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Will this power supply work for my build?

Last post 11-05-2009, 3:40 PM by sparker366. 8 replies.
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  •  11-04-2009, 3:27 PM 582082 in reply to 582069

    Re: Will this power supply work for my build?

    I hate to say it but its more then likely underpowered for the build would look at a 550 650 for the build that will allow some expansion. Corsair would be my choice for psu's.

    You shouldn't buy a psu based on price. It should be one of the more pricey items in your build. Quality psu's cost money and they provide clean and stable power.


  •  11-04-2009, 6:20 PM 582135 in reply to 582082

    Re: Will this power supply work for my build?

    Okay. I was just asking because the Antec earthwatts was in the second tier in the PSU guide, and because the processor and video card are low power. Thanks.

    EDIT: What about this guy: CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

    Still need higher wattage?

  •  11-04-2009, 8:12 PM 582154 in reply to 582069

    Re: Will this power supply work for my build?

    Actually, either of those power supplies will work just fine. 

    Here, I'll run a wattage analysis for you:

    CPU: 65watts
    GPU: 59watts
    Hard Drive: 10watts
    Optical Drive: 25watts
    Motherboard: 20watts
    RAM, Fans, etc: 25watts

    Total: 204watts, at max load

    As you can see, 380watts is more than enough.  That Antec Earthwatts is a perfect power supply for your build.  Those Radeon 4670 graphics cards are very power efficient, so that keeps your system wattage down. 


  •  11-05-2009, 3:33 AM 582184 in reply to 582154

    Re: Will this power supply work for my build?

    This is ATI's recommendation for a power supply. So Compwiz you might have to rethink your wattage.I know they tend to over recommend like I do but that's just for a cushion for future expansion. Having more power doesn't hurt anything.

    400 Watt or greater power supply (550 Watt for ATI CrossFireX technology in dual mode) is recommended

     I know you fancy yourself as the psu guru here but selling people just what they need is not doing them a service for future expansion



  •  11-05-2009, 5:54 AM 582201 in reply to 582184

    Re: Will this power supply work for my build?

    sparker366:

     I know you fancy yourself as the psu guru here but selling people just what they need is not doing them a service for future expansion

    Yea, I have to agree with that.. Nothing sucks more than throwing out a perfectly good PSU a year from now if you want to upgrade to a "performance" or "enthusiest" level graphics card and CPU. Buying a low wattage PSU guarantees you'll be stuck in the low-end with no way to step it up..

    I guess I've just seen way too many people who bought a Dell PC 6 months ago and then are looking to upgrade their graphics cards to a GTX 260 or Radeon 5870, but can't without throwing out a perfectly good 300 watt PSU..

    Not to mention that AC->DC efficiency curves start to go downhill quickly when the PSU hits around 70% load..  Along with the PSU fan working harder and the PSU running hotter..


    Onboard RAID vs. 3Ware RAID

    I never recommend people run RAID-5 with onboard chipsets.
  •  11-05-2009, 7:19 AM 582208 in reply to 582201

    Re: Will this power supply work for my build?

    Well, what about this one, then? It's 400w, and I'm not really looking to ever utilize the Crossfire stuff.

    CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail 

  •  11-05-2009, 10:34 AM 582264 in reply to 582184

    Re: Will this power supply work for my build?

    sparker366:

    This is ATI's recommendation for a power supply. So Compwiz you might have to rethink your wattage.I know they tend to over recommend like I do but that's just for a cushion for future expansion. Having more power doesn't hurt anything.

    400 Watt or greater power supply (550 Watt for ATI CrossFireX technology in dual mode) is recommended

     I know you fancy yourself as the psu guru here but selling people just what they need is not doing them a service for future expansion


    There are a couple reasons why ATI and nVidia have such high wattage recommendations.  To begin with, they don't know the specs of the rest of your system.  So, they have to assume that you're loading it out with high wattage components.  A 140watt CPU, a couple optical drives, a few hard drives.  But, that still would only come to 324watts, with this graphics card. 

    So, secondly, they don't know how good of a power supply you're getting.  Many cases come with power supplies, like RaidMax or Apevia, that are complete junk.  They're lucky to put out 100watts less than what they're rated for. 

    To try to avoid problems, ATI and nVidia simply push their wattage recommendations up by a couple hundred watts.  Better safe than sorry, right? 

    But, in this case, we do know the system configuration, and we do know that the power supply is capable of putting out the watts its rated for. 

    And, upgrades?  Let's say he upgrades to a nice fast new ATI Radeon 5770.  His system will then have a max draw wattage of 253watts, still well within the capabilities of the Earthwatts 380.  He could then go on to add a second optical drive, and a couple more hard drives, if he wanted to.  That's a total of 298watts with all of those upgrades.  No problem at all.

    If you're going to say that he needs more wattage, then you are saying my wattage analysis is wrong.  His system physially cannot pull more than 204watts, with all of the components running full out.  So, if you're going to disagree, you would need to point out a mistake in my wattage analysis.  I have done my research, so I doubt you'll find anything wrong, but you're free to try. 

    Either of the power supplies that colorme has mentioned would easily power his computer, and handle upgrades. 


  •  11-05-2009, 3:40 PM 582330 in reply to 582264

    Re: Will this power supply work for my build?

    Math isn't everything in this. I am going to say that a 500w psu would be what I would put in most every build except for the highend hard core build. The reason being is not to say your analysis is wrong which its most likely not but its way to conservative for my likings. Does it hurt to have more power then what is mathematically called for? I think not. It won't hurt anything but maybe drive his power bill up a few cents or a dollar.

    So with that said don't reply to this just leave it alone and let the OP do what he feels best. We all know that most builders look for the cheapest and lowest wattage psu they can find and don't care about quality or anything price is their deciding factor.


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