PSU wattage

[Chavez546]

Hello,
I'm running my system way under the recommended wattage 520W and the calculators say I should be at 950+. How ever everything is running fine?
What happens if I continue to run this way?

 

[nickeagles416]

What hardware do you have in your system?

 

[Chavez546]

AMD 9950 running at 2.8
8GB
1 Nivada 465
3 HDD - 1CDROM
I ran it on a PSU calculator and it recommeded 950+

 

[Silvune]

Firstly, what system do you have? Please list CPU, GPU primarily, if have an excessive number of HDDs and/or fans then mention them as well.

And who or what is recommending a 950W PSU for your system?

 

[nickeagles416]

I dont think theres anyway you need a 950. I just did three different calculators for my system and all of them were completely different. Nvidia recommends a 550W for that card so id go a little bigger than a 520W. Newegg has some good deals on a corsair 650W for only $65 i think. From what ive read, having a power supply that is too small would only result in computer crashes due to the psu not having enough power to support all the components at the time. If you havent had any problems with crashes you should be fine but how often do you stress your system? Long periods of gaming might cause the system to crash from using too much power.

 

[Chavez546]

Antec Power Supply Calculator online recommended 950+

 

[Chavez546]

Thanks Nick, I think your right on the PSU shutting down on heavy stress if it can't handle it. I have haven't pushed it, but everything does seem to be running fine. I have a lot of items attached and it does make me nervous. that's why I'm asking the question.

 

[nickeagles416]

Ya. I was in the same situation because i only have a 750W and just the cards recommend that but those ratings are overestimated. Ive had maybe two random blue screens but i dont think any damage can be done so i wouldnt worry about anything. Its would just be an inconvience during long gaming periods.

 

[ko888]

Thanks Nick, I think your right on the PSU shutting down on heavy stress if it can't handle it. I have haven't pushed it, but everything does seem to be running fine. I have a lot of items attached and it does make me nervous. that's why I'm asking the question.

What is the make and model of your power supply unit?

It is the maximum DC Output current on the combined +12 Volt rails that matter more than the power supply unit's claimed total maximum power (Watts).

 

[hunter315]

Did you plug it in with like 40% capacitor aging on the antec calculator?

A system like that would be fine on a decent 500W unit, as ko888 has said, whats the make and model of your current PSU?

 

[Chavez546]

APEVIA ATX-AS520W-BK 520W ATX Power Supply about 3 years old.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This next topics has been merged by Mousemonkey
■ PSU under wattage

 

[jb6684]

I just used the Antec Power supply calculator, it recommends 467 watts for your system.....

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


I have a few higher end machines, see below, and they only draw between 500-->600watts (according to my handy KillAWatt meter (about $20 on-line)



Cooler Master HAF-X
i7-950 w/Noctura cooler
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 MB
6Gb Corsair 1600 RAM
SLI pair of MSI Talon Attack 460s
WD Raptor 300Gb 10k HD
Corsair HX850 PS

Antec P183
i7-860 w/Noctua cooler
4Gb Corsair XMS 1600 RAM
Crossfire pair of Sapphire Vapor-X 5770
Antec TP 650 Blue PS

Corsair 800D
i7-930 w/Venomous X cooler
ASUS MB
6Gb Corsair 1600 RAM
Crossfire pair of Sapphire Vapor-X 5870
Corsair HX850 PS

 

[Silvune]

I don't think I would use an Apevia.

 

[ko888]

APEVIA ATX-AS520W-BK 520W ATX Power Supply about 3 years old.

The OEM for that power supply unit is Taiwan YoungYear Electronics Co., Ltd.

Your power supply unit is a typical YoungYear power supply, and that is not a good thing.