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Power Supply - 550W low end?

Well, according to that, I need at least 425-445W for a PSU... Glad I have a 480W inside my case. 😀
 
Originally posted by: akira34
Well, according to that, I need at least 425-445W for a PSU... Glad I have a 480W inside my case. 😀
Click to expand...

I think that is a joke. They are going way outside even the normal power users needs. There are plenty of people on these boards running high-end gaming systems on the stock Antec 380 watt PSU's that come with the Sonota. While the wattage does matter, it is more the quality of the PSU as a whole as well as amps on the 12v line.

Here is my example of what I was running on my Enermax 350watt till recently when I replaced it with a Thermaltake 480watt

AthlonXP 2500+ @ 2.2 Ghz (3200+)
1024 MB Giel PC-3200
BFG 6800GT @ 400/1100 (Ultra Speeds)
Seagate 200 GB 7200.8
Maxtor 250 GB DM9
Lite-On 48x24x48
NEC 2510a 8x +/-/DL DVD
2x 120mm fan
80mm HSF fan
Floppy

While I believe this was probably streching my 350 and thus I decided to upgrade, it still shows what a 350 can handle. According to that webpage, I needed a 357 watt min power supply to run all that, plus you should have a buffer above the min yet my 350 ran it fine... hmmm...

In direct resposne to the OP questions, yes a stronger, higher quality PSU will increase performance (probably not noticably unless you are having power-related crashing issues) and case cooling, but mostly it would help extend your components life. In reality, if you have a decebt quailty 400 watt then you are doing fine. Don't worry about getting a 550.

-spike
 
Follow up to previous post. Found this comment at Directron.net regarding Guardian PS:

It is junk. It's worse than generic. If it works, your ok but it definately has the worst return rate of all power supplies we carry.

If you want something cheap that is quality spend a few dollars more and get a Super Flower unit. They are only cheap because they are overstock.

Have a great day!
Click to expand...
 
Quote from link,
There is other thing which you need to take in consideration is heat dissipation. If you have a power supply that has many watts then your PC is utilizing, like 680 Watts while PC is using around 250 Watts at idle, not only the remaining power will be convert into heat but you will have a heavy bill not to mention if your PC is 24/7 online. So buy a PSU that is around 50 W greater than your usage limit.
Click to expand...
:roll:
 
That was a terrible article. The only thing of any use was the wattage calculator on the link (but that's been about for ages). I'd like to know where he got the data from to create those pie charts. I'll bet he just made that up.

gcol
 
Originally posted by: Algere
Quote from link,
There is other thing which you need to take in consideration is heat dissipation. If you have a power supply that has many watts then your PC is utilizing, like 680 Watts while PC is using around 250 Watts at idle, not only the remaining power will be convert into heat but you will have a heavy bill not to mention if your PC is 24/7 online. So buy a PSU that is around 50 W greater than your usage limit.
Click to expand...
:roll:
Click to expand...

Seriously for my board running a crap load of stuff Asus recommends 550.

I cant imagine needing more for my setup
 
My ocz 420w powerstream is a monster, Im not running sli, but it powers seven fans, a 6800 gt, 3200winchester, two optical drives and my maxtor10 diamondmax without fluctuation.

I didnt like all t he ocz fanboyz hopping on threads , but now I see why they do, this thing is awesome.
 
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