PSU for Intel QuadCore Q9550 and GeForce 8400 GS

[sukheshmg]

Hi,

I recently built a new machine with the below configuration:

Intel QuadCore Q9550 2.8 GHz, 12 MB L2, 1.3 GHz FSB
Intel DP45SG MotherBoard
Transcend 2GB DDR3 RAM
NVidia GeForce 8400 GS Graphics Card
500 GB Sata HDD

Intex 22" TFT Monito (1680 X 1050 resolution) (I dont know if it matters)

I am quite new to hardware aspects and I didn't know that PSU is an important part. So I didn't do much research into PSUs and bought some cheap PSU (1250 for Cabinet + PSU). Now the system hangs up after running for an hour or so. If I run some graphics intensive program like games or photo editing softwares it hangs in 5 minutes.

So some guy suggested that the problem is with the PSU. Now I am planning to replace it.

Now I am totally confused about which PSU to buy and what wattage and amperage I need.

Please suggest me on this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[WR2]

Can you supply the make and model of the PSU in the case?
And maybe copy the data sheet on the side of the PSU and list it here.

A good quality 350W PSU should be about right.
It's what EVGA recommends on it's website for a 8400GS
Minimum of a 350 Watt power supply +12 Volt current rating of 18 Amps

 

[sukheshmg]

Can you supply the make and model of the PSU in the case?
And maybe copy the data sheet on the side of the PSU and list it here.

A good quality 350W PSU should be about right.
It's what EVGA recommends on it's website for a 8400GS
Minimum of a 350 Watt power supply +12 Volt current rating of 18 Amps

Thank you for the fast reply.

At present I am sitting in my office and the PC is at home. I ll give the details once I go home.

Is a 350W PSU sufficient? Somebody suggested a 600W Zebronics power supply.

Also if I update my PC by adding one more graphics card (may be a better one - people say that 8400 is a bad one for gaming) will the 350W one be sufficient?

Thanks once again

 

[JohnnyLucky]

The general rule of thumb is a high quality 500 to 500 watt power supply with sufficient current (amps) on the 12 volt rail(s) can easily power a system with any single video card made. A high quality 700 to 750 watt power supply with sufficient current (amps) on the 12 volt rail(s) can power a system with two video cards operating in dual mode. There are a few exceptions like the new ATI Radeon HD 5XXX series cards which use less power due to their energy efficiency.

Before purchasing a new psu you will need to decide whether you will eventually have a pc with one or two video cards.

Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, and Seasonic are some of the brands that have a reputation for high quality power supplies that consistently earn high marks in technical reviews. They are reliable, stable, and come with a 5 year warranty. Lately we've been seeing a few other brands offering some high quality units.

 

[WR2]

The 8400GS is a very week gaming graphics card by todays standard.
It's perfectly adequate for a business computer though.

By your latest comment I see you're probably more interested in gaming than business applications.

JohnnyLucky is showing you the way to gaming goodness. Decide which gaming card(s) you want first, and then list the power supplies you could get your hands on and we can help sort through your options.

 

[sukheshmg]

The 8400GS is a very week gaming graphics card by todays standard.
It's perfectly adequate for a business computer though.

By your latest comment I see you're probably more interested in gaming than business applications.

JohnnyLucky is showing you the way to gaming goodness. Decide which gaming card(s) you want first, and then list the power supplies you could get your hands on and we can help sort through your options.

Thanks to all involved in the discussion.

After going through the suggestions, I opened the cabinet and went through the specifications.

It is a Zebronics 150W SMPS with the fallowing specifications:

+3.3V - 25A
+5V - 24A
+12V - 16A
-5V - 0.3A
-12V - 0.8A
+5 vsb - 2A

As I googled for the power requirements of geforce 8400 I found out that it requires atleast 18A on the 12V rail.

Also I am not going to add one more video card in near future. I wont be using the system for much gaming. I use it most for watching movies and running virtual machines (I am a software engineer and am doing some research which requires me to run multiple machines at a time). I ll be content if I can play NFS 2SE once in a while for a max of 20 - 30 mins.

I dont want to spend too much of money on a power supply. I would be happy with a power supply that can support my system safely.

Please suggest one that is stable and comes with a good waranty.

Thanks once again.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Corsair VX450 power supply with 33 amps on a single large 12 volt rail currently available for $49.99 after $20.00 mail-in rebate and shipping is free:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003

Technical review:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=64

 

[WR2]

As I googled for the power requirements of geforce 8400 I found out that it requires atleast 18A on the 12V rail.
Thanks once again.

18A on the 12V rail would have been for the ENTIRE system - not just the video card.
The 8400GS itself only needs 30W (2.5A)

We know that your Zebronics PSU is an older style PSU because of the -5V rating.
Your next PSU should not have the -5V line and should have at least 1 PCI-e 6pin power connector since many newer graphics card require extra power. If you want to have one of the more powerful video cards you may want to look for a PSU with 1x 6pin and 1x 6+2pin (or 8pin) PCI-e power connectors.

 

[sukheshmg]

18A on the 12V rail would have been for the ENTIRE system - not just the video card.
The 8400GS itself only needs 30W (2.5A)

We know that your Zebronics PSU is an older style PSU because of the -5V rating.
Your next PSU should not have the -5V line and should have at least 1 PCI-e 6pin power connector since many newer graphics card require extra power. If you want to have one of the more powerful video cards you may want to look for a PSU with 1x 6pin and 1x 6+2pin (or 8pin) PCI-e power connectors.

Hi all,

Thanks for your suggestions.

I have changed my PSU and still problems are not solved.

I bought a new MRON 700 W PSU with 35A on the 12 V rail and replaced the old one with it. Then I could run the machine for around 3 hours continuously. I was about to conclude that the problem is solved and then the system hung :-(

I am unable to find out the root of the problem. The machine hangs in a minute if I try to run any game (I tried moto GP). It hangs after watching movies for around two hours. Also I have observed that most of the times it is the graphics subsystem that hangs first. While watching movies, the display hangs even though sound is still working fine.

I could have concluded that it is a graphics card problem. But then yesterday it hung while installing Windows 7 on vmware5. It was consuming around 1 GB of memory and the CPU utilization was also high.

Also the CPU fan speed is around 1200 rpm and I read somewhere that it should be around 3000 rpm.

I have a problem with the USB key board as well. I have two key boards. One is a wireless key board and the other is a wired one. The wired key board stops working after about half an hour. If I unplug it and plug it onto some other port, it starts working. But no problem with the wireless one though it also works via USB.

Do you think it is a problem with the external power supply or with the graphics card or something else....?

Please help me out.... :-(

 

[Aneesh@4GHz]

Go for a Corsar 650TX

 

[sukheshmg]

Go for a Corsar 650TX

But are you sure that this is a problem related to PSU only....? And do you think IT needs a 650 W PSU...?

 

[Aneesh@4GHz]

Not only PSU, It may be the GPu i think its the very low power gfx card(8400gs) He said that it hangs on some graphics intensive program like games or photo editing softwares it hangs in 5 minutes.Nvidia says these gfx card provides 2x perfomance than the onboard gfx,So u should buy a little more power full gfx card too!

 

[Aneesh@4GHz]

But are you sure that this is a problem related to PSU only....? And do you think IT needs a 650 W PSU...?

It definitely does not need a 650watt psu ,He is using a Quad 2.83GHz if he changes the gfx card to a powerfull one, It will be safer !