Symptoms of insufficient power computer

[gbolt]

Hello,
added a second video card on a HPE Elite 180t system. Now is using two GTX 430's video (listed as needing 300w per) performance and drive functions seemed to have slowed from previous video card.
System has 16gig ram
two hard drives 1 tera and one 500 gig.
current 450watt power supply
When installed by technician asked about power supply and was told it was not required. Comments would be appreciated.

 

[Wamphryi]

http://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/power-requirements-for-graphics-cards

Check this out to give you an idea on what you need. If your PSU is not the best quality that will also play a role. I think your Rig is underpowered. 650 Watts would be more like it. As you can see by the chart the later GPU's are even more power hungry especially in SLI so if you replace the PUS make sure you get one that will cover your future needs. Dont forget to check out what AMPS your PSU can pump out. Watts are not everything.

 

[wa1]

What is your PSU exactly?

"Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 22 Amps."
That's for one single card (GT430). For both, you need more than that.
We need the exact detail of your PSU, like it's current on 12V rail(s) or something like that...

You are using SLI or just run both of card independently?

 

[gbolt]

http://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/power-requirements-for-graphics-cards

Check this out to give you an idea on what you need. If your PSU is not the best quality that will also play a role. I think your Rig is underpowered. 650 Watts would be more like it. As you can see by the chart the later GPU's are even more power hungry especially in SLI so if you replace the PUS make sure you get one that will cover your future needs. Dont forget to check out what AMPS your PSU can pump out. Watts are not everything.

So from your perspective I would need at least a 650 Watts power supply. That is what I thought originally but the tech said I did not need it.

I'll go back to the drawing board and approach accordingly.

So if I up the PSU (gotta love the acronyms) would I also have need to replace the fan to something more than what is in the base configuration?

The Cards each have their own fan so that does help.

Any further thoughts are appreciated.

Gbolt

 

[alyoshka]

What's with the 16Gigs of RAM, Company Manual doesn't seem to allow that it allows 8, 9 ,12 ,18 and 24 GB only....
Well, if I put in all your stuff onto the calculator here,
http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html?name=Power-Supply-Wattage-Calculator

it says you need a PSU with a minimum power rating of 470W. Your current PSU is rated at 460W.
If you were falling short of power then your rig would randomly restart or just reboot for no rhyme or reason. We don't see any of those symptoms here, although you haven't stressed those GPUs to the max I believe. A better option before going in for any hardware change further would be to just reformat the rig and let the whole thing get used to the power draw, you can then use a graphics and cpu stressing program to see if the thing reboots under full load.
If it doesn't then power was not the issue.

Another thing which you need to take note of are the temps of different part of the rig, use HWMonitor to keep a check on them see what gets hot and what voltages are you getting. It's a pre-built branded PC so airflow wise and upgrade wise they aren't the friendliest.
But you've already upgraded so why not give it a go.

 

[gbolt]

What is your PSU exactly?

"Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 22 Amps."
That's for one single card (GT430). For both, you need more than that.
We need the exact detail of your PSU, like it's current on 12V rail(s) or something like that...

You are using SLI or just run both of card independently?

I am using the Cards independent strictly for financial charting software. Not a gamer although the charting of stocks/futures can often become intense during the course of the day. Items that might contribute
Intel I7 CPY 930 @ 2.80GHz
Win 7 Ultimate with XP Mode installed and used for older software.
Two Internal Drives
One External Drive
One USB extenders for attached HP Injet 2160 model. (Rarely on or used)
One Brother 7840w using wireless connection.
16gig Memory
One USB adapter to make use of serial port for old Palm Hardware (XP Mode)
One DVD/CD pair
One Logitech HID Compliant Unifying device
Basic audio card (board related).
here's a link to the motherboard if that's useful.
I can't find the specs on the PSU outside of it is a 460w PSU which was the base for this PC with the original GTX 260 video card.

However, the secondary question is would an insufficient PSU cause the Video Cards to lag and perform poorly or is that a function of something else?

All system drivers, IO drivers and Video drivers are up to date.

Thanks

Intel I7 CPY 930 @ 2.80GHz




Other attached items - external drive for backup purposes.
Win7 Ultimate with XP-mode installed and used.

 

[gbolt]

What's with the 16Gigs of RAM, Company Manual doesn't seem to allow that it allows 8, 9 ,12 ,18 and 24 GB only....
Well, if I put in all your stuff onto the calculator here,
http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html?name=Power-Supply-Wattage-Calculator

it says you need a PSU with a minimum power rating of 470W. Your current PSU is rated at 460W.
If you were falling short of power then your rig would randomly restart or just reboot for no rhyme or reason. We don't see any of those symptoms here, although you haven't stressed those GPUs to the max I believe. A better option before going in for any hardware change further would be to just reformat the rig and let the whole thing get used to the power draw, you can then use a graphics and cpu stressing program to see if the thing reboots under full load.
If it doesn't then power was not the issue.

Another thing which you need to take note of are the temps of different part of the rig, use HWMonitor to keep a check on them see what gets hot and what voltages are you getting. It's a pre-built branded PC so airflow wise and upgrade wise they aren't the friendliest.
But you've already upgraded so why not give it a go.

The original rig came wit 8 gig. I purchased two four gig chips. They had an original 4 2gig chips installed I filled the two additional slots with two 4gig chips.
Memory is not the issue.

What I have is the new video cards seem to lag the output requirements -
A re-format / install is in the making collecting all the required application install units as we type.

 

[alyoshka]

Didn't I just say , that an insufficient PSU will not cause Lags but will will cause random reboots.
And we already have the details of your Mobo and rig or I wouldn't have told you about the RAM.
You may feel it's not a problem..... but it's just a feeling.
Reasons are logically arrived at......

 

[RetiredChief]

As above posted. Check the +12 V rail (Use cpuid HWMonitor). Not the +12 V rail at Idle. Then Run Furmark, in a window and again note the +12 V rail. HWMonitor will show current, Min, and max. look at the Min value for the +12 V rail.

Voltage should be above 11.6 (spec min is 11.4V). I also look for no more than a 0.3 difference between Idle and Max.

If +12 V rail is above 11.6 when running furmark, then PSU is not your Problem, but most likely software/driver problem..

NOTE Furmark will Load your system MORE than your typical operation.

What you indicated as programs, NO intensive gaming, Your power requirements are well below 400 Watts.

Single system, runing Furmark is ,=< 250 Watts, add to that about 100 Watts for a 2nd card = around 350 Watts and thats running Furmark. You will be significantly less than that if not playing games. Ref: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/10/11/galaxy_geforce_gt_430_video_card_review/7

Any recommendation for larger than 500 watts is for a "PSU" that I would not use anyways. What these "Recommended" wattages typically factor in is the use of "cheapee" PSUs that do not belong in a Computer.

Added Links.
HWMonitor (go for free, not Pro): http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
Furmark: http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

Also:
to verify CPU/Memory stability, Prime 95: http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/

 

[ko888]

The 460 Watt OEM power supply unit that is in the HP Pavilion Elite HPE-180t should have a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 32 Amps.

For a system running with two GeForce GT 430 graphics cards (the GeForce GT 430 cannot be operated in SLI mode) a minimum of a 350 Watt or greater power supply with a minimum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 26 Amps or greater is recommended.

Your current 460 Watt OEM power supply unit is fully capable of properly powering your system.