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New System, wondering if I need new Power Supply.

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I just ordered a new system online recently. Looks great overall, except the power supply it comes with seems a bit lacking (and this was not a customizable feature of the system). This is the computer:

HP Pavilion Elite m9600t
# Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)

# • Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-920 processor (2.66GHz, 1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache with QPI Technology)

# • 6GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [3 DIMMs]

# • 500GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive

1GB ATI Radeon HD 4850 [2 DVI, HDMI and VGA adapters]

LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive

Integrated 7.1 channel sound

HP 2.1 50W stereo speakers with subwoofer

Now, the power supply is a 460W. Will this be sufficient for this system? I was thinking of upgrading, any help will be appreciated.

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You don't need a new one unless you plan on overclocking both the processor and gfx card or run dual GPU(not recommended for value reasons).

Message edited by wuzy on 06-06-2009 at 08:16:45 AM

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Reply to wuzy

Well, I do plan on overclocking the processor slightly, nothing too drastic. More than likely going to leave the gfx card stock though.

Now I read that the 1GB radeon 4850 needs a (recommended) 450W power supply. Now I'm a little weak in the power supply knowledge department, but isnt only having a 460W in the computer pushing it a bit?

Another thing, even if I don't "need" it, would it hurt to get an upgraded power supply? Could it improve performance (and/or help ever so slightly w/ heating issues) to get a larger one? On that note...what about additional cooling? Necessary; probably not. But again, could it help?

Message edited by jpepera on 06-06-2009 at 03:32:30 PM

Reply to jpepera

Would a new PSU hurt? No.

Could it improve performance? Maybe. A more efficient PSU can create less case heat which can possibly increase potential OC gains.

Additional cooling needed? It's a store bought PC. Probably....

Manufacturers almost always recommend more wattage than required because of the huge variety of PSU's on the market. Amperage on the 12V rail is more significant however, and should probably be at least 18A per rail.... (Not sure on what the 4850 needs).

I presume that HP installed a PSU with sufficient wattage for the given setup, with probably some room to spare because too heavy a load would cause unnecessary stress on the PSU and increase failure rates, which would increase returns and decrease profits. But I don't know....

Message edited by PCKid777 on 06-08-2009 at 09:04:00 PM

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