Do I have enough power?

[Guest]

Need some help in finding if I have enough power.

Tried using the eXtreme power supply calculator, and couldn't find out how to work the overclocking part.

My PSU is a Corsair VX550W.
And I want to see if I can run the following:

Intel Core i5 2500K Overclocked to 4.5Ghz.
Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 CPU Cooler - Quiet Cooler
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair Vengeance, DDR3 1600Mhz.
1 HDD.
1 DVD RW Drive.
4 Case Fans
GeForce 9600GT

Would it be better to get a new PSU? Or can I keep this one and still overclock?

Thanks in advance.

 

[crewton]

you have plenty of power for your system.

 

[Guest]

you have plenty of power for your system.

Seriously?!
Even though it's overclocked? -______-.

 

[crewton]

The cpu isn't using that much wattage. I think the default thermal limit is 95W? The graphics card is what will determine your psu size and since you have a 9600 you won't need more than 400W to run your system which is why I said 550W is fine.

 

[lowjack989]

Hell you still got enough headroom to add a 6870 or 560Ti....and some more HDD's...No Kidding

 

[ko888]

There are two versions of the GeForce 9600 GT.

The GeForce 9600 GT introduced on February 21, 2008 has a Maximum Graphics Card Power of 96 Watts. This card requires a 6-pin PCI Express Supplementary Power Connector.

The GeForce 9600 GT Green Edition introduced in 2009 has a Maximum Graphics Card Power of 59 Watts. This card does not have or need any PCI Express Supplementary Power Connector.

The 96 Watt version may draw up to 8 Amps from the +12 Volt rail.

For a single GeForce 9600 GT 96 Watt version graphics card system NVIDIA recommends a power supply with 400 Watts or greater with a minimum +12 Volt continuous current rating of 26 Amps or greater and with at least one 6-pin PCI Express Supplementary Power Connector.

Your Corsair Enthusiast Series CMPSU-550VX with its ability to produce up to 41 Amps on its +12 Volt rail is more than adequate to power your system configuration. It is even more than enough capacity on the +12 Volt rail to handle two GeForce 9600 GT 96 Watt version graphics cards in 2-way SLI mode if you so desired.

 

[jsc]

TDP of your CPU is 95 watts. TDP is not the same as CPU power consumption. It is sort of a worst case figure for power consumption if every i/o pin on the CPU is being used simultaneously. Overclocking will add no more than 25% to that figure.

You can calculate a reasonable estimate of CPU power consumption by:
(vcore needed for overclock)^2 / (default vcore at stock freq)^2 * TDP.

One of my systems has an OC'd Q9550, 4 GB RAM, a GTX260, a Gigabyte EP45-UD3P motherboard, 3 hard drives and an optical, and a Soundblaster card all powered by a Corsair 750TX.

Running 3 instances of Prime95 to load the CPU and 3DMark06 to load the GPU, it pulls 375 watts from the wall as measured by my Kill-a-Watt meter. Figuring 80% efficiency, the system pulls 300 watts from the PSU.

A good 400 watt PSU would power your system nicely.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies guys!
Helped alot. .

 

[Guest]

well perhaps you have enough for this i think.

Haha, just perhaps?

I have just one tiny more question.

If I were to get a graphics card, which one would you recommend?
Also would my 550W still be able to power it? .

My budget for a new graphics card would be £60-140.

Thanks in advance.

 

[lowjack989]

either the 560Ti or the 6870

 

[Guest]

either the 560Ti or the 6870

And my PSU will be able to run both of them with no problems?

 

[lowjack989]

Yes...and you will still have enough juice left for some extra HDD's

 

[crewton]

£60-140 won't get your a 6870 or 560ti That price range would be a 5770 or a low end gtx 460.

 

[lowjack989]

Sorry I thought the exchange rate was higher...I am in the U.S.

 

[ko888]

So this XFX ATI Radeon HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 for £125.99 inc. VAT from Aria PC Technology is a lie?

 

[crewton]

The exchange rate is higher...but they tend to keep the numbers the same. A 6850 is around £160 if you want to open your budget up a bit.

 

[crewton]

I stand corrected by ko888. Didn't know about aria.

 

[lowjack989]

OK

 

[Guest]

I'm planning on getting this graphics card.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-sapphire-hd-6870-4200mhz-gddr5-gpu-900mhz-1120-cores

Any cons?

 

[crewton]

Nope, sapphire makes a nice graphics card plus you get a free game

 

[Guest]

Meh, I might as well ask all my questions here.

Should I set my CPU cooler to blow or suck?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-centurion-5-ii-black-mid-tower-case-w-o-psu

I'm getting this case, and setting the front fan to suck in cold air.
The sides fans to suck in cold air as well.
And then using the back case fan to suck the hot air out.

 

[crewton]

I'd line up the cpu fan to blow to the back exhaust fan.

 

[Guest]

I'd line up the cpu fan to blow to the back exhaust fan.

How do I actually change it? -____-.

Sorry for the noob questions.

 

[crewton]

What is your cpu cooler? For my 212+ you place the cpu cooler vertically with the fan on the side closest to the front of the case and have it push air through the heat sink and then the exhaust fan sucks the heat out. Most back exhaust fans already line up with where the cpu cooler goes.

 

[Guest]

What is your cpu cooler? For my 212+ you place the cpu cooler vertically with the fan on the side closest to the front of the case and have it push air through the heat sink and then the exhaust fan sucks the heat out. Most back exhaust fans already line up with where the cpu cooler goes.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/arctic-cooling-freezer-13-cpu-cooler-intel-775-1155-1156-1366-amd-939-am2-am2plus-am3

I'm guessing I just have to place the fan blowing towards the fan at the back of my tower?