Thermaltake PSU for an AMD X2 Build

[Jurosem]

Someone OKed this choice, but on doing some more reading I'm starting to have my doubts. On the other hand, I still haven't found any really good explanations for what makes a good PSU good. So, I've just bought the components for my new system, still waiting for them arrive. They are:
AMD X2 4600+
2Gb Corsaire PC2 6400 RAM
ASUS X1950Pro GPU
MSI K9N Neo-F Mobo
WD Caviar SE WD2500AAJS 250 GB

So this is the PSU I got:
Thermaltake TR2 W0101
http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Power/TR2power/w0101102/w0101102.asp
This is the best link to its specs I could find.

So, is it good enough? And (especially if it's not) could someone give me some quick pointers on what to look for? I tried looking for a PSU on the list of good PSUs elsewhere in the forum, but I couldn't find any of those here (Denmark) except a few that were very expensive.

Also, I'm wondering about power surge protection. Lost a PC to a power surge a few years back, fried everything, and boy did that suck. So I wanna be sure that's not gonna happen to my nice pretty new machine. PSU descriptions mention surge protection, is this good enough in most modern PSUs, and more specifically is it good enough in the Thermaltake I listed? And if not, is it a good idea to buy a surge protector from a hardware store?

Thanks alot, and I'd appreciate a speedy answer as to whether that PSU will do so I can cancel the order in time if I have to.

 

[miahallen]

More than enough power for your system, it will be fine.

Surge protection?...get a UPS!

 

[badge]

Someone OKed this choice, but on doing some more reading I'm starting to have my doubts. On the other hand, I still haven't found any really good explanations for what makes a good PSU good. So, I've just bought the components for my new system, still waiting for them arrive. They are:
AMD X2 4600+
2Gb Corsaire PC2 6400 RAM
ASUS X1950Pro GPU
MSI K9N Neo-F Mobo
WD Caviar SE WD2500AAJS 250 GB

So this is the PSU I got:
Thermaltake TR2 W0101
http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Power/TR2power/w0101102/w0101102.asp
This is the best link to its specs I could find.

So, is it good enough? And (especially if it's not) could someone give me some quick pointers on what to look for? I tried looking for a PSU on the list of good PSUs elsewhere in the forum, but I couldn't find any of those here (Denmark) except a few that were very expensive.

Also, I'm wondering about power surge protection. Lost a PC to a power surge a few years back, fried everything, and boy did that suck. So I wanna be sure that's not gonna happen to my nice pretty new machine. PSU descriptions mention surge protection, is this good enough in most modern PSUs, and more specifically is it good enough in the Thermaltake I listed? And if not, is it a good idea to buy a surge protector from a hardware store?

Thanks alot, and I'd appreciate a speedy answer as to whether that PSU will do so I can cancel the order in time if I have to.

Whether that psu is adequate depends on which graphics card you will be using. If you choose an 8800, absolutely not adequate. Maybe a 7600GT will work with that psu.

 

[miahallen]

He listed it, and you quoted it...he'll be using the ASUS X1950Pro.

But even if he wanted to get an 8800, it would still be plenty!

 

[badge]

He listed it, and you quoted it...he'll be using the ASUS X1950Pro.

But even if he wanted to get an 8800, it would still be plenty!

The Thermaltake psu OP listed has a combined 29 volts on the 12v rals. An 8800 requires 28v. The psu would is weak for his 1950 and would not power an 8800. The psu OP chose is for a very middle range system. A dual core processor would stress it.

 

[badge]

He listed it, and you quoted it...he'll be using the ASUS X1950Pro.

But even if he wanted to get an 8800, it would still be plenty!

Look, the 8800gts specs require 26v minimum. OP has 29 total. That psu OP bought would not power this card. I doubt it would even power the system up with an 8800gts.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130071

 

[turpit]

Its power rating is high enough, if thats what you're asking, however, that particular PSU doesnt have the greatest reviews. Personally, I wouldnt buy one.

As for surge protection itself, it is not a function of the power supply, and you shouldnt run your PC directly from a wall socket as that leaves it unprotected. To insure your components are protected against surges, you must get a surge suppressor, or UPS (uninteruptable power supply) with surge protection.

I would stay away from generic hardware store surge suppressors. The lable 'Surge suppressor' has long ago become a sales gimmick. As of a few years ago, of all the 'surge suppressors' available, the US DON would only certify 3 for use aboard its ships, becuase only those 3 actually isolated both supply circuits (for 120V AC) from the source.

Personally I would recommed a UPS with AVR (atuomatic voltage regulation) over a simple surge suppressor. They are more expensive, but they provide a limited amount of power to your system, giving you time to save any data and shut it down normally. Most USP's nowadays come with programs which will automatically save your data then shut your system down.

