PSU Question

[jim45682]

I have a ~4 year old system that I just ordered a bunch of upgrades for, the system came with PS-109-118 ULTRA LIFETIME SERIES 600WATT PS
and still runs stable on it, my question is how can I tell if the PSU is still ok without having to go the multimeter approach?

I ask cause I noticed the fan for the PSU seems extra quiet, it is a top mounted PSU and so the fan on the bottom doesnt seem to move much air (hand up to it barely feel air movement) though it doesnt feel very hot there but on the back of the computer next to where the power comes into the PSU feels fairly hot (can put hand on it without pain but warmer than just warm) and I feel next to no air comming out from the vents there.

I went into the HW monitor in the bios and the voltage readings seem stable with some slight fluctuations
Vcore 1.42 to 1.44
+3.3 is 3.32 to 3.34
+5v is 4.92 to 4.96
+12v is 12.03 to 12.09

The system is currently stable with no lockups or fails I just would hate to get my new equipment in and installed and have the psu poof on me since my budget for upgrades is used up for the moment

 

[JackNaylorPE]

That's a very weak PSU..... if you want to test it for voltage variations you will need to stress it. Use OCCT which will graph all your voltages and temps during the GPU and CPU tests. I would not run the PSU test on an Ultra PSU, it might not survive.

http://www.ocbase.com/perestroika_en/index.php?Download

 

[jim45682]

What is meant as weak? 600W is weak? or the amps? or the voltages?

 

[WR2]

For a 600W to have only 32Amps +12volt.
Ultra is somewhat notorious about using a peak power rating instead of the more realistic continuous power rating.


Here is a the data plate for a budget Sparkle 450W PSU with 30Amps +12volt. (360W / 12v = 30A)

 

[WR2]

I couldn't find the ULTRA PS-109-118 and I probably used the wrong ultra for comparison to find the 32A rating.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3255393

What does the data plate on your PSU say?

Budget PSUs (especially older PSUs) with wet capacitors tend to lose the ability to output full rated power over time.

 

[jim45682]

unfortunatly cant see the data plate unless i remove the PSU from the case

 

[WR2]

What do you have now and what do you plan to change out?

 

[jim45682]

That's a very weak PSU..... if you want to test it for voltage variations you will need to stress it. Use OCCT which will graph all your voltages and temps during the GPU and CPU tests. I would not run the PSU test on an Ultra PSU, it might not survive.

http://www.ocbase.com/perestroika_en/index.php?Download

I ran the gpu occt test for about 20 min (stopped there cause the psu felt kinda hot in the back)

There were alot of spikes (noise) in the voltages for example the 3.3v never went below 3.3 but did alot of jumping around from 3.30 to 3.34, the 5v started at 4.92 and at 1 min went to 4.95 and stayed pretty steady there with a few drops back to 4.92 and back up to 4.95, the 12v worries me it started at about 12.15 then at 1 min dropped to 11.85 then bounced between 11.8 and 11.9 the rest of the test.

cpu core1 and 2 started at about 34c ramped up to a max 49c and gpu started at 33c at topped out at 75c (fan on auto) with a steady 48-49 fps all test long

 

[jim45682]

What do you have now and what do you plan to change out?

Copied straight from the original build sheet from cyber power;

current system
CU-189-302 INTEL C2D E6750 2.66G 1333FSB
HD-404-107 320GB SATA II 3.0GB HARD DRIVE
RM-312-114 MUSHKIN 1024MB DDR2 PC6400 MEMORY x3
FA-104-101 CASE FAN
FA-108-112 COOLERMASTER LGA 775+ 3.6GHZ FAN
CS-219-101 BLACK X-CRUISER CASE
CD-124-175 BLACK SONY 20X DVDRW
MR-104-101 12-IN-ONE INTERNAL CARD READER
MB-316-103 ASUS P5N-E SLI NFORCE 650I SLI MB
SC-102-133 CREATIVE LABS AUDIGY SE
VC-169-102 EVGA GEFORCE 9600GT 512MB PCI-E
PS-109-118 ULTRA LIFETIME SERIES 600WATT PS

