Earthwatts 650 PSU [Archive]

midgymidge

03-08-2009, 05:27 AM

Hey guys, Im new to this forum, found this site accidentaly and I actually got one of my questions in here anwered =) Great to register to a great site.
Anywayz just a quick question I have Earthwatts 500 PSU and I was just wondering if Im upgrading to a Earthwatt 650 PSU is that enough for me to run my new 260gtx card.
My Specs are:
Quad 6600 Stock
2gb ram
Nvidia 8800GT
and 2 Hard drives
Sonata III case
Thanks in Advance

PAo_ReVoLT

03-08-2009, 05:41 AM

i think 500w is enough for single gtx260

Danny Bui

03-08-2009, 05:48 AM

midgymidge

03-08-2009, 06:07 AM

really wow, ppl think i need to buy a bigger psu cool coz i actually went to the antec website and did the psu calucator thingy and it registered for me that im using roughly 300something PSU with my new setup. So i definitely dont need to upgrade????

Danny Bui

03-08-2009, 06:45 AM

davidhammock200

03-08-2009, 07:09 AM

You are fine right now & when you do upgrade, it needs to go well beyond the very small difference between the EA500 & the EA650.

Always Build with the Best,
Dave:)

midgymidge

03-08-2009, 07:17 AM

thanks guys appreciate it. I was actually gonna spend extra 100bucks for one but since u guys said i dont need one, I can save it for something else =)

rekd0514

03-08-2009, 01:59 PM

Yep you don't need it. I am using the EA500 with a 4870 1GB OCed and my E8400 @ 4.2ghz. I am only drawing right at 300w max with my kill a watt meter.

Danny Bui

03-08-2009, 04:57 PM

Yep you don't need it. I am using the EA500 with a 4870 1GB OCed and my E8400 @ 4.2ghz. I am only drawing right at 300w max with my kill a watt meter.

Take those Kill-A-Watt readings with a grain of salt:
Yes and a quick search would turn up this topic a million times over. Here is the recap:

1) APFC can fool Kill-A-Watts into giving you abnormally low readings (some times giving better than 100% efficiency)

2) Power supplies derate with temperature anywhere from 2w/c above a nominal rated at value to 10w/c.

3) Kill-A-Watt's and most power meters sample too slowly to catch transient loads (the Transient load from our tests is 117w and is COMPLETELY missed by Kill-A-Watts).

4) Power supplies last longer if you stay in the 40% to 60% range of their output.

5) power supplies are quieter if you stay in the 40% to 60% range of their output.

6) Power supplies are cooler if you stay in the 40% to 60% range of their output.

The power meters in UPS software are just as bad. You have to spend some change before you get anywhere near an accurate power meter when your PSU has APFC.

fender

03-10-2009, 03:16 AM

I have the same p/s powering:

Q6600 @3.0 GHz
GTX 260 SSC
4GB RAM
320 GB Hard Drive
4 120mm fans
1 200mm fan

without any problems.

I actually had the above components running on a 4 year old 400W unit for a brief period without issues.

midgymidge

03-10-2009, 04:35 AM

wow, i was actually scared it would bust on me but hearing it from you guys and some advices i will just keep my PSU. Like davidhammock said "Always Build with the Best" so when I do upgrade I'll just upgrading later on to a 850-1000w PSU

curtisfong

03-10-2009, 07:45 PM

The best would be something appropriately sized for your computer so the power supply is in its most efficient range. If you overspend on the PS you will end up underspending on something else etc.

I'm running all the stuff in my sig with an EA380w, which has the same 12v rating as your EA500 (34A). The EA650 is made by Delta and has very different characteristics than the other 3 earthwatts PSUs. It's a very cost effective, high quality PSU, but there are other good quality units out there and you should do your research before purchasing. I plan to get a Seasonic energy S12 550w when they are on sale at newegg, I am probably at the upper range (inefficient) for my current PSU.

Danny Bui

03-10-2009, 07:49 PM

The best would be something appropriately sized for your computer so the power supply is in its most efficient range. If you overspend on the PS you will end up underspending on something else etc.

I'm running all the stuff in my sig with an EA380w, which has the same 12v rating as your EA500 (34A). The EA650 is made by Delta and has very different characteristics than the other 3 earthwatts PSUs. It's a very cost effective, high quality PSU, but there are other good quality units out there and you should do your research before purchasing. I plan to get a Seasonic energy S12 when they are on sale at newegg, I am probably at the upper range (inefficient) for my current PSU.

