Computer Hope

Hardware => Hardware => Topic started by: mx2702 on October 20, 2007, 09:33:20 PM

Title: power supply question.
Post by: mx2702 on October 20, 2007, 09:33:20 PM
If I get a new ATI x1950 pro graphics card, would the power supply listed at this amazon link be sufficient to power my computer and the graphics card ok? And is that a good brand ... or is there a better recommended brand?

With my old card (an ATI xpress 200 series card), the old 300 w power supply was enough to power card and computer sufficiently....

Link Edit (http://www.amazon.com/Professional-grade-Supply-Perfect-Upgrade-Replace/dp/B000FAKUIM/ref=sr_1_1/103-8211260-1167867?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1192937381&sr=1-1)
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: Dusty on October 21, 2007, 12:33:53 AM
550w seems to be a good level but why not check out your total power requirements here (http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine) then add say 20% for further expansion.

Good luck.
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: mx2702 on October 21, 2007, 12:49:01 PM
I have found a 600 w power supply on anazon that I can get instead of the 550 w one for only $22.00 + $6.49 shipping! (see link below)

Is it a good brand? Is it a good buy? It's a good steal in terms of price but i don't want to buy it if it's not good product!

Link to Amazon 600 W power supply (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GHXWR0/sr=1-3/qid=1192991989/ref=olp_product_details/103-8211260-1167867?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1192991989&sr=1-3&seller=[u)



Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: patio on October 21, 2007, 01:38:24 PM
A 22 dollar PSU isn't worth the cardboard it is shipped in...

A decent 500W PSU should start at around 40 to 50 bucks.

Travel to PC Power and Cooling for some great info on PSU's how they are built and what the difference is between a budget and quality unit.
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: contrex on October 21, 2007, 01:57:49 PM
A 22 dollar PSU isn't worth the cardboard it is shipped in...

I do so agree Patio! 22 dollars is about eleven quid! He wants to be spending 2 or 3 times that and look for a good name, and if necessary do some homework.




Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: TonyRichens on October 22, 2007, 03:23:39 AM
www.thermaltake.com

The Zeus of psu's
The soul power of the psu industry
The bees knees

 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: soybean on October 22, 2007, 09:50:50 AM
Use eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite (http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp) to get an actual number on the power supply profile for your system.

According to http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=3122113, you should have;
 450-Watt power supply or greater, 30 Amps on 12 volt rail recommended (assumes fully loaded system)

I believe the "30 Amps on 12 volt rail" is going to mean a rather expensive power supply.

Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: mx2702 on October 22, 2007, 11:28:28 AM
How about this 600 w power supply? (see link below) It's a different one also listed on amazon. It says it is compatible with ATI SLI configuration, but I am going to use only one graphics card in my system. Would that be enough to power the graphics card I am looking at?

And what exactly does it mean "30 Amps on 12 volt rail"? I don't see it listed in the specs....

Link to Amazon 600 W power supply (http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-X-Finity-ULT31849-600-Watt-Supply/dp/tech-data/B000BWDSYM/ref=de_a_smtd/002-9297220-1272825?ie=UTF8&qid=1193073728&sr=8-2u)
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: soybean on October 22, 2007, 11:38:47 AM
I prefer to shop at sites that specialize in computers and computer components, such as newegg.com and tigerdirect.com.  I believe  you're more likely to see the technical details clearly stated on such sites than on Amazon.  For example, see http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2974508&Sku=ULT31847%20K and go down the page to Detailed Features where you'll see a table showing amperage ratings for the various voltage outputs. 

User reviews posted on such websites as newegg and tigerdirect can also be helpful.
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: contrex on October 22, 2007, 11:49:33 AM
And what exactly does it mean "30 Amps on 12 volt rail"? I don't see it listed in the specs....

Computer power supplies provide a number of different voltages - 3.3 volts, 5 volts, and 12 volts. It means that the power supply should be capable of supplying a current of 30 Ampères at 12 volts.

A quick Google found me this site, full of praise for the ULT31849, which has a detailed spec table of currents supplied on the various rails, as follows

http://www.case-mod.com/ultra-ult31849-xfinity-600w-psu-flex-force-cable-technology-blue-p-1782.html

+5V   30A
+3.3V 25A
+12V1 18A
+12v2 20A
-12V  0.6A
+5VSB 2.5A

So you see it has a split rail 12v arrangement, with a total of 38 Ampères capability, well over the spec mentioned earlier.

This is a beefy, premium power supply. Should be OK unless you are going for EXTREME overclocking, like e.g. taking a Prescott up to 5 GHz (you'd need some very serious cooling!) in which case a PSU with a beefy single +12v rail is best. E.g. the OCZ Powerstream 520w, Sparkle FSP550-60PLG and the PC P&C 510.


Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: soybean on October 22, 2007, 12:17:13 PM
contrex, I was wondering whether the amp figures for the two rails are added together for this purpose.  I thought perhaps the requirement was an individual 12V rail.  So, according to your post, they are added together.  I imagine that's correct; in fact, power supplies with 30 amp on one 12V rail may be very hard to find, or may not exist.
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: contrex on October 22, 2007, 12:42:57 PM
contrex, I was wondering whether the amp figures for the two rails are added together for this purpose.  I thought perhaps the requirement was an individual 12V rail.

Modern high-end video cards are described as requiring a 30 amp 12 volt (single) rail because they assume that your other components are using around 15 amps (average) and they want a certain amount left over for the vid card. A dual-rail 12 volt system feeds those other components via a separate rail thus achieving the desired objective. It is actually better in many ways, but can cause problems for running VERY heavily overclocked CPUs as I mentioned before, but that is a special case and need not concern us I think.

