PSU power needed? Brand?

ballina

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Mar 25, 2010
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Hello, I recently updated my sever tower when my motherboard failed and I still have the original coolmax 550psu that is now 2 1/2 years old.

I have a ASUS p5Q motherboard now, a brand new 300 gig raptor Raid "c" drive with windows 7, a slave raid drive of 75 gigs (my old c drive which has vista on it) , and a sata drive of 150 gigs. I have connections for a 4th drive but thought I use those connections for a new video card.

Currently have a coolmax 550 psu, along with two fans at 120mm and another 140mm. My video card is
nivida GT8600 256memory with heat sink. I increased my memory from 4 gigs to 8 gigs all with heat sinks.

I just bought a BFG Tech Nivida GTX260 video card overclocked to 896mem.
When I bought the video card I was not thinking about power supply issues and currently do not have it installed. I'm not a hard core gamer but currently own Dirt 2 and need for Speed Shift.
I read on one web site that if you install the new video card and the psu is not strong enough the pc will shut down or recyle. On another website it said I might fried some internal components.
My psu is at the bottom in a separate metal slot over it and my video card and pci card are near the middle of the tower since I have to use a pcix16 express slot. My motherboard can handle sli and crossfire.

I think my machine is a bit fast right now for the old video card and want to understand pro's of just trying it out with current cpu and see what happens or do I need to upgrade power supply right away before trying out with connections that I have for a 4th drive with adapter wires that came with the new video card.

I normally turn off all my external drives when playing a racing game. I am using a thrustmaster forcefeed back that connected with a usb slot too.

The past couple of years I did not play many games but I have been using photoshop on a regular basis which should not be a factor for video card I have installed.

Someone mentioned on one website that TRX 750 PSU is one to consider. I have bought antec and cool max in the past. Don't know which is better, plus I need to take measurements to make sure the new psu fits in the metal slot cover over the current psu that is in the tower.
 
Well your power supply is not the worst power supply out ther but it could be a problem. It does have enough power to run the system but IDK about maxing it out it could overlaod it and take out something with it. For a good power supply brand go with a Corsair or Antec and for a cheaper power supply some OCZs are good too.

This would be a good choice
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
This has a great 12v rail at 41amps which will provide plenty of juice for your system

If that is too much check this one out it is also a decent PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017
 
The general rule of thumb is a high quality 500 to 550 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.

A high quality 500 to 550 watt psu will have a +12 volt rail rated at 40 amps. A high quality 700 to 750 watt psu will have a +12 volt rail rated at 60 amps.

In addition the power supply should be at least 80+ Bronze certified for energy efficiency. There are some models available which have achieved 80+ Silver and 80+ Gold Certifications.

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

Corsair and Seasonic are two 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. Some of the newer models come with a 7 year warranty. Lately we've been seeing a few other brands offering some high quality units. One example would be the Antec Earthwatts and the Antec TruePower New models which are a major improvement over Antec’s older psu’s like the Basiq models.
 


Don't get me wrong the Antec Earthwatts are very decent power supplies but Antec just doesn't seem as well built as a corsair is just my opinion.
 

Henry Chinaski

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Mar 16, 2010
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The CORSAIR VX550 is an excellent PSU from CWT (one of my favorite manufactures) which I have recommended many times.
Anyway, the Antec one is another fantastic PSU and is giving you more power if needed (5770cf +cpu overclocked + many HDs + many fans,...) for a few more buks. You won't be dissapointed if you choose it.
 

ballina

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Mar 25, 2010
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Thanks for everyones comments. I checked the Antec 550 and the
Corsair CMPSU-650HX 650w HX Series 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply SLI

The corsair has the special pins in the right place for the video card and has a 7 year warranty. Amazon is seling it for 122.00 and the size is comparable to my current
coolmax 550.