MS Industrial Pro 550W

[NESHO]

I have the above mentioned (crap) PSU. Currently it is running with an Athlon 64 x2 4400+ CPU and a GeForce 9600 GT 512 mb GPU. As I understand, the PSU has a single 12V rail with 16A on it which is VERY low. THIS page says that the GF 9600 GT requires at least 26A which is WAAY more than 16A. The thing is that there are a lot of numbers on the PSU like +12v, +5v, +3.3V and again these numbers with minuses and every one of these numbers has a number of ampers with it so I'm very confused. I understand that the 12V rail is the most important, but then again that doesn't make sense, because I have 10A less than I should have and my system is working just fine. So I was wondering if somebody would be so kind to explain me what this is all about because I am planning on upgrading to G630+6770/7750 and I don't want to make A B-I-G mistake.

 

[NESHO]

The page is http://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/printer/power-requirements-for-graphics-cards . Can't edit message...

 

[Rugger]

I assume that the label on the side of the PSU is where you're reading the 3.3V, 5V and 12V. What are the amps associated with each of those voltages? There may also be something that tells you max watts for each rail or combination of rails - normally this is to the right of the amperage ratings or just below the table. Is there anything sated for the 12V rail? Does the PSU list multiple 12V rails (i.e. 12V1 and 12V1)?

 

[NESHO]

Yes, that's what the label says. +3.3V @28A, +5V@34A, +12V@16A, -12V@1A, -5V@0.5A, +5VSB@2A. This is stated below : XX +5V N +3.3V TOTAL O/P 260W XX +5Vsb=2.0A XX . Does this really mean that my real power output is actually 260W?? Why the heck would the PSU then be MS Industrial 550W?? I understand that sometimes the wattage indicated in the name isn't actually the real wattage of the PSU, but this is really too much! If it says 550W then I expected it to be around 350-400W but not the freakin' 260W! I can't believe this.

 

[Rugger]

It means that it can deliver 260W on the combined 3.3V and 5V rails. It doesn't list total power available on the 12V rail so you have to assume that it can deliver 16A x 12V = 192W. So that means that your "550W" PSU can only deliver ~450W. 90% of the power draw on modern PCs is on the 12V rail by the CPU and GPU so your PSU is realistically about a 200W PSU. I'm kinda surprised that the 9600GT will run on that PSU. Definitely another data point that proves modern PCs use less power than most people think. Your planned upgrade will sip power; a good 400-450W PSU will be more than sufficient and will actually support up to an HD6850. The Corsair CX430 is a great unit that you can regularly get for $20 after MIR....the rebates have been going for a couple of weeks every month for a while. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=cx430

 

[NESHO]

Actually, my planned upgrade would use less power than my current rig. This Athlon has a TDP of 89W and the G630 has a TDP of 65 W. The 7750 doesn't even require an aditional power connector and it consumes less than the 9600 GT. So even my crappy PSU should be able to handle the G630+7750 because they consume even less power than my Athlon and 9600GT. But the next thing I am upgrading is definitely my PSU, just to be sure. I mean this is really outrageous, a "550W" PSU actually delivering about 200W of USABLE power. That's just preposterous.