jawhnay

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I'm trying to find a new power supply. Nothing too expensive though. Also, I am planning to upgrade my gfx card to the ATI 6570. Any suggestions?

Specs:
MOBO: ECS G31T-M(1.0) LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core Processor 2.40 GHz

Graphics Card: EVGA 512-P3-N871-RX GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5

Power Supply: RAIDMAX AURORA 2 RX-600F 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready LED Power Supply

CASE: RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEB 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case
 

jawhnay

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well, one of the responses in the graphics card forum said I should upgrade my PSU before it explodes from too much bottlenecking because of my cpu. I'm actually planning to get the 6870 instead of the 6570.
 
You do need a new PSU.

What I believe they meant is your graphics card can draw more power than the PSU can supply.

the MOST important thing to consider in a PSU for a gaming machine is the power supplied by the 12v rail(s). Even more important than the total wattage..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152031

Your PSU has 2 +12v rails. One is 20A (12v*20a = 240w) and the other is 18a (12v*20a = 216w).

The geforce gtx 9800 can draw 265w under full load, which is more than either rail can supply consistently. Unless the 9800 has 2 six pin sockets and is currently using both of your 12v rails, your card is operating on low power which can cause damage to your entire system.
 

jawhnay

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Well, I think my gtx has 2 six pin sockets and both of them are filled by my power supply because while I was cleaning the dust out of my rig today I noticed 2 six pin sockets that were filled by my power supply. If I do need a new power supply, what do you recommend?

Also, If I were to get a new PSU, would I have to opt for a new processor as well?
 
I believe you are probably getting the 265W figure from here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-9800gtx-review,1800-12.html
In which case that 265W figure is for the entire system not just the graphics card.
A graphics card with only two 6pin PCIe sockets is not capable of drawing 265W by itself without breaking the PCI-SIG specifications which state that the motherboard is rated to deliver a maximum of 75W to the card and each 6pin connector is rated to deliver a maximum of 75W to the card. (75W x3 = 225W)

Also Nvidia state that the maximum that card can draw is 140W.

The reason you need to get a new PSU is because Raidmax have yet to release a really trustworthy unit (AFAIK). So if it explodes it is because it is crap, not because the CPU might be bottlenecking (which is irrelevant to PSU discussions).

I don't think you will need a new CPU because games depend more on the GPU than the CPU.

To check for a CPU bottleneck when you have got your new GPU you have to use Windows Task Manager's "performance tab" and something like GPU-Z's "sensors" tab. If the CPU is the bottleneck then CPU usage will have reached 100% but GPU load will not. If CPU usage did not reach 100% then you don't have a bottleneck.

AMD recommends a 500W PSU with two 6pin PCIe connectors for a system with a 6870. Which is handy because few ~450W units actually have the necessary connectors.

XFX Pro 550W Core Edition 80Plus Bronze $70 ($10 rebate)
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=59615&vpn=P1550SXXB9&manufacture=XFX
The 650W version is only $10 more expensive before rebate, but the same price after.
 

Power consumption of a 6870 is lower than a 9800 GTX.
6870
http://ht4u.net/reviews/2010/amd_radeon_hd_6850_hd_6870_test/index19.php
9800GTX
http://ht4u.net/reviews/2009/leistungsaufnahme_graka/index13.php

The concern stems from the fact that Raidmax is considered crap

"Bottlenecking" means that you will not realize the full potential of the card due to the cpu not being able to provide data fast enough, it will not cause your psu to explode.
 

jawhnay

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So, do I really have to get a new PSU? I don't want to spend more money for something I don't necessarily need. If my PSU does fail, will it damage any other parts of my system?

