Ok. I guess I'm still considered a noob by most regulars here cause I'm clueless about this [even though I do have two complete builds under my belt, from a few years ago].
I have a question about PSUs and their 12 volt rails- and what it all really means if anything. And I'm having a real hard time getting a straight answer about this. In fact its about as clear as mud at this point, an I've been researching it all day.
OK- here's the deal in a nutshell. I recently bought a pre-built rig (I can't build anymore for a personal reason- so it was a pre-built or nothing). And after a month or so I am actually very happy with what I got. It is a HP Pavilion HPE h9-1120t Phoenix. Mine has the following specs:
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 3rd Gen Intel Core i7-3770 quad-core processor ***was a i7 2600- but I upgraded
• Premium HP keyboard and optical mouse
• 10GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM ***upgraded to 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1600MHz SDRAM
• 160GB Intel SSD
• 1TB 7200 rpm Hitachi SATA HDD
• Microsoft(R) Office reduced-functionality Word & Excel
• FREE Norton Internet Security subscription 15-month FULL VERSION
• 1GB DDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti ***changed out to a XFX overclocked Radeon HD 6950 "XXX" version 2GB
• HP Liquid Cooling by Asetek
• HP Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
• Premium Wireless-N LAN card
• 15-in-1 memory card reader, 4 x USB 2.0 (front), 2 x USB 3.0 (top)
• 600 watt PSU
• Beats Audio (tm) -- integrated studio quality sound
• 2-year standard HP warranty
This rig is really awesome for a pre-built HP. Seriously. I used to really not like HP or Dell that much, but this system is well made, looks good and is screaming fast. WOW. I'm not kidding about how fast. I was blown away. I can't say enough good things about it (and it has a 2 year warranty to boot). HP has come a long way and I am very happy with it and it was right at my $1000 budget.
But this isn't a love-fest with the HP Phoenix, its a question about PSUs.
My question came up this week because of a friend of mine (who is actually an IT guy, but works in software and isn't really a big hardware guy at all- but still knows WAY more than me).
He looked over my rig, and gave it the two thumbs up (and put it through quite a few paces too). He said it was really a sweet rig which surprised me- cause he made a crappy face when I first told him about it at work.
However- then came the problem.... he told me that the HP 600w PSU, although made by Delta probably has a very weak 12 volt rail. For a card as good as mine, I should use a better PSU, with a strong 12 volt rail for my card or I will hamstring it. Is he correct?
I told him I have a pretty new Corsair TX650w PSU still in the box - that was for a rig I never built. He told me to use it instead of the Delta and I would see BIG gains with the 6950.
I just started getting back into computers about a year ago, and I've been out of it for four or five years before that- and he didn't really explain it to me clearly why the 12v rail is such a big factor (at least I wasn't getting it), but I kind of think he was essentially saying my 6950 card will not perform at its best with a weak 12 volt rail PSU. Am I wrong?
Since I have a Corsair TX650 PSU still in the box, and not being used- should I just switch it out or not?
Here are the specs for my Corsair PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020
Does this mean the TX650 has a 53 amp +12 volt rail? That sounds crazy high doesn't it?
The stock Delta "HP" PSU has the following specs on the side of it and seem WAY lower than the Corsair's:
HP
PART NUMBER 633186-001
INPUT
100-127V~50-60Hz,10A
200-240V~50-60Hz,4A
OUTPUT
+12Va---------16A
+12Vb---------18A
+12Vc---------12A
+12Vd---------10A
+5.08V--------16A
+3.3V----------15A
+5.08Vsb-------2A
-12V------------0.3A
MAX POWER 600W
600W
Sorry for such a long post, but I wanted to thoroughly explain myself and this situation. Right now with my rig and the stock HP PSU, I can max out every single setting on BF3. I mean ALL of them on Ultra with everything else turned all the way up- EVERYTHING! I get 40-50 FPS easily with spikes well into the high 60s (@1920x1080). If I turn a few things down (x2 or x4 MSAA) and AA Post (to Med) and Ambient Occlusion to HBAO or off - I can get 70-80+ FPS no prob and spikes into triple digits FPS!!! (and it still looks fantastic at 1920x1080). In other words, I can run the game pretty darn good right now.
I didn't have a chance to test the same game/same server, etc... with the Corsair TX 650 installed- but should I even bother? Its a standard ATX form factor and will fit right in- I just kind of didn't want to mess with it unless it s a big gain like he said.
Or is all this 12v rail stuff B.S.?
Advice please.
So all that to ask this question---
Should I change out the PSU or not? If it doesn't matter that much then I'll leave it be. But if it gives me a nice bump- say 20 FPS or more, I'll do it. That PSU is just setting in my closet not being used anyway, and I can change it out myself and it will fit.