Umm. the EA380 has 27A, not 35A. The EA500 and EA430 are now made by Delta. I'm fairly sure that you're really pushing the EA380 to its limit. So try to upgrade the PSU ASAP.

curtisfong

03-10-2009, 08:04 PM

Yes, you're correct..the max rating for both 12 rails combined is 324W or 27A. I'm probably fairly close to max. The PSU exhaust temps are fine, but I do plan to upgrade soon. I forgot that Antec switched to Delta for the earthwatts line (around Aug 2008?) - older units like mine were still made by Seasonic.

ScretHate

03-10-2009, 11:02 PM

Why does everyone on this forum think they need a 700W PSU for a single graphics card?

The marketing guys at the PSU companies really deserve a raise: they've got you trained.

Danny Bui

03-10-2009, 11:06 PM

Why does everyone on this forum think they need a 700W PSU for a single graphics card?

Huh? Not everyone here on the forums think they need a 700W+ PSU. But there are situations where getting a 700W+ is more advisable, whether from a cost aspect (some 750W PSUs cost just as much as some 550W PSUs but are of excellent quality) or from usage aspect (some systems do need a 700W+ PSU to fit the optimal noise, life, and efficiency range)

midgymidge

03-11-2009, 06:36 AM

Ok so Im saving atleast 100bucks to keep my PSU so wat if, i use that extra 100bucks and just go for daddy 280gtx can I still use my EA500PSU or thats a different ballgame? = )

MisterSparkle

03-11-2009, 06:56 AM

No point going for a 280 over a 260 really (incoming flame war), buy a girl some expensive roses, much bigger e-peen boost :P

midgymidge

03-11-2009, 07:03 AM

No point going for a 280 over a 260 really (incoming flame war), buy a girl some expensive roses, much bigger e-peen boost :P
hahaha I showed my other half of wat u said shes laffing her head off, Anywayz i still dont get what you mean by "no point going for a 260 over a 280" but isnt it a 280 is far more superior than a 260??? like 260 would be like its affordable lil brother????

MisterSparkle

03-11-2009, 08:27 AM

Hmm, unless you're running on 1920 (preferably higher) and are noticing some sluggishness in games, my choice would be to stick with a 260 core 216. The price vs performance difference is fairly high, and is only really worth it if you're in need of that extra performance.

Danny Bui

03-11-2009, 11:58 AM

Ok so Im saving atleast 100bucks to keep my PSU so wat if, i use that extra 100bucks and just go for daddy 280gtx can I still use my EA500PSU or thats a different ballgame? = )

I wouldn't recommend the EA500 for the GTX 280. So yeah different ballgame. The GTX260 is your best bet if you don't want to replace the PSU.

aznative

03-11-2009, 11:24 PM

If you do decide to go to the Earthwatts 650...well, it's a great power supply. I'm running an overclocked GTX 295 off of it just fine.

jaboki

03-12-2009, 09:11 PM

yep

midgymidge

03-17-2009, 03:47 AM

guys im back probably my last entry to this post after reading ur opinions regarding about my PSU i did come to a conclusion of keeping my EA PSU but while i was looking at newegg i was just browsing at 260gtx cards and was reading one of the reviews and this is one person said about the card
"Get this card if you are a gamer and want some serious performance. The box says you will need a PSU with minimum of 550W and 36A on the 12V rails. XFX recommends 630W for a single GPUor 680W for SLI setups. Runs cool and doesn't break 45C during Nvidia stability test in my Antec 900 case."

I am not geting this brand nor getting my card at newegg as my local store is really really cheap of buying computer parts :D but was just concerned of what this guy said. Please Reply, to come to a final conclusion. Thanks a bunch! :)

P.S. For more info I am getting the gigabyte/XFX version of this card but not the XFX 216

Danny Bui

03-17-2009, 03:59 AM

The box says you will need a PSU with minimum of 550W and 36A on the 12V rails. XFX recommends 630W for a single GPUor 680W for SLI setups.

Those recommended specs are a bit embellished to compensate for that fact that there are litterlly thousands of shitty ass PSU. Also, that 36A rating is for the ENTIRE PC, not just the video card itself. Luckily for you, the EA500 has 34A on the +12V rail which is more than enough for your setup. In fact, I entered your specs into the Corsair PSU finder (http://corsair.com/psufinder/default.aspx), they recommended the Corsair 450VX for your setup + GTX260. Considering that the 450VX has 33A on the +12V rail, the EA500 is still a good choice.

davidhammock200

03-17-2009, 05:00 AM

I agree with Danny, for one 260, your EA500W is fine.:)

Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Rated@50C
Max. Combined: +12V@34A
+3.3V@24A,+5V@24A,+12V1@17A,+12V2@17A,-12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2.5A

midgymidge

03-17-2009, 05:50 AM

Big thanks to you guys specially to Danny n Dave! Now Im off to order my card and 2more sticks of ram for 4gb. Much appreciated again!