I need some help from you Guru's here in the CPU forum...

[sony3127]

I already posted this in the Power Supply forum, but no one really seems to go on that forum that much and you guys are smart.

Ok I live in Florida so it gets hot on a very regular basis. (I know EVERYONE is hot these days, but Florida is ALWAYS hot! LOL) This of course makes my A/C run like crazy and drives up my power bill. (trust me, there is a good PSU & UPS question coming)

So, my current build is using an Aspire ATX-AS520W 520W PSU and it has been GREAT so far
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817148008

I also have a BELKIN Enterprise F6C1100-UNV 1100VA 660W UPS.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16842101218

Now, also connected to this UPS is a ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" CRT Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116282

and my Linksys Wireless B router and Motorola Cable modem. (you can check my sig for the other major components of the system) So with all 4 of these things plugged into my UPS (the tower, monitor, router, and cable modem) the UPS says that I am using 33% capacity. It's a 660W UPS so I assume this means I'm pulling approx 220W of power from the UPS. Now I have a few questions...

1) could that actually be right that I'm only pulling 220W with all that hooked up to it?

2) and does the UPS pull 660W all the time from the wall even though the components hooked up are only using 220W?

3) even though my PSU is a 520W does this mean then that I'm not always using 520W?

This is kind of important b/c I'm trying to both save energy and make sure I'm not starving my system. I'm planning on building a new system pretty soon and I'm looking at the PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1000W EPS12V SLI, SSI PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817703003
It's expensive, but I'm told it's the best. So am I going to be pulling more power since it's rated at 1KW? or is that just the max and the system will only pull what it needs? Sorry so long, but THANK YOU for any help!

 

[kmjohnso]

All of those ratings are capacity ratings. Your computer will use more power at load than at idle, I suggest using a PSU calculator:

PSU_Calc

It's not that accurate, but gives you a rough number, of what you should plan for. You should always plan for the maximum power draw, even if its unlikely to ever reach that. For me the best power savings has been experienced using standby when I'm not doing anything. Otherwise make sure you use Cool n Quiet or Speedstep.

 

[Gary_Busey]

You give the members of this forum wayyy to much credit. We're all really just monkeys punching on a keyboard.


You PSU only uses what it needs.

 

[sony3127]

Ok I used that and it says my recommended PSU wattage is 355W. So I have a 520W PSU, but the system may only pull 355W right? So does the PSU pull 520W from the wall all the time, but then my system actually only uses approx 355W of that? and does anyone know about the UPS's?

Gary, I had to appeal to some people's ego's so I don't get locked lol
Besides... there really are a lot more people in the CPU forum than PSU forum and at least you guys post responses that seem to help.

 

[sluzbenik]

That is probably right. The monitors specs says it pulls 100 watts, which is wrong, no LCD that size pulls that much, my 20" pulls 36w max.

Play a game for a half hour and see what it says. You aren't going to need 1000watts unless you plan on running a server with a dozen drives or quad-SLI...

To answer your other questions, no a UPS won't pull 660 watts unless you actually are using 660 watts. It depends on what you have hooked up to it. Power is not constant, it is like water. Think of a PS as a water pipe, the bigger it is the more showers and toilets you can hook up to it without a loss of pressure. But just like a pipe you will rarely ever use it to full capacity. If you do you will have things fail. You always want some headroom. That's simplifying things, because with a PS you also have separate rails with different amp ratings and some PS put more out on the 12v rails especially - just do some Googling to learn more.

A 1000 watt power supply will not use 1000 watts all the time either.

 

[sony3127]

AWSOME! THANKS! See Gary? Told I'd get some help here! lol So then do you guys think it's worth it to buy that 1000W PSU? I'm trying to put together C2D build and OC the hell out of it just for fun.

Oh, and it's a CRT not and LCD sluzbenik... that's probably why it pulls 100W.

 

[kmjohnso]

It will pull far less than that from the wall at any given time, although you might get close to that when using everything on your computer. The amperage rating on the rails of the PSU also becomes important, depending on what you put in your system.

