from now. Your $300 video will be $240 or less a year from now. Do you want a bad heart? Suggestion

 

[Jhhnn]

Either the model recommended by stevty2889, above, or this one will be entirely adequate-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104953

The fortron/sparkle line isn't necessarily the very best, but they're what everything else gets compared against, which is high praise in and of itself. Their stuff exists at the point of diminshed returns- if you spend more, you get more, but not in proportion to the increased expense....

 

[TriggerHappy101]

Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
Mr.Happy,

Happy New Years! :wine:

I'm not reccomending any of these PSUs but please do read the first four pages of this linked article.

http://www.pureoverclock.com/article15.html

Good PSUs are tested and rated at 40C and can carry their full output at that temp.
The very best, super expensive PSUs are rated at 50C. Some PCP&C and Zippy/Emacs are
at this level.

The linked article will explain how as temp rises out-put falls. If you live in an air conditioned
world a moderate out-put mid-quality PSU will do. But if you game hard on 100F days, you
should consider the best you can afford within reason. If this applies a 500 watt Fortron or
Sparkle is what you should seek.
You don't need over 30A on the 3.5V or 5V line. Cheap PSUs will hide wattage on these
rails and starve the 12V line for amperage. Gotta look at the spec. Chose well.

I have two Fortrons and one Zippy in use.


...Galvanized

Good read. Question though: When they say efficacy. Do they mean the PSU is rated for 450watt continuous and the efficiency is 75%. So you take 450*.75 to get 337 watts? Is that the new continuous power? Or do you take 450*.25% = 112.5 Then add 112.5 to 450 which equals 562.5 watts. Therefore I will get billed 562.5 watts, yet my PSU still puts out 450 watt continuous?

#1. Don't buy 2x512MB. If you already have it, great, but if you have not bought yet, don't. 1x1GB and 2x1GB are what you want. 2x512MB isn't negative upon itself, but A64 memory controllers don't like more than than 2 DIMMs (4x512MB isn't as fast as 2x1GB). So get 1x1GB for your 2GB futures sake.

I?m aware of that problem and I am still looking for a quality 1 gig stick, at a nice price. Any suggestions? No over clocking wanted/needed.

Thanks for the suggestion guys. But there seems to still be alot of arugment at what rating PSU I need. People are still saying 400 watt yet some are saying I should get a 500ish?

 

[halw]

Check out this http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp for calculating PSU needs.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Originally posted by: ShadowBlade
i would advise 500W for the 7800GT
iirc, it takes about 230W under load

stick with fortron or seasonic though

I've seen 400W power supplies run 6800GTs just fine. With the 7800GT taking less power, why would he need more?

 

[TriggerHappy101]

Originally posted by: halw
Check out this http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp for calculating PSU needs.

Thats what i was using.

 

[TriggerHappy101]

Bump on my questions.

 

[ribbon13]

Here's how efficiency is calculated into power usage:

Originally posted by: ribbon13

Originally posted by: Googer
Ribbon, when you quoted me you omited some importatnt points. Especially where I said that I misread part of the specifications and did not see the negative symbol. I do not think you understand my point. The Seasonic is a $50 selling for $99. For that kind of money you can do better. I only recomendd the Sparkle/Fortron PSU becasue it reprented the best value for the guy asking about it on the opening thread.

I didn't omit anything important. (Anyone who so desires can read the thread for themselves.) You just harped on the 3.3v/5v needing to be isolated rails to be a quality PSU, which is male bovine excrement. And the Seasonic would pay for itself over the FSP550 given time. $115 (S12-500) vs $117 (FSP550PLG-SLI)

Let's assume average of 7 hours per day on a midrange (130w) gaming computer in California for this.

(for my own reference)
1 kWh is equal to 3.6 MJ, or 3.6 x 10^6 J
1 W = 1 J/s

Once we calculate kilowatt hours used per day, it's trivial to work out the annual power consumption.

Ignoring peripherals->
Basis assumption1: Computer drawing 130W @ 68%eff (191W) / 7Hrs/day
Basis assumption2: Computer drawing 130W @ 84%eff (155W) / 7Hrs/day

watts * seconds * minutes * hours == joules
1. ( 191*60*60*7) = 4813200J
2. ( 155*60*60*7) = 3906000J

1 KWh is 3600000J
1. ( 4813200 / 3600000 ) = 1.337KWh
2. ( 3906000 / 3600000 ) = 1.085KWh

According to the EIA the average price per KWh in California is 12.93c

12.93 * 1.337 = 17.28741c per day / $63.10 per year
12.93 * 1.085 = 14.02905c per day / $51.21 per year.

With the Seasonic saving $11.89 per year, over its rated lifetime (MTFB 100k hrs) it will save him $135.73 over the FSP. Paid for itself.

Now, who was the one who "seems to know not enough but just enough"?

Computers are switching supplies, they only draw the current they need at the efficiency at that draw. For example, the Seasonic S12-500 is only 78% efficient when you have less than 80 watts of draw, but at 240w its 87% efficient

The Seasonic S12-430 is perfect for your needs, but doesn't have native PCI-e connectors, so use adaptors or get the S12-500

Oh, and PEP1G3200LL

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

I also vote S12-430. If you can't afford that, the 450W Fortron for $50 is a good pick.

 

[Mavrick007]

I believe Evga "suggests" a 450watt PSU, but if it's a quality PSU, then 400watt should do nicely. I would not go below a 400watt.

My friend just made a new machine with the Evga 7800GT, 3700+, DVD-R, 1 hard drive, 2Gigs ram, and he put a 400watt Sparkle (Fortron PSU) in it and it works great.