*I allready replaced the 9600gt with a gts 450 about 4 months ago*

Parts I have on the way:
MSI 870A-G54 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz

 

[WR2]

ATX PSU voltage specs

 

[jim45682]

ATX PSU voltage specs
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/3566/ss017.jpg

so according to this i am still within specs, I should prolly try to scrape up enough for a new PSU anyway you figure?

what should I look for? single +12v rail or multiple? and what amperage? I think 500w would be enough if it was a true 500w continuous or do I need more?

 

[WR2]

The thing that worried me the most was a new GPU going into the system.
Since you've had the GTS 450 in service for a few months already I'm a bit less concerned.
-> It's still a larger risk than I'm comfortable with, due the brand, it's age and a suspicion aging is taking it's toll.
.
The whole +12V amperage is the main thing. Single or multi-rail isnt important.
I'll check the video card and see what the recommendation is like for that class of card.

 

[WR2]

From the EVGA GTS 450 website:
Requirements; Minimum of a 400 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 22 Amps.)
One available 6-pin PCI-E power dongle

That's for the whole system.
Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply $35 & free shipping 30Amps +12V

 

[jim45682]

I allways heard bad things about antec psu's, few friends I have had them and none lasted very long, could you give me a rundown of quality brands for me to look for while I price hunt?

 

[WR2]

Another option with 28Amps +12V
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 CMPSU-430CX 430W Power Supply $40 $10 rebate

CORSAIR CX430 review @ JonnyGuru

 

[jim45682]

Another option with 28Amps +12V
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 CMPSU-430CX 430W Power Supply $40 $10 rebate

CORSAIR CX430 review @ JonnyGuru

With the 870a g54 mb should I be looking for an 8 pin mb connector or 4 pin? I cant seem to find that info

 

[WR2]

It has the 8pin EPS12 CPU aux power socket. But a 4pin ATX CPU aux power connector would work as well.

430CX has a 4+4 plug to handle both 4 + 8 pin motherboards.

 

[WR2]

Im looking around for some PSUs in the 500+550 range too.

Any overclocking plans? future additions?

 

[jim45682]

Im looking around for some PSUs in the 500+550 range too.

Any overclocking plans? future additions?

overclocking is a maybe, I have never messed with it but the MB supports OC'ing with a switch (hear its crap) and I am getting the black edition cpu so I may mess with it a bit, next upgrade would prolly be an extra hdd after that prolly be an ati gpu so i can eventually xfire

I like to have headroom on components so they will last thru an upgrade or 2, how does this look?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339025

 

[WR2]

CORSAIR Builder Series CMPSU-600CX 600W ATX12V v2.3 Active PFC Power Supply $60 $10 rebate and 10% off promo code +12V@40A
A bit less than even the 500CX I think

 

[WR2]

The Hec doesn't show the actual +12V amperage on the data plate.
They mention dual +12V rails rated for 30A + 22A, but not what the PSU can actually produce.

It won't be the sum of the 12V1 and 12V2 rails rating (not nearly 52A for example)

 

[WR2]

I'd hate to have you pick the wrong PSU now for a future Crossfire addition.

 

[jim45682]

Corsair CX600 Power Supply (CMPSU-600CX)
Voltage +3.3V +5V +12V -12V +5Vsb
Max. Current 25A 25A 40A 0.8A 3A
Max Combined Wattage 150W 480W 9.6W 15W
600 Watts @ 30°C ambient temperature

that will handle xfire if and when I get it?

 

[WR2]

It would depend on the 2 cards and what power they draw.
It would be OK for 2x HD 5770 or 2x HD 6850 for example. Two HD 5850 & HD 6870 should be OK too.

 

[jim45682]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5344843&CatId=1483

this one seems to have everything, is it enough amps?