The UPS should have minimal power consumption, unless you have a power loss every hour (where it will have to conintually recharge). It does not draw 660w all the time, only what to system demand. Otherwise you would have yourself quite the furnace...

 

[mickeddie]

You give the members of this forum wayyy to much credit. We're all really just monkeys punching on a keyboard.quote]

It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times.

 

[Doughbuy]

If you need a good, decent PSU that will last a long time and has a high efficeny rating, I recommend the OCZ GameXStream 700W. It's way cheaper than the PC P&C 1000W power supply, and you probably won't even hit 700W with OC'ing and SLI... unless you have some crazy ass setup that would burn a hole through the middle of the earth...

Also, even though Graphics cards are taking more power, the whole industry as a whole is getting more conscious of the power demands of the average consumer. So I don't forsee the use of 1000W power supplies, even though people say we need them for the future now. 700W is probably enough to last a good long time... Especially with energy prices these days...

 

[sojrner]

AWSOME! THANKS! See Gary? Told I'd get some help here! lol So then do you guys think it's worth it to buy that 1000W PSU? I'm trying to put together C2D build and OC the hell out of it just for fun.

Oh, and it's a CRT not and LCD sluzbenik... that's probably why it pulls 100W.

nah, don't get the 1Kw, but pc p&c makes other respectable psu's. Headroom is certainly important, but so is quality. OCZ, PCp&c, antec, enermax... quality allows that when they say 500watts, they mean 500. (in the case of the really high-end brands like PCp&c it may even exceed that) A low end brand might hit that raiting on a good day w/ the planets aligned. That is why on a low end brand you need "more" of a psu (650W) vs. a 550W high end brand for the same system.

For the "average" user (whatever that is) anything over 600W on a high-end psu is probably overkill. (massive raid arrays on quad sli w/ 4 opticals and triple monitors notwithstanding, lol)

 

[zornundo]

If you really want to know what kind of power your system is pulling get yourself the Kill-A-Watt. this will also help you find other areas around the house to save money.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/7657/

That would be fun to have. A nice tool to see how much of an electricity hog you really are!

 

[sony3127]

Ok so now I've got to somehow figure out what PSU to get for my new build. Are PSU calculator's very reliable? How can I best pick one out that will match my power usage most efficiently? Here are the parts for my new build if someone can help me figure out what will fit my particular build...

Intel E6700 C2D (which I plan to OC to the best of my/its ability)
Zalman CNPS9500 HSF (I may go water cooling in the next 6 months though)
either an Intel 975X or nVidia 590 based mobo
Thermaltake Armor case w/ 2 x 120mm (1 LED) fans & 1 x 90mm fan
Corsair XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 SLI/EPP
WD 74GB 10K 8MB SATA Raptor
WD 250GB 7.2K 16MB SATAII Caviar RE
Lite-On 16x DVD+/-RW
Lite-On 52x/16x Combo drive
NV GeForce 7900 GTX
Creative SB Audigy 2

ANY SUGGESTIONS? Let's not worry too much about price either... but do list prices if you can so I can get an idea.

 

[sojrner]

If price is less of a concern, the definitely get anything made by PC Power & Cooling. They are solid, and any mark they say the psu hits... believe me it hits it. If they say 500 Watts, you get at least 500 and it is CLEAN power. I would argue that anything they make will last you for the better part of your life of builds.

that 510 sli one is "only" 510 Watts, but I would argue that it would beat out the performance of most 650 Watt systems. JMHO of course.

If you have the $, that is the only way to go.

On the cheaper end:

I have personally had great times w/ Enermax. I currently have a 450 Watt in my older system that has been running near non-stop for more than 4 years! Still running strong w/ 2 opticals, 2 hard drives, athlon xp2700, nforce2, sound card and lights and fans. (started w/ a lesser system)

Sea Sonic is also solid, and IMO right inline w/ the higher end enermax.

Antec is a cheaper, but still solid choice.

That is my (more than) 2 bits man, hope it helps.