Is this PSU enough to run my pc

ghost111

Distinguished
Oct 3, 2009
7
0
18,510
I am planning to buy a pc next week
My config is
AMD 545 BE
biostar 785
9800gt
DVd drive
250 HDD
4 GB RAm
PSU Corsair CX400

I asked a forum abt the psu and they said tht this psu can run this config but u cannot be safe with it because the psu will be stressed very much at load and tht it would not last long.Is this true?Am i taking a big risk by buying this psu?.I am not going to do any overclocking.
 

Gulli

Distinguished
Sep 26, 2008
1,495
0
19,310
They of course mean you should get the Corsair VX450W, even though the CX400W will be more than enough, even with overclocking.

I say the CX400W is fine, the OCZ StealthXStream 400W is also fine and is probably cheaper.
 

Gulli

Distinguished
Sep 26, 2008
1,495
0
19,310


It's your money, but I'm telling you the 400W ones from Corsair and OCZ would be fine as well, people are talking out of their asses when they tell you those PSU's won't last long with your rig, you'll never get to more than 70% of max load (that's with overclocking and everything including the DVD-RW running at 100% capacity) and that's considered a very safe percentage with such high quality PSU's.
 
Calculate what you need yaself:

http://www.antec.outervision.com/

In the drop downs, I use:

-Hi end desktop
-85% CPU Utilization
-90% system load
-25% capacitor aging

That should give you the draw to expect when system is under load. Personally I multiply that by 1.5 to get my peak power rating .... so if the calculator told me say 300, I'd buy a 450 watter. This number can be reduced somewhat if you buy a better quality PSU such as the HX from Corsair or the Signature Series from Antec but running closer to peak load also affects efficiency and noise so I like to limit max draw to < 70% of max
 

Gulli

Distinguished
Sep 26, 2008
1,495
0
19,310


That calculator doesn't distinguish between 12V rails and the rest and is thus useless, you'd be better off just adding the TDP's of the devices and comparing that sum to the max combined 12V wattage of the PSU.
 

ghost111

Distinguished
Oct 3, 2009
7
0
18,510
guys i calculated with both from antecs and corsairs.Antecs one gave me 252 watts.Corsair recommended CX 400 followed by VX 450.Any of them will do says corsair.
 

Gulli

Distinguished
Sep 26, 2008
1,495
0
19,310


And they're right, the CX400W will do, as will the OCZ StealthXstream 400W, get the cheapest of those two.
 

TRENDING THREADS