Is this PSU sufficient to run my HD3850 ?

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Q

qbfx

Senior member
Dec 26, 2007
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Last year my old mobo died so I had to buy a new one and a new graphics card (the old mobo was AGP).

After making my new build everything ran ok for like an hour then the windows started rebooting every half an hour or so. I disabled automatic rebooting and it began to show blue screen errs.

I think it's the hdd but could it be the PSU being to weak to power the gpu? It's a Mad-X (a cheap one) 580W with the power specs as follows:

+3.3V => 28A; +5V => 30A; +12V1 => 18A; +12V2 => 19A; -5V => 0.8A; -12V => 1A; +5SB => 2.5A;

AFAIK it's the +12V rail that matters for the gpu, so are 18A ok for this card?

If that's not the problem what else could it be ?

Thanks for any reply!

I don't know how I missed this, but this is definitely a Power Supply thread. Punting to the right forum.

-ViRGE
 
jacktesterson

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
the specs should be ok for your system, but that being said.... its a cheap PSU.


why bother putting all your valuables on a 2 legged chair?



I always make sure to have a Seasonic PSU.
 
daveybrat

daveybrat

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Jan 31, 2000
5,815
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Originally posted by: Bigystyle
the specs should be ok for your system, but that being said.... its a cheap PSU.


why bother putting all your valuables on a 2 legged chair?



I always make sure to have a Seasonic PSU.
Click to expand...

Or an Antec model that's made by Seasonic :D
 
mpilchfamily

mpilchfamily

Diamond Member
Jun 11, 2007
3,559
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The specs listed aren't enough to tell if it can support your system. The amperage ratings on the 12V rails are just the rated amperage the rails can safely handle without the PSU shutting down for safty reasons. Its not the amout of current going to each rail. You need to find on the PSU where it mentiones how many watts are going to just the 12V rails. Divide that by 12 to get the actuall amperage availible to the combined 12V rails.

From what i can find on the unit its of average quality for a non name brand PSU. Its an older model so likly it can only offer between 26A and 28A on the 12V rails. If its more then a couple years old then it will be less then that. So it won't be able to support your system with that video card. Try to get a new name brand PSU.
 
jacktesterson

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
Most Corsair models are made by Seasonic as well.


Antec Earthwatts are as well.


Just my opinion, but I think its the best brand out there. Ive never had troubles with them


To the poster, you can find OEM Seasonics around that are reasonable.

here in Canada, you can get the 400watt version for $49 canadian and will run your system.


another cheap brand is Sparkle, which will do the trick, but are not quite as good as the seasonics in my opinion


Click here
 
H

hans007

Lifer
Feb 1, 2000
20,212
18
81
3850s dont really draw much power in 2d mode.

i would check and make sure your mobo isnt messed up, or your ram is ok.

i mean based on the specs on your signature a good 350 watt psu shoudl be able to run that

(i used to run a similar setup on an antec 380 and it was fine)
 
N

nemesismk2

Diamond Member
Sep 29, 2001
4,810
5
76
www.ultimatehardware.net
I've ran a 4850, 3870 and 3850 on a Q-TEC 550 watt power supply with no problems at all. Q-TEC are pretty much the cheapest power supply you could buy! ;)

You should have no problems running a 3850 with even a cheap brand 580W power supply!
 
Q

qbfx

Senior member
Dec 26, 2007
240
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0
Originally posted by: hans007
3850s dont really draw much power in 2d mode.

i would check and make sure your mobo isnt messed up, or your ram is ok.

i mean based on the specs on your signature a good 350 watt psu shoudl be able to run that

(i used to run a similar setup on an antec 380 and it was fine)
Click to expand...

The C2D isn't installed yet, I'm waiting for my brother to ship it to me. Right now I'm using an old P4 3GHz Prescott, could it be the reason ? Also, I'm pretty sure my HDD is messed up in some way so could that result in rebooting windows and BSODs ? Thanks
 
Q

qbfx

Senior member
Dec 26, 2007
240
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0
Originally posted by: mpilchfamily
The specs listed aren't enough to tell if it can support your system. The amperage ratings on the 12V rails are just the rated amperage the rails can safely handle without the PSU shutting down for safty reasons. Its not the amout of current going to each rail. You need to find on the PSU where it mentiones how many watts are going to just the 12V rails. Divide that by 12 to get the actuall amperage availible to the combined 12V rails.

From what i can find on the unit its of average quality for a non name brand PSU. Its an older model so likly it can only offer between 26A and 28A on the 12V rails. If its more then a couple years old then it will be less then that. So it won't be able to support your system with that video card. Try to get a new name brand PSU.
Click to expand...

I can't find the watts going to the 12V rails anywhere on the PSU (and on the box)...
I tried to find some info on the web but obviously there isn't any.

I had to buy a new video card (the old one was a crappy AGP X300). At the time (and now still) the 3850 was the best price/performance card in my budget here in France so I decided to get one (though I don't game except for F3). As it needed external power connection I had to buy a new PSU as well, but I never knew (until a couple of days ago) that apart from the output power of the unit, there are these amps and stuff that matter too, so yeah ..

Maybe I'll try to sell it and get a new one, I was looking at these models:

http://www.materiel.net/ctl/Al...9-Earthwatts_430W.html
http://www.materiel.net/ctl/Al...ons/32483-VX_450W.html
http://www.materiel.net/ctl/Al...ealthXStream_500W.html

Which one would you recommend ?

