How do I know if PSU is too weak for my rig?

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vhn1

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Nov 19, 2013
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I calculated that I would need around 400W for my current rig:
Vista- 64 bit
Core 2 Quad 8200
2 x 4GB DDR2
GTX 660
Benicia motherboard

So recently, I purchased a CX 430W. However, on certain games (BF3/BF4) I'm getting lower than expected CPU and GPU usage with lower than expected FPS. I was wondering if a low wattage can be attributed to my lower performance values.

Model excluding new GPU and PSU: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01625662&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=3876397#N52
 
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aevm

aevm

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May 18, 2007
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I think the lower fps happen because these games need a very good CPU. Yours was one of the best about 5 years ago, but these games expect more.

Or, maybe you've got bad cooling and the components are throttling to avoid overheating. That would explain lower wattage and lower fps. Check the temps, e.g. with Speedfan.

The minimum recommended for a system with a GTX 660 is 430W.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
So, in theory, the PSU you got will do.

In practice, it means you have no room for overclocking the CPU. That could have helped...

 
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vhn1

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Nov 19, 2013
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Yeah, the weird thing is that I'm getting 80% max CPU usage, only 60% max GPU load, and only 45 FPS on high settings. My temps are very very low- 45C on those high settings.
 
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vhn1

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Nov 19, 2013
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At 1920x1080p. I'm mostly concerned with why my fps only goes up to 55-60 avg when on lowest settings. That's hardly a bump up. At ultra it was 35-38 (no MSAA), high was 45, medium was 50, and lowest was 55-60. It just sounds like a strange pattern compared to what many other players have reported.
 
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aevm

aevm

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May 18, 2007
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OK, you're getting 60 fps on lowest. Others get 80 or so with a GTX 660. This means something is bottlenecking your GPU. If the CPU is at 80% and not 100% we know it's not the CPU that causes the bottleneck. Incidentally, this means overclocking wouldn't help.

Maybe RAM is a problem? Normally 8GB is plenty for gaming, but you may have something taking up lots of RAM. Check in Task Manager.

You are running a 64-bit version of Windows, right? A 32-bit version would not be able to use more than 4GB of RAM and would explain lower performance.

 
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aevm

aevm

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May 18, 2007
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@vhn1: If the problem is insufficient RAM, I would invest in another 4GB. It's cheap and it would solve the problem. Check in Task Manager like I said earlier, see if you are using 100% of the existing 8GB. I'm assuming here that your motherboard does support more than 8GB. Give us the model so we can check.
Also, see if you can stop any unnecessary programs running in the background while you play. E.g. antivirus, browsers, etc.

If the problem is RAM bandwidth, I'm afraid you can't solve it unless you change MB/CPU/RAM.
 
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vhn1

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Nov 19, 2013
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On Windows Task Manager, the green bar goes to 4.5GB or so of ram when at highest settings. I suppose the 800MHz ram speed is holding me back then.

Update: placed model link in original post.
 
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