Zalman ZM500-LE with Sapphire R9 270x DualX OC with Boost

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

Hello,
I bought my new computer 2 weeks ago and I chose This PSU Since it's cheap and will do the job .. It has Multi Rail +12V each rail provides 20A .. I searched for how many AMPs does my GPU require ? .. My GPU need at least 24-28 AMP to be working properly .. so the real question is have I bought abad PSU ? should I be worried or That PSU will do the job I'm thinking about changing it in the near future once I have the money ..

Thanks in Advance .. Your Answers are quite appreciated

plywrlw · Sep 7, 2014

That is a really bad PSU http://www.techpowerup.com/171932/zalman-intros-le-series-entry-level-psus.html it has cheap, nasty capacitors. Even though the article claims it was made by FSP it's actually made by Hui Cheng Electronic, again, not a good sign. The maximum it can output is 444W, it's not even Bronze rated and should go straight to the bin.

You should not cheap out on your PSU, it's probably the most vital part of your PC. For your system you need something like this http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9 or at the very least http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10500kr this

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

Can it atleast hold on with my build coupe of months ? or should I buy anew one immediately ?

plywrlw · Sep 7, 2014

cibug :

There's no way to predict whether it will go on for years or die an early death within a week. All I can say with some certainty is

1. That it is cheaply made with poor quality components
2. If it breaks it is likely to damage other parts of your PC like the GPU, motherboard, HDD etc.
3. I wouldn't ever put it in my machines, not even for a day

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

cibug :

There's no way to predict whether it will go on for years or die an early death within a week. All I can say with some certainty is

1. That it is cheaply made with poor quality components
2. If it breaks it is likely to damage other parts of your PC like the GPU, motherboard, HDD etc.
3. I wouldn't ever put it in my machines, not even for a day

How Can it damage other computer components ?

plywrlw · Sep 7, 2014

cibug :

plywrlw :

How Can it damage other computer components ?

Please see this thread http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/281240-28-what-prolems-damage-components

Ripples and surges in voltage can cause huge damage to sensitive components like those found in your PC. At worst, a cheap PSU can even start a house fire (the Zalman unit isn't that bad!)

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

cibug :

Please see this thread http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/281240-28-what-prolems-damage-components

Ripples and surges in voltage can cause huge damage to sensitive components like those found in your PC. At worst, a cheap PSU can even start a house fire (the Zalman unit isn't that bad!)

First, Thank you for your answers .. what's your recommendation ?! Should I buy anew PSU already ?

plywrlw · Sep 7, 2014

cibug :

plywrlw :

cibug :

Please see this thread http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/281240-28-what-prolems-damage-components

Ripples and surges in voltage can cause huge damage to sensitive components like those found in your PC. At worst, a cheap PSU can even start a house fire (the Zalman unit isn't that bad!)

First, Thank you for your answers .. what's your recommendation ?! Should I buy anew PSU already ?

No problem

I'd get a new one if you can. What's your budget and region? Any preferred websites?

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

cibug :

No problem

I'd get a new one if you can. What's your budget and region? Any preferred websites?

I live in Egypt .. Well My Dad bought me this computer not me .. I only chose the parts .. We bought the computer from a computer mall .. and I forgot to mention that days ago the motherboard failed .. I send it to the vendor to repair it he used the tester it showed code ( FF ) he told me the motherboard can't read the processor but the processor is fine but now I'm getting anew motherboard .. Is this problem caused by PSU or the motherboard is defective ?

plywrlw · Sep 7, 2014

This would be a good choice for PSU http://www.egprices.com/en/product/xfx-ts-series-550w-sli-ready-crossfire-ready-80-plus-bronze-time-tech

I need to know the exact make and model of the motherboard to find out what the code means. Do you know what make/model the motherboard is?

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

Is it written on The box or something by the way It's ASrock Fatal1ty B85 Killer Socket 1150

plywrlw · Sep 7, 2014

Thanks, FF just means it failed to POST. That means it detected some kind of failure really early on and stopped loading. It can be caused by an issue with the processor or motherboard or maybe power supply. If it's under warranty I'd just let the shop deal with it for you as it's possible that whoever built it bent a pin on the motherboard when installing the processor.

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

I already went to the shop they're fixing the problem .. but That PSU is still aproblem .. I'm just afraid it might damage the components :/

Mousemonkey · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

Have you checked that against the mobo codes? I only ask because on my Abit board FF denotes "Fault Free" and will result in a successful boot up.

plywrlw · Sep 7, 2014

Mousemonkey :

According to the Asrock site I went to in this case FF was a bad thing! It's so confusing isn't it? And when did they stop putting the codes in the manuals? What's that all about?!

Mousemonkey · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

Mousemonkey :

According to the Asrock site I went to in this case FF was a bad thing! It's so confusing isn't it? And when did they stop putting the codes in the manuals? What's that all about?!

