Amount of Power Needed?

A

alaracon

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Messages
86
I am putting together a template for a new computer that I will be building in May-June. I was wondering how much wattage is needed and if my initial choices of the OCZ GameXStream 700W power supply would be sufficient.

The system is tentatively going to have the following parts:

4GB - 2 X 2GB either 800MHz or 1000MHz DDR2 memory
Intel Quad Core Q6600 processor
2 x 250GB Hard Drives in a RAID0 Array
20X DVD-Burner
20X DVD-Player
Possibly the ZALMAN CNPS9700 CPU Cooler
Either a single 8800 GT or 8800 GTS / Dual 9600 GTs

Do you all think the 700W is sufficient for all that or should I think about a bigger power supply?
 
That is enough power, but I'm not too sure about that PSU.
 
alaracon said:
I was wondering how much wattage is needed and if my initial choices of the OCZ GameXStream 700W power supply would be sufficient.
?
Click to expand...

I recommend ditching that OCZ GameXStream PSU. It's based off the FSP Episilon PSU design which has out of spec ripple, or voltage fluctuations, at high loads that can damage or kill your system. Granted, you may not reach such high loads but why pay for PSU that can kill your system?

Also, remember that wattage doesn't mean as much these days. What matters most is where those watts are being delivered. For current rigs, it's all about how much amps are on the +12V rail since most PC parts draw their power from there. The more amps you have, the more upgrades (hard drives, video cards, PCI cards, etc) you can add. You determine the amperage on the +12V rails by first finding out what's the total combined, max load, combined or max wattage aside for the +12V rails/section alone. Then divide that total by 12 and you get how much amps the PSU has on the +12V rail.

That's the correct way to find out how much amps a power supply has. Don't add up the amps on the +12V rail to figure out the amperage. Doesn't work that way. If the total combined or max wattage can't be found on the power suppply, check the manufacturer's page for that PSU for that info. If the manufacturer doesn't provide that information, it's generally a good sign for you to drop that power supply from consideration.

However, amperage isn't the only consideration when buying a power supply. You should also look at quality. Though amperage does sometimes help determine the quality of the power supply.

But to answer your question in a roundabout way. the Corsair 620HX 620W PSU is more than enough for your rig. It has 50A on the +12V rail, which is plenty for your system.
 
In the past I would get Antec power supplies because I used to work at a computer shop where that was our primary install for a PSU. They worked just fine there and I have three systems running them just fine now for a couple of years. However, I have noticed that the newer Antec power supplies aren't ramping up the power and staying competitive pricewise.

So instead of going with Antec, I am shopping around for a good power supply between the 600-700W range that has a decent price. The OCZ sells well on Newegg and has a lower price than the Corsair but both look good.

I also just noticed that the Corsair is a modular power supply. Have you ever used one of their products before? The price difference is beginning not to bother me as much now.
 
Yes I am, at this moment, using a Corsair 520HX 520W PSU. It's been great so far. It's quiet and the modular cables makes cable management a bit easier. In addition, the Corsair 620HX that I recommended earlier has been properly and thouroughly tested:
http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTMwMSwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0
http://jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=21

I would gladly pay the extra money for the Corsair over the OCZ. While yes the OCZ offers more power on the +12V rail, 56A compared to the 50A on the Corsair, the OCZ can't deliver that amount of power cleanly and within ATX specifications. Like I said earlier, it's based off the FSP Episilon PSU design which has out of spec ripple, or voltage fluctuations, at high loads that can damage or kill your system. In fact, the OCZ can only provide 500W of clean power. Any higher and you get that out of spec ripple. The Corsair can provide 620W of clean power.

So the Corsair PSU is the better buy. The OCZ GameXStream is a good 500W PSU but shoddy as a 700W PSU. If you're gonna pay for 700W of power, you better damn well get 700W of usable power.

Oh and you can get the Corsair PSU for cheaper here:
Corsair 620HX 620W PSU - $139

And again, wattage should not be the only factor in your PSU choices. Refer to my last power about the amperage. And read this FAQ:
http://jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1036
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top