How can I find out how much power I will need?

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Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
411
A buddy of mine just gave me his old setup with a dead ps which has the following specs:

-E6400
-2 gigs ram
-3 harddrives
-ati radeon x850 xt video card
-lots of fans (antec 900 case)
-2 dvd rom drives

The dead ps is a 350 w version and I was thinking about getting the same but was wondering if this system is pushing the limit of the 350w.

Is there anyway to manually calculate how much each item needs?

thanks
 
rhino.software said:
i like to use this one from enermax

http://www.enermax.outervision.com/index.jsp

looks a lot like the extreme version just mentioned but it can also take into account a selection of upto four gpus for 3-way & 4way sli power ratings :)
Click to expand...
If you haven't noticed, that and the Antec calculator are just variants of the same one. However, to get access to more advanced settings with the standard Extreme Outervision calculator, you have to pay, so the one you linked is actually better to use. Keep in mind that it is no more accurate, and any values you get from it should be taken as ballpark numbers, not as definite power requirements.
 
Zero82z said:
If you haven't noticed, that and the Antec calculator are just variants of the same one. However, to get access to more advanced settings with the standard Extreme Outervision calculator, you have to pay, so the one you linked is actually better to use. Keep in mind that it is no more accurate, and any values you get from it should be taken as ballpark numbers, not as definite power requirements.
Click to expand...

How should we interpret those numbers? I mean, should we always exceed the estimated value or can get get something lower as long as its close to that value.

For example, I tried the Enermax one to estimate my next system, and I got 894W. Can I get away with a 850W PSU, or do I need to get a 1000W?

Thanks
 
Hornet, always better to overbuy than underbuy. Overtaxing a PS can take out other components as well so ALWAYS buy more than you need.

Allan
 
Hornet said:
How should we interpret those numbers? I mean, should we always exceed the estimated value or can get get something lower as long as its close to that value.

For example, I tried the Enermax one to estimate my next system, and I got 894W. Can I get away with a 850W PSU, or do I need to get a 1000W?

Thanks
Click to expand...
There's no rule. The estimate can be either too high or too low. The best thing to do is come to a forum like this one and ask.
 
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