Just 3 questions regarding a new PSU...!

[naveenk]

I have a 550W low quality PSU now (Huntkey Green power 550W psu) and i think its causing low FPS in games .

Read: - 1 month ago I got my HD5770 replaced because I was getting very low fps and it finally stopped working and there was no display output. So I got it replaced as I had warrantly. But now I am having similar fps drops, so I think its my PSU thats causing all the problems and it damaged my original 5770. So I am going to replace it before it does the same damage to my current 5770. I am thinking of 750W Seasonic SS 750JS . But some tell me 750w is an overkill for my system (corei5-750, 4gb, 5770, 1tb)

My questions are: (1) Is there anyway to confirm it that its the psu thats causing the problems (though I am 90% sure of it myself and buy a new one anyway)..
(2) I wud like to know will there be any problem if use at high wattage PSU like the one above for a low power requiring system like mine ? If there will be problems please tell me the nature of the problem. I will choose a 600W psu then.
(3) also currently I am having a ICE 600VA UPS.. Will it run a 750W psu, my wireless modem and monitor ??? I dont care about if the back-up time... I just want to know whether I can run it using the 600VA UPS or not.

Thanks for ur support.

 

[hunter315]

Given the survival rate of the other Huntkey units similar to that one, i would definitely swap it out. Don't even question if your problems are caused by the PSU, replace that one with a good unit and then see if you still have problems.

The huntkey green star series had a very poor survival rate in reviews and is similar to the green power series, the page in the review entitled "The Explosion" sums up the results of the review clearly.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/668


There is no issue with using a high wattage PSU for a fairly low power draw system, it wont be working hard at all and should have a long life. Its true it won't be at peak efficiency, but it will still be pretty close.


A PSU only pulls as much as it needs to power the system, so your UPS will likely power it just fine. Whats the wattage rating on the UPS? VA is always higher than W, but Watts are what is important with a modern PSU with APFC since its VA draw will be very similar to the wattage it draws. It should be able to run everything fine if its got at least 400 W of capability or more. Some units do run into issues with older UPSs with stepped sine wave or square wave output but not all so give it a shot and see if it works.

 

[naveenk]

Whats the wattage rating on the UPS? VA is always higher than W, but Watts are what is important with a modern PSU with APFC since its VA draw will be very similar to the wattage it draws. It should be able to run everything fine if its got at least 400 W of capability or more.

Its a 600VA/360W UPS. And Its a fairly new one I think, I just bought it in Dec 2009. So Will it be run my rig ?

I am not very familiar with electricals but how can a 360W ups run a higher wattage rig..I do understand the system is not always under high load, but suppose I am playing a game and its at high load (>360W) and suddenly there is a power blackout, how will my UPS react since the cpu is higher wattage? Also I am connecting my Monitor and a wireless modem with the UPS.

 

[hunter315]

The power supply only pulls what it needs, the 5770 needs about 110 W, the CPU needs about 90 W, the rest of the system under max load probably only needs about 80 W more, so it comes to about 280 W total, so probably about 330 W from the wall, the monitor and wireless modem aren't going to need a ton but it might be close when you are under full load, so its going to be questionable. Thats a much lower wattage rating than i was expecting given its VA rating.

 

[jsc]

It will not last as long.

Besides, the main purpose of a UPS is to keep the system running long enough to save critical data. And as much time as I spend playing games on a computer, I do not think that an unsaved game represents "critical" data.

 

[geofelt]

1) If you try a different psu, and you have no problems, then you can be somewhat certain that the psu was at fault. Not a bad thing to replace a crummy psu with a quality unit anyway.

2) A psu will draw only the power demanded of it. The wattage rating is the maximum amount of power that it can deliver. In a quality psu, the rating is continuous, and not just peak power, and the maximum will normally be even higher than the rating.

3) You are ok on the ups. You are not changing anything on your pc that draws power. In fact a quality psu will be more efficient, and put less demand on the ups.


For top quality, look for Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, PC P&C, or XFX. 550w is about right. The 5770 needs only 450w.
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5770/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5770-overview.aspx#3

 

[naveenk]

Thanks guys... But I am going to go for the Seasonic SS 750JS 750W for being future proof....

 

[truegenius]

1. You can use prime95, occt to load gpu+cpu to max and then see the voltages at 3.3v ,5.0v, 12.0v rail, if they are droping down their respective voltages then your psu is too bad.

2. Higher wattage psu will not any harm to your rig, they only have more capacity and can show that capacity if system dimands.

3. Any wattage psu will work, it depends upon your power requirement of your rig,
cpu+gpu=~250w
Lcd=~50-75w
Others=~100w
At max load
=~400-425w
And thus in worst case your ups may not provide any backup due to overload, but it is the max at wattage of your rig.

For psu you need a minimum of 21a at 12v but min 25a is recommended.