Quote
in fact, power supplies with 30 amp on one 12V rail may be very hard to find, or may not exist.

Not at all. Where did you get that idea? The three power supplies I mentioned already, OCZ Powerstream 520w, Sparkle FSP550-60PLG and the PC Power & Cooling 510, have single 12 volt rails rated at 30 A, 36 A and 34 A respectively. These are very far from being the only ones.


Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: mx2702 on November 03, 2007, 10:55:54 PM
Oh yeah i decided 550 watts might be enough, if i do get myself the geforce 7900. Check out this 550 w psu at amazon:

Link to Amazon 550 W power supply (http://www.amazon.com/CoolerMaster-713001630-550W-Extreme-Psu/dp/B000PH7736/ref=sr_1_3/103-4241008-1815020?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1194151411&sr=1-3)

It costs $59.34 if i buy new from amazon BUT lowest price from other sellers on amazon is $38.99 for new one. Prices are not including shipping. Would this be a good option to take?



Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: contrex on November 04, 2007, 01:46:26 AM
It's by Coolermaster - a good brand. From a review on Newegg

Quote
heavy, well constructed, quiet, the cables are long, for my average 'mid tower' fifty dollar case, i had to find room to put the extra length. load tested my quad and survive. the last cheap power supply did not.
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: Jess607 on November 04, 2007, 02:50:16 AM
It's by Coolermaster - a good brand. From a review on Newegg

Quote
heavy, well constructed, quiet, the cables are long, for my average 'mid tower' fifty dollar case, i had to find room to put the extra length. load tested my quad and survive. the last cheap power supply did not.


No, it's not a good brand. You might as well buy Rosewell.

A single X1950 Pro shouldn't take too much power. A Enermax Noisetaker II 400w should be enough.
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: contrex on November 04, 2007, 03:03:50 AM
No, it's not a good brand. You might as well buy Rosewell.

You know this, do you, Jess607?

Evidence please?

CoolerMaster has a reputation of being one of the best in the cooling market. They quote a MTBF of > 100,000 hours, which is about 11.5 years continuous running. And warranties to back this up. I'd be very interested to know where you got any data suggesting this is false? I don't mean anecdotes such as "I once knew somebody who had one which blew up"

My son builds gaming rigs and he has supplied 30+ units with various Coolermaster PSUs over the last 3 years, and none has failed yet. (Yes, this is anecdotal too, I know, but he says he cannot afford to take chances and they have not let him down yet)





Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: patio on November 04, 2007, 07:58:33 AM
Quote
No, it's not a good brand. You might as well buy Rosewell.

Source ? ? Or opinion ?
It's laughable to compare a CoolerMaster to Rosewell.

I have a 250W that's been in and out of dozens of cases is over 9 years old and still runs great.
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: Jess607 on November 04, 2007, 08:17:13 AM
Coolermaster uses cheap parts, and does not make it's own PSUs. I'm a PSU expert, so you should take my word for this, but if you want proof, here it is:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108088

Coolermaster is listed as a tier 4 and tier 5 PSU. This means that it should be avoided at all costs.

When will you skeptics learn to trust ME?
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: contrex on November 04, 2007, 08:29:58 AM
That's your "proof"? Some dork called Perkam on a forum said it in some cockamamie list that he dreamed up. It doesn't even say what you said it does!

Anyway, I'm a bigger PSU expert than you are, so everybody should take my word over yours, because I say so.

Quote
When will you skeptics learn to trust ME?

Probably never, if you post *censored* like you did in this thread.


Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: patio on November 04, 2007, 10:25:40 AM
The thread was interesting for the fact of how many times he was corrected for omissions and errors...

But keep the material coming...we love EXPERTS.
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: Jess607 on November 06, 2007, 11:34:42 AM
That's your "proof"? Some dork called Perkam on a forum said it in some cockamamie list that he dreamed up. It doesn't even say what you said it does!

Anyway, I'm a bigger PSU expert than you are, so everybody should take my word over yours, because I say so.

Quote
When will you skeptics learn to trust ME?

Probably never, if you post *censored* like you did in this thread.


Wow, you truly are pathetic.

That list is respected by all the PSU experts I know. Including my friend who works at PC P&C and taught me everything I know.

And if you really think you know more than me about... ANYTHING, you need your head examined.
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: contrex on November 06, 2007, 11:38:54 AM
And if you really think you know more than me about... ANYTHING, you need your head examined.

What makes it really really obvious that you are a bag of wind and a w**ker, is that you make comments like that.
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: Jess607 on November 06, 2007, 11:39:38 AM
And if you really think you know more than me about... ANYTHING, you need your head examined.

What makes it really really obvious that you are a bag of wind and a w**ker, is that you make comments like that.


What makes it really really obvious that you are a bag of wind and a w**ker, is that you make comments like this.
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: Jess607 on November 06, 2007, 11:40:59 AM
But keep the material coming...we love EXPERTS.

It must be awful to hate yourself..  :'(
Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: contrex on November 06, 2007, 11:54:07 AM
jess607, I wonder if you'll post yourself into a ban situation? I sure hope I can get you to do that, fool.

Title: Re: power supply question.
Post by: Calum on November 06, 2007, 12:13:44 PM
Jess607 and contrex, this is out of order.
Profanity, even censored, is against the forum rules, and the sarcastic comments are also unnecessary.
Keep it clean and keep it relevant, folks.

My apologies to the OP and others invoked in this thread.