Is my PSU enough?

[AndyC682]

Hi

I need a bit of advice

Ive just ordered an Intel i5 650 @ 4.32GHz - Gigabyte GA-H55-UD3H - 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory Overclocked Bundle from AWD-IT, and im going to be using a AXLE nVidia GeForce 9600 GT 2048MB DDR2 PCI-E 2.0 for the graphics.

Colors-IT 650W Gold Silent PSU 12cm fan SATA is the PSU im looking to be using.

My question is will this PSU be enough or will i need to upgrade to a more powerful unit?

Any advice you can give me will be much appreciated

 

[tecmo34]

Your PSU is plenty strong enough (30amps on 12v) .

I'm not sure of the quality of it since I've never heard of Colors-IT before or couldn't find a review.

 

[dndhatcher]

Wattage-wise it should be fine. Quality I have no idea. Its not even 80+ certified. Without a link to a specs page I dont know how the wattage is distrubuted or what connector cables it has.

 

[AndyC682]

These are the specs

http://www.aone.co.uk/ProdInfo.ASP?ProductID=2459

 

[tecmo34]

Okay... those are different than what I thought I found. It is still enough but not very good!!! Do you have other options for a PSU, which I would recommend doing!!

 

[jsc]

A Corsair 550VX (41 amp 12 volt rail)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
would be a better choice.

Better a seemingly less powerful, high quality PSU. Even if the CiT managed to put out a total of 40 amps on the 12 volt rails, that's pretty weak for a 650. A good 650 should produce around 50 amps. And the Cit only has one PCIe power plug.

A 550 watt Corsair will power a system using any CPU with any single GPU card except perhaps the GTX480.

 

[AndyC682]

Thanks for the input guys

To begin with im going to use the CiT, with the aim to buy either the Corsair that jsc recomended or something similar within the next couple of weeks.

I have another question

When i brought the CiT i only looked at the wattage and not the individual output currents, which i now understand is not the right way to go about shopping for a PSU's.

So what should i be looking for when looking at PSU's?

 

[moody89]

Obviously you need to look at the total output wattage it delivers but also the output across each rail the most important of which today is the +12V rail. This is either measured in watts or amps. Your CPU, GPU and the majority of other system components utitlise the +12V rail so this is where you need most of your output. For example, you could have a 400W PSU that only outputs 150W on the +12V rail. This would be useless nowadays. You also need to pay attention to the manufacturer of the PSU since their reputation should be a deciding factor. Corsair, Seasonic and the newer Antec models are recommended but thats not to say there are other brands that supply high quality units just that these brands have the best reputation.

jonnyguru.com

&

hardwaresecrets.com

are two websites that offer highly detailed technical reviews as well as guides and tutorials on PSU selection and what everything means. Both of these are well worth taking a look at when you get a few spare minutes. Hope this clarifies!

 

[tecmo34]

You want to 1) to check the combined amps on the +12V rail, 2) does it have the required connectors, and 3) 80Plus Certification...

Check out this thread... http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/278567-28-ranked-list-guide

 

[AndyC682]

ok... thanks for all you help guys

 

[simon12]

Don't do what I did and buy a cheap power supply that says its 700W (No detailed spec at all) but will not power my PC with the graphics card in.

 

[AndyC682]

Don't do what I did and buy a cheap power supply that says its 700W (No detailed spec at all) but will not power my PC with the graphics card in.

dont worry.... i wont

 

[AndyC682]

Mobo arrived today, and everything has been installed and working fine.

Thanks for all your help