do i REALLY need a beefy PSU?

[Spawn_Xe]

I recently put together a new machine but then.. kinda.. ran outta money when it came to a PSU lol. So i currently have a 480w Akasa PSU in there. Its been a faihtfull unit for about a year and is running the new system without error. But.. i havnt overclocked it yet or really tried to. So i'm just curious, if i'm running ok now with a 480, do i need to get a more powerfull one?.. i dare not try overclocking coz i'd imagine it'd be drawing more power from the PSU and i'm unsure if its reached peak as it is.

the cpu is taunting me with an idle temp of 25c!.. thats just too cold for my liking!

 

[akhilles]

If it's one of the models listed in tier 1, 2 or 3, it's not bad:

http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon

Look at the sticker on the side of the psu. If it has a combined 26A on +12v rails or more, it is ok:

http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=640-P2-N827-AR

Or you can tell me the max wattage on the +12v.

The actual power consumption isn't as high as the psu manufacturers make it out to be. The 480w can overclock. You can try a mild o/c & se e if there are any stability issues like instant reboots/shutdowns.

 

[thegreat1]

480 watts is alot of juice if your not running SLI or crossfire or 10 hard drives.

 

[LoneEagle]

Your hardware look normal, nothing extreme. You should be fine.

 

[Spawn_Xe]

well... thanks for the advice guys but either its a stroke of bad luck or i pushed it a bit far coz the other night it popped. The all too familiar smell of frying capacitors. I had overclocked everything a little bit, nothing that w\as rally pushing the hardware.. guess it died trying tho eh? strange thing was, it had been off for 15 minutes.

Oh well, so... any suggestions on a new one? lol.. i've been looking at the Thermaltake Toughpower 750. Only because its in the same brackets as the likes of the Corasair HX 520 and Antec Neopower 650. Better off with more power for my pound?.. coz i think they all perform (efficiency and stability wise) pretty much the same.

 

[akhilles]

Any tier 1/2 in the list above. Corsair 520 is very good.

 

[Zorg]

If you in the US here is a really good one Silencer® 610 EPS12V Power Supply. It's tier 1, 49A single rail, no modular cables and relatively cheap from PC&P.

A good read Power Supply Myths Exposed!

 

[Mugz]

I'm only running a generic 400W unit (iSonic, I think) with a 250W AT secondary on HDDs, fans and lights.

Strictly speaking, the 250W isn't even needed anymore, since I sold off the 8800...

 

[dashbarron]

Question...

I'm seeing a lot with 20A on four separate +12V rails. Will those suckers combine to 60A+ for one component if it requires it (theoretically)?

Decent enough power supply?