Also, I have an IDE hard drive. Do I have to worry about what kind of power supply I get if I have a IDE hard drive and not a SATA hard drive? Sorry, I don't know much about computers.
 

akxpckwb

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I believe there are SATA-to-IDE adapters if you need them.
Personally I think you do not need a new PSU but if you can then you should get a better one. It's kind of a gamble to run a system on a not-so-good PSU since it can damage some of your components if it short-circuits or something like that
 

Well if what delluser said about 6870s being less power hungry than 9800 GTX's is true and if your current Raidmax unit has been running a 9800GTX fine up until now then it should be able to power your build with a 6870. But I'm not convinced yet that 6870s are in fact less power hungry than 9800GTXs.

And it is entirely possible for a low quality PSU when it fails to damage other components.

PSUs still come with the necessary connectors to power IDE hard drives.
 

jawhnay

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Even if my PSU has a overload and over voltage protection, it can still cause damage to my other parts?

Also, whats the difference between these two power supplies?
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EarthWatts-EA-650D-Green-BRONZE/dp/B004NBZAES/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1333753709&sr=1-3-fkmr0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=5dmo5ygnllzd

both of them seem the same, but the one on amazon has "EA-650D" compared to the one on newegg that only has "EA650."'

Also, what specifications am I looking for in a power supply? Such as amount of voltage and power etc. because I'm looking into some power supplies right now.
 

Chaz21

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This is the amazon link for the "newegg" one:
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EarthWatts-EA650-Power-Supply/dp/B000HEZFZO
Two different PSU's apparently.
 

Chaz21

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I think I'm confused now. I think the one on newegg should have been the "D" if you assume that Amazon's pictures are right. I know that the Newegg one I sent you has 2 12v rails. The Amazon one you linked to has 2 12v rails. The one on Amazon without the "D" has 3 12v rails. So they are clearly not the same. Sorry for confusing the issue further.
 

akxpckwb

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Corsair is pretty much the way to go in terms of PSU. Or at least it's what most folks think.
As you can see on the comments the 2 main problems are the noise and the length/amount of cables for a non-modular unit. If you don't care about these ''problems'' I'd go for it
 
There was never an Antec PSU with the model number EA-650D. There have only been Earthwatts EA-650 (the original one with a grey, unpainted exterior and three 12V rails) and the Earthwatts EA-650 Green (the one with a green paint job and two 12V rails).

Amazon must just have made some kind of typing error or they were confused by Antec having an EA-500D.

A PSU needs a whole range of protections. And with low quality units/untrustworthy brand even if they claim to have protections, it doesn't necessarily mean that they do.

The Corsair TX650 V2 is the same internally as the XFX Pro 650W Core Edition that I mentioned earlier. You should only get the Corsair version if it is cheaper.
 

Chaz21

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You're probably confused as hell by all our recommendations. Most often people recommend PSU's that they have themselves or in some cases that they wish they had. Just pick a good name brand PSU. They have a good name for a reason. Antec - Corsair - OCZ - Seasonic are all examples of 1st tier PSU's. I'm not saying you won't get a "lemon" with one of the above, I'm just saying that the odds are in your favor that you won't. The names to stay away from are the ones nobody has recommended. There is a reason you're not seeing names like Diablotek - Kingwin - Logisys - Raidmax. Not because you won't get a "good" one but that the odds are not in your favor. Don't base your decision on where you're at today but on where you might want to be tomorrow, If you are going to go CFX or SLI someday be sure your choice can handle it. PSU's aren't something we tweak like RAM or CPU's. They're more like the old tv commercial where you "set it - then forget it". They are not something you want to worry about. Getting a "good" one makes that easier. Good luck in your search and choice.
 

I went by what I "saw" ( 9800 GTX ) and the links I provided
OP's model # ( EVGA 512-P3-N871-RX GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) ) leads to the GTX+, a lower power card ,sorry
Did I mention that Raidmax was considered crap?
 

jawhnay

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thanks for all the replies but I finally settled with the Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W for 40 bucks. I thought it was a pretty good deal and from reading around, rosewill seems to be a decent brand. I appreciate all the help and input from you guys though!