I appreciate any help/advice/etc. Thanks
I have a question about PSUs and their 12 volt rails- and what it all really means if anything. And I'm having a real hard time getting a straight answer about this. In fact its about as clear as mud at this point, an I've been researching it all day.
OK- here's the deal in a nutshell. I recently bought a pre-built rig (I can't build anymore for a personal reason- so it was a pre-built or nothing). And after a month or so I am actually very happy with what I got. It is a HP Pavilion HPE h9-1120t Phoenix. Mine has the following specs:
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 3rd Gen Intel Core i7-3770 quad-core processor ***was a i7 2600- but I upgraded
• Premium HP keyboard and optical mouse
• 10GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM ***upgraded to 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1600MHz SDRAM
• 160GB Intel SSD
• 1TB 7200 rpm Hitachi SATA HDD
• Microsoft(R) Office reduced-functionality Word & Excel
• FREE Norton Internet Security subscription 15-month FULL VERSION
• 1GB DDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti ***changed out to a XFX overclocked Radeon HD 6950 "XXX" version 2GB
• HP Liquid Cooling by Asetek
• HP Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
• Premium Wireless-N LAN card
• 15-in-1 memory card reader, 4 x USB 2.0 (front), 2 x USB 3.0 (top)
• 600 watt PSU
• Beats Audio (tm) -- integrated studio quality sound
• 2-year standard HP warranty
This rig is really awesome for a pre-built HP. Seriously. I used to really not like HP or Dell that much, but this system is well made, looks good and is screaming fast. WOW. I'm not kidding about how fast. I was blown away. I can't say enough good things about it (and it has a 2 year warranty to boot). HP has come a long way and I am very happy with it and it was right at my $1000 budget.
But this isn't a love-fest with the HP Phoenix, its a question about PSUs.
My question came up this week because of a friend of mine (who is actually an IT guy, but works in software and isn't really a big hardware guy at all- but still knows WAY more than me).
He looked over my rig, and gave it the two thumbs up (and put it through quite a few paces too). He said it was really a sweet rig which surprised me- cause he made a crappy face when I first told him about it at work.
However- then came the problem.... he told me that the HP 600w PSU, although made by Delta probably has a very weak 12 volt rail. For a card as good as mine, I should use a better PSU, with a strong 12 volt rail for my card or I will hamstring it. Is he correct?
I told him I have a pretty new Corsair TX650w PSU still in the box - that was for a rig I never built. He told me to use it instead of the Delta and I would see BIG gains with the 6950.
I just started getting back into computers about a year ago, and I've been out of it for four or five years before that- and he didn't really explain it to me clearly why the 12v rail is such a big factor (at least I wasn't getting it), but I kind of think he was essentially saying my 6950 card will not perform at its best with a weak 12 volt rail PSU. Am I wrong?
Since I have a Corsair TX650 PSU still in the box, and not being used- should I just switch it out or not?
Here are the specs for my Corsair PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020
Does this mean the TX650 has a 53 amp +12 volt rail? That sounds crazy high doesn't it?
The stock Delta "HP" PSU has the following specs on the side of it and seem WAY lower than the Corsair's:
HP
PART NUMBER 633186-001
INPUT
100-127V~50-60Hz,10A
200-240V~50-60Hz,4A
OUTPUT
+12Va---------16A
+12Vb---------18A
+12Vc---------12A
+12Vd---------10A
+5.08V--------16A
+3.3V----------15A
+5.08Vsb-------2A
-12V------------0.3A
MAX POWER 600W
600W
Sorry for such a long post, but I wanted to thoroughly explain myself and this situation. Right now with my rig and the stock HP PSU, I can max out every single setting on BF3. I mean ALL of them on Ultra with everything else turned all the way up- EVERYTHING! I get 40-50 FPS easily with spikes well into the high 60s (@1920x1080). If I turn a few things down (x2 or x4 MSAA) and AA Post (to Med) and Ambient Occlusion to HBAO or off - I can get 70-80+ FPS no prob and spikes into triple digits FPS!!! (and it still looks fantastic at 1920x1080). In other words, I can run the game pretty darn good right now.
I didn't have a chance to test the same game/same server, etc... with the Corsair TX 650 installed- but should I even bother? Its a standard ATX form factor and will fit right in- I just kind of didn't want to mess with it unless it s a big gain like he said.
Or is all this 12v rail stuff B.S.?
Advice please.
So all that to ask this question---
Should I change out the PSU or not? If it doesn't matter that much then I'll leave it be. But if it gives me a nice bump- say 20 FPS or more, I'll do it. That PSU is just setting in my closet not being used anyway, and I can change it out myself and it will fit.
I appreciate any help/advice/etc. Thanks