Thanks

 
RallyMaster

RallyMaster

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2004
5,581
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0
Originally posted by: daveybrat
Originally posted by: Bigystyle
the specs should be ok for your system, but that being said.... its a cheap PSU.


why bother putting all your valuables on a 2 legged chair?



I always make sure to have a Seasonic PSU.
Click to expand...

Or an Antec model that's made by Seasonic :D
Click to expand...

Or a Corsair model that's made by Seasonic. VX450 for the win! Running a HD3850 on one as I'm typing this. Running F@H GPU as well.
 
myocardia

myocardia

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2003
9,291
30
91
Originally posted by: Bigystyle
Most Corsair models are made by Seasonic as well.


Antec Earthwatts are as well.


Just my opinion, but I think its the best brand out there. Ive never had troubles with them
Click to expand...

All Corsairs are made by Seasonic, and none of the Antec Earthwatts are anymore. Antec stopped using Seasonic about three or four months ago.

Originally posted by: qbfx
Maybe I'll try to sell it and get a new one, I was looking at these models:

http://www.materiel.net/ctl/Al...9-Earthwatts_430W.html
http://www.materiel.net/ctl/Al...ons/32483-VX_450W.html
http://www.materiel.net/ctl/Al...ealthXStream_500W.html

Which one would you recommend ?
Click to expand...

Definitely the Corsair.
 
P

Pederv

Golden Member
May 13, 2000
1,903
0
0
Originally posted by: qbfx
Last year my old mobo died so I had to buy a new one and a new graphics card (the old mobo was AGP).

After making my new build everything ran ok for like an hour then the windows started rebooting every half an hour or so. I disabled automatic rebooting and it began to show blue screen errs.

I think it's the hdd but could it be the PSU being to weak to power the gpu? It's a Mad-X (a cheap one) 580W with the power specs as follows:

+3.3V => 28A; +5V => 30A; +12V1 => 18A; +12V2 => 19A; -5V => 0.8A; -12V => 1A; +5SB => 2.5A;

AFAIK it's the +12V rail that matters for the gpu, so are 18A ok for this card?

If that's not the problem what else could it be ?

Thanks for any reply!
Click to expand...

I've powered a 3850 with a coolmax 450W that has 12V rails simular to your power supply.

Have you taken a look at the Event Viewer to find out what is causing your blue screens?
 
Q

qbfx

Senior member
Dec 26, 2007
240
0
0
I don't know how I missed this, but this is definitely a Power Supply thread. Punting to the right forum.

-ViRGE[/quote]

Yes, but it concerns my video card. Whatever, doesn't make any difference to me ;)

 
Q

qbfx

Senior member
Dec 26, 2007
240
0
0
Update:

I get MEMORY_MANAGEMENT and PFN_LIST_CORRUPT as the errors so I thought it could be a faulty stick of ram or not enough power getting to it so I left just a gig on the mobo to see what happens. For the moment it runs stable (like 5-6 hours now). Tomorrow I'm gonna push the card a little bit with some Fallout 3 to see if it BSODs...

In general, does a prescott P4 3GHz use more power than a C2D E4500 ?
 
Zap

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
7
81
Originally posted by: myocardia
All Corsairs are made by Seasonic, and none of the Antec Earthwatts are anymore. Antec stopped using Seasonic about three or four months ago.
Click to expand...

AFAIK...

Only some of the Corsairs are Seasonic builds.

EarthWatts 380W is still Seasonic. Antec still uses Seasonic for their Neo modular units and their True Power Trio. Basiq is FSP, True Power Quattro is Enhance, Signature is Delta and the newer EarthWatts (besides 380W) is Delta. Oh yeah, some of their smaller capacity OEM-only (as in bundled with cases) units may be Seasonic.
 
Q

qbfx

Senior member
Dec 26, 2007
240
0
0
Update:

I guess the problem has been a crappy stick of memory, with just one gig my pc runs rock stable for several days now. I've played some Fallout 3 on it (it runs ok but I'm sure once I put my C2D and another 2 gigs of ram it'll be way better). Thanks for the answers to those who actually tried to help and didn't turn my thread into Seasonic builds discussion :p
 
I

imported_Scoop

Senior member
Dec 10, 2007
773
0
0
I'll join in to tell that I'm running a very similar setup to yours, except that it's OC'd, with a SEASONIC 330W :)
 
D

Deathwing

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
4
0
0
Hi all! First time poster, bit of a luddite on the subject, found this thread through google.

Ok.. I too have just ordered a 3850 Sapphire AGP card ( hopefully arrives tomorrow), needed to upgrade the PSU to power it. To cut to the quick, I got a cheap unit through ebay, arrived today. 750W Encol
Now it's clearly listed as "ATX Dual 12V Rails Power Supply Unit".. shouldn't that give me +12V1 and +12V2 currents? All the sticker on the PSU gives me is +12V 24A. Sticker says model is WIN-750 PE 1.3 P4. No other documentation came with it. Have I bought a dud? I'm a little concerned it's a single 12V rail and it's not gonna supply the 30A current that's recommended for the 3850 AGP.

Running a 3GHz P4 with (at present) 1G RAM.. just really looking to max out the settings on IL2 and get some older stuff like Doom 3.

Cheers. Good thread btw.. learned a lot already..looking forward to battling with driver issues. Or not. ;)
 
D

dangman4ever

Member
Nov 17, 2006
98
0
0
Is there anyway you can get us a shot/picture of the PSU label? It could be a mis-label or some such.

From the link you provided, it looks that PSU label lists other PSUs as well. That's already a bad sign that's it's of low quality.
 
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