Should I Upgrade My PSU?

[Somniferum]

See stats below -- I have an Antec 300W PSU (SL300) and I am kind of amazed that it still works with all the components I have thrown at it lately. System is totally stable running at these specs. So I'm sort of inclined to say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it -- especially with some of the horror stories I have read lately on NewEgg about brand new power supplies exploding, etc.

On the other hand, I have the nagging suspicion that the PSU is holding me back from overclocking my P4 2.4B further. At any speed above 2.7, the system becomes unstable and will either freeze or reboot after several minutes of gameplay. Raising the voltage makes no difference. Interesting thing is, it's not a heat issue -- when it reboots the CPU temp is still around 50C. And it's not the RAM -- I throttled it down to 300 during these tests.

So to you P4 types out there -- does this sound like the kind of situation that would be helped by a better PSU? And if so, what kind? I have been checking out the 480W from Antec, as well as Thermaltake's 480W. I have also heard good things about Enermax, but I'm not sure if it's worth the higher price. On the other hand, I'm not sure if any of these are worth the price, since my system works great as it is.

CPU has B0 stepping, if that makes any difference. I've had it for a little over a year.

Would there be much difference in games like Far Cry, for instance, if I could make it to 3GHz?

Any thoughts are welcomed.

 

[11427]

I'm not a P4 type (I have not had an Intel chip since the 486DX33 was king), but I'd suggest unplugging everything you don't need (extra HD, optical drives, extra fans etc.) and see how your OC goes. I should think that if you get a higher OC and are stable you would need a better PSU, if not,... don't fix what ain't broke.

 

[myocardia]

No, don't get an Antec psu, get this one: Enermax 460 watt, it's the most powerful (and stable) P4 overclocking psu made. It's even better than the much more expensive Antec TrueControl 550 watt psu, and that's saying something.

edit: This psu is cheaper than the Antec TruePower 480, and has nearly twice the amperage on the 12v rail as the TruePower 480. Also, Thugsrook just recently got rid of his 2.4B that he ran at 3.4 or 3.5ghz. Your chip can go quite a bit higher, I would bet.

 

[Margalus]

if you want an excellant psu for a reasonable cost get the enermax eg465p. If you want the best, and screw the cost then get a pc power and cooling 510W unit.

 

[Somniferum]

Originally posted by: 11427
I'm not a P4 type (I have not had an Intel chip since the 486DX33 was king), but I'd suggest unplugging everything you don't need (extra HD, optical drives, extra fans etc.) and see how your OC goes. I should think that if you get a higher OC and are stable you would need a better PSU, if not,... don't fix what ain't broke.

Hey, why didn't I think of that? Great idea!

So I unplugged my backup drive, optical drives, all fans except CPU fan, and all cards except video card. Took out one of my 2 RAM sticks. Clocked vid card at normal speeds and RAM at 300.

Set the CPU to 2.8 and fired up Need for Speed: Underground. Ran great for about three minutes and then it locked up. Damn.

Upped the voltage a bit and tried again: Same result.

Looks like this CPU is not destined to go above 2.7. And I was all set to order that Enermax 460W!

Ah well. Thanks for the idea.

I wonder though, is there still a possibility that it would be stable with that massive 12v rail? Or does this experiment pretty much rule that out?

 

[Margalus]

Originally posted by: Somniferum

I wonder though, is there still a possibility that it would be stable with that massive 12v rail? Or does this experiment pretty much rule that out?

it could still be a power issue, since you didn't remove many 12v items which is what your cpu uses. the fans use minimal current. I would get the enermax just so that you have a decent psu. And it may just help. Also, it may be a heat issue, since heat is the #1 cause of hard lockups

 

[myocardia]

No, your experiment still doesn't rule that out. I'm very surprised that you're able to get 2.7ghz out of an SL300, even without anything else using 12v power. It would definitely not be a waste of money to have that psu, it's even good for overclocking the newer Athlon chips (on an nForce2 motherboard, that is). And when you decide to update your motherboard, and buy a P4C, you will be very glad that you did.

 

[11427]

Well,.. personally I would not upgrade the PSU just yet. I know I'm pretty much in the minority but, I have never had any part limit my OC other than the chip. That being said as well as the fact that I have not used an Intel chip for 14 years (others can likely advise you better), if you plan on other upgrades in the near future go ahead and give a better PSU a try, it may make the difference and will be usable in the future.

 

[Somniferum]

Originally posted by: myocardia
No, your experiment still doesn't rule that out. I'm very surprised that you're able to get 2.7ghz out of an SL300, even without anything else using 12v power.

What I find most intriguing is the fact that this CPU is not only running at 2.7GHz -- it's running rock stable. I've run Prime95 for 12 hours straight with zero errors. But even at 2736, Prime95 will lockup or reboot the system in a matter of minutes. You'd think it would be a more gradual change ... from being stable to getting some errors after a few hours, say. But it's either totally stable or it crashes in <5 minutes.

That's largely why I'm still itching to see if I can overclock further, even though I don't really need the performance right now. On the other hand -- a little more performance never hurts! (Especially with games like Far Cry, which I am addicted to ATM.)

If I do end up buying the Enermax, I'll post an update with the overclocking results.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Somniferum]

I found a local retailer selling the Enermax EG-465P-VE for the same price as NewEgg, so I went ahead and picked one up. This is really a high-quality PSU. Heavy and solid. Lots of molex connectors and long cables. Very nice.

Because of the way my case is designed, I had to remove the HSF to fit the PSU in and out of the case. In the process, I noticed that one of the arms of the stock HSF was bent. Also there wasn't much left of the thermal pad. I figured this was as good a time as any to get a new HSF and some Artic Silver.

I ended up with the Spark 7+ Xaser Edition. All-copper heatsink and 6000 rpm fan. This fan is LOUD. I ended up removing the front grill, which made it substantially quieter. Runs well with the speed turned down slightly. It's good to know I can crank it up when the ambient temp goes up over the summer.

Anyway, after all this and a bunch of testing, the highest I can overclock stably is 2.83 GHz at 1.6v. RAM is running at 392. I ran Prime95 for 6.5 hours overnight with zero errors. Temps are about the same as before -- high 30s idle, high 40s load.

3dMark03 -- 6090
CPUMark -- 498
Aquamark -- 40,754

Not much of an increase over my previous config, but it's a slight boost nonetheless. I'm very happy with the Enermax PSU and it's great to not have to worry about it anymore. Ended up with a nice HSF as well. I'll be all set when those 3.06 P4Bs come down in price, or whatever I end up doing next.

Thanks again for the suggestions!