In the case of my mobo it was around 2006! :lol:

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

I don't know for sure but I'm going to that shop on tuesday and he'll tell me what's the problem ! for now it's the Power supply that's worrying me and right now I have no money to buy anew one .. I'm thinking I'll have to stick with the Zalman with awhile .. I hope nothing else gets damaged :/

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

Mousemonkey :

Maybe, The computer was working fine for the first two weeks only acouple of days ago I turned it on and there was no display on moniter .. I checked the case the cpu , gpu , case fans were working and I heard this normal beeb except no display on monitor I checked the cables and made sure Monitor is fine also The keyboard and mouse weren't working I guess The whole Board's ports weren't Functioning :/

plywrlw · Sep 7, 2014

cibug :

Well lets see what the shop say. If they change the motherboard and it's not fixed then it might have been the PSU all along! If you can't afford a new PSU now that's OK but I wouldn't run it for long with that PSU. As soon as you can afford a better one, buy it. Perhaps you could sell the Zalman PSU to make some money back again?

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

cibug :

Well lets see what the shop say. If they change the motherboard and it's not fixed then it might have been the PSU all along! If you can't afford a new PSU now that's OK but I wouldn't run it for long with that PSU. As soon as you can afford a better one, buy it. Perhaps you could sell the Zalman PSU to make some money back again?

Maybe but before I bought this PSU I searched here in the community and there was some fellas who said that Zalman is gonna be alright with the R9 despite it's made by cheap Chinese capacitors .. http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2251987/270x-zalman-zm500-500w-psu.html

plywrlw · Sep 7, 2014

cibug :

plywrlw :

Maybe but before I bought this PSU I searched here in the community and there was some fellas who said that Zalman is gonna be alright with the R9 despite it's made by cheap Chinese capacitors .. http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2251987/270x-zalman-zm500-500w-psu.html

Yeah, probably the confusion is from there being a different Zalman PSU called the Zalman ZM500-GS which is much better made. The LE version is not the same PSU at all, not even made in the same factory. Like I say, it will be OK probably for a little while, it's just that a cheap PSU like that probably won't last too well and if it does break *might* damage other things in your PC, Egypt is pretty warm as I recall

and one thing bad PSU's hate is heat.

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

cibug :

Yeah, probably the confusion is from there being a different Zalman PSU called the Zalman ZM500-GS which is much better made. The LE version is not the same PSU at all, not even made in the same factory. Like I say, it will be OK probably for a little while, it's just that a cheap PSU like that probably won't last too well and if it does break *might* damage other things in your PC, Egypt is pretty warm as I recall

and one thing bad PSU's hate is heat.

It's pretty warm because it's summer

.. you think the PSU would hold on for awhile and ofcourse I can return it back to the vendor if it's damage or causing it and thank you pretty much for your help

plywrlw · Sep 7, 2014

cibug :

plywrlw :

cibug :

Yeah, probably the confusion is from there being a different Zalman PSU called the Zalman ZM500-GS which is much better made. The LE version is not the same PSU at all, not even made in the same factory. Like I say, it will be OK probably for a little while, it's just that a cheap PSU like that probably won't last too well and if it does break *might* damage other things in your PC, Egypt is pretty warm as I recall

and one thing bad PSU's hate is heat.

It's pretty warm because it's summer

.. you think the PSU would hold on for awhile and ofcourse I can return it back to the vendor if it's damage or causing it and thank you pretty much for your help

Like I said, no guarantees but statistically you'll probably be fine!

cibug · Sep 7, 2014

plywrlw :

cibug :

plywrlw :

cibug :

Yeah, probably the confusion is from there being a different Zalman PSU called the Zalman ZM500-GS which is much better made. The LE version is not the same PSU at all, not even made in the same factory. Like I say, it will be OK probably for a little while, it's just that a cheap PSU like that probably won't last too well and if it does break *might* damage other things in your PC, Egypt is pretty warm as I recall

and one thing bad PSU's hate is heat.

It's pretty warm because it's summer

.. you think the PSU would hold on for awhile and ofcourse I can return it back to the vendor if it's damage or causing it and thank you pretty much for your help

Like I said, no guarantees but statistically you'll probably be fine!

All right , Thank you again .. and sorry if my English Language isn't good

plywrlw · Sep 7, 2014

cibug :

plywrlw :

cibug :

plywrlw :

It's pretty warm because it's summer

.. you think the PSU would hold on for awhile and ofcourse I can return it back to the vendor if it's damage or causing it and thank you pretty much for your help

Like I said, no guarantees but statistically you'll probably be fine!

All right , Thank you again .. and sorry if my English Language isn't good

Your English is great, a billion times better than my Egyptian

Hope the shop sort out your motherboard issues and please get back in touch if you have any questions or problems

Zalman ZM500-LE with Sapphire R9 270x DualX OC with Boost

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