Most people dont want to spend a lot on surge suppression, and purchase it as an afterthought. But like a PSU, it ifluences the entire system, not just a single component, so it shouldnt be taken lightly.

 

[miahallen]

The Thermaltake psu OP listed has a combined 29 volts on the 12v rals

Ouch, that PSU is WAY out of spec the, I must have missed that 8O
I always thought the 12V rail was supposed to have .......12V?

BTW - Did you notice my sig? :lol:
I have 22A on each of my 12V rails, it runs with absolute stability, even OC'ed...do you believe everything you read?

Do the math 12V x 26A = 312W, you're trying to tell me an 8800GTX uses 312W under load....yeah right.
Also, check out this article from Hot Hardware. They show power consumption from the wall being 334W Total for the whole system at load...this is with an X6800 and an 8800GTX. If you take into account the ineffeciency of the PSU (lets say it's a good one that is 80% effecient)...that means the system is really only using 268W...if it were all on 1 12V rail, that would be only 22A.

 

[miahallen]

Extremely well stated turpit

 

[sailer]

That particular Thermaltake psu has a low efficiency rating, only being over 70 %. You'd be better off with Thermaltake Toughpower 550wt W0096/W0097 (efficiency >80%) or a Thermaltake Toughpower 600wt W0103 (efficiency >85%). The Toughpower line is much better than the one you listed.

As Turpit said, get a good UPS for the best protection. I live in an area where power surges are the norm and I used to have a lot of troubles. Since I got a UPS with surge protection, the tropubles have gone to almost zero.

 

[badge]

22+22 AMPS 12volt output is fine for an 8800. That is a great 12v output for a 500w psu! I'm going to check into buying one.

 

[badge]

I keep misstating and calling AMPS...VOLTS. The 12 volt AMPS are what you should look at on a power supply. You will run into problems if you are under amped and the video card is the amp hog. OP AMPS not VOLTS is what you should look at. 12v AMPS...sorry about my misquotes

 

[Jurosem]

Cool, thanks alot for the replies, based on your responses I have cancelled the Thermaltake.
I grudgingly upped my spending limit a little, and I've been looking an Antecs from the PSU guide list. One that sounds good is the Antec NeoHE 500W, and I've found it here... almost. What I've found is an Antec NeoHE 500W EC. So what's the EC mean? Is this model still a good option?
Another quick question, I read somewhere on some forum someone suggesting that when buying a new PSU nowadays you should make sure it has an 8 pin PCI-x for futureproofing. Based on my quick research, (consisting mostly of reading this article: http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=187 ) it seems this model (or rather the one without the EC) doesn't have one. What is this for, and how important? For plugging into future GPUs?
Thanks again

 

[Jurosem]

OK, a few more questions to add. First of all I've learned that the NeoHE EC and the NeoHE are one and the same, so no need to answer that one.
Answers to a similar thread on another forum have raised a couple fundamental questions that I can't find simple answers to.
First of all, does an 80% efficient 500W PSU draw 625W from the wall and produce 500W, or does it draw 500W and in fact only produce 400W? I've had both answers implied by different posters. And if it's the latter, is this something that I have to take into account, or do hardware specs already account for this themselves? i.e. when a GPU says it needs 200W do they assume a certain loss of efficiency, so that the card in fact only needs ~160W? And when I plug my PC stats into a power usage calculater and it tells me I need 500W, does that mean I actually need a 650W PSU with efficiency around 80%? Cause if so then I may be a little screwed.
Secondly, my card needs 30A, and I can't find any PSU that provides that many amps on a 12V rail. Do multiple rails supply power to the one piece of hardware if necessary? I don't even know if each rail plugs into components individually or what.
As much advice (worded as simply as possible) on these topics as people can provide would be useful. And if anyone else happens to have the X1950Pro could you please let me know what PSU you're using? And of course if it's working OK for you. I probably won't be able to get the same one, but it would be useful to know for comparitive and deductive purposes.
Thanks very much to the few of you who will have bothered to read all this

 

[sailer]

A 500wt psu that's 80% efficient produces 500wts, but uses about 625wts from the wall socket. Some of the really old ratings did go the other way, a 500 wt psu would only produce around 400wt, but that's from a long time ago. So firure the power your GPU uses against the rating of 500wts.

Next, power supplies can't put out more than about 20 amps per rail when using multiple rails. Look for total amps put out across the rails. There's a sticky from Mpilchfamily about power supplies, or at least there was last I looked. As for the wiring of the psu, the booklet that comes with the psu should tell you where to plug things in. I'd guess you need something in the range of 500-600 wts.

I used to have a 1900 XTX and I used a 650 wt psu with it. Of course, I've got an overclocked FX60 and a lot of other stuff on the computer that draws a lot of power. Presently I'm using a Thermaltake Toughpower 700wt, as I've switched to a 8800 GTS 640. Probably more power than I need, but I may be going SLI soon.