Is 550W enough for this setup :(

[Kuma]

Long Time troller, 1st time poster..
I recently upgraded my vid card to a X1900XTX. While my system before this upgrade was running very smooth not I experience some freezes, occasional reboots and all around just bleh performance. After reading through the posts here I believe my 500W rosewill PSU is the culprit. Since I am cleaning up my case for a lil bling (not too much) I was looking at the Ultra X2 550W PSU however dont know if that will suffice. My setup is as follows

P4 630 3.0@ 3.8ghz w/ Aqua Gate Mini R80
X1900XTX @ 650mhz/770mhz - stock fan set at 100%
1 GB Corsair XMS PRO DDR2 675mhz @ 1.9 Voltz CAS 4
1 WD 400gb HDD
1 Hp Lightscribe DVD/CD Burner
Mitsumi Floppy Drive

Currently powered by a rosewill 500W craptastic PSU all crammed into an Aspire Qpack.
I think a good 550W PSU Would suffice however I haven't ruled out a SIlverstone 620W if I can get it to fit lol.

 

[amd ati FO SHO]

Ultra isn't quite as reliable as...

Ocz Powerstream 520w, 600w
PC& Cooling 510 Turbo-Cool
Antec 550w True Control

 

[Kuma]

I Was looking at a custom Antec True Power 550 from Performance PCS.
Can anyone vouch for this PSU specifically from Performance PCS, not in general.
unfortunately it needs to look decent too :\

 

[BurntToast]

I second amd ati FO SHO.

The PC& Cooling 510 Turbo-Cool is KICK ASS! Ocz Powerstream 600w is good for modular. But I am NOT a fan of Antec True Power power supplies. The few that I owned didn’t do very well at high loads.

You might also want to look into the Enermax Liberty 620w, it is a good modular power supply. The ENERMAX Noisetaker 600w is another good PSU as well.

My recommendation would go something like this..

Non-Modular:
PC& Cooling 510
ENERMAX Noisetaker 600w

Modular:
Enermax Liberty 620w
Ocz Powerstream 600w

For your case you might want to go modular, but then again I managed to fit a PCP&C PSU into my Xpack.

 

[Kuma]

I have consistenly heard good things about PC& Cooling but I do need to go modular for space. I'll go with OCZ 600W for now. When I build my full tower I think am going with PC& Cooling.

Thanks guys. Wish I found these forums earlier LOL
had to learn alot the hard way

 

[jonnyGURU]

Modular:
Ocz Powerstream 600w

Ahem... Powerstreams aren't modular.

The X2 550W is a fine power supply. Certainly wouldn't be any worse than an Antec True Control. But whatever...

Anyhoo.... IMHO, even the Rosewill that you have should be enough for a single X1900XTX upgrade. If you have the RP550, that's made by ATNG and actually has 26A on a single 12V rail. Even if you have the newer modular version, you're talking about a pair of rails @ 18A/16A and a combined of 30A. It's not like you're running Crossfire. You have one hard drive, one optical... I'm not seeing anything really taxing here. Even the Aquagate pulls less than 1 Amp.

Are you sure the card isn't bad? I'd hate to say, but the problem could also be motherboard or RAM related too.

Oh.. and for the record, neither the Powerstream or PCP&C will fit in the X-Qpack. I can't remember, but I don't think the Noisetaker will either. The Liberty and X2 will. As will the Antec.

 

[amd ati FO SHO]

Just Fyi for anyone else reading, modular is great when u need space, but if you don't its better without it being modular.

3. DON'T LOSE POWER WITH MODULAR PLUGS
Due to their look, convenience, and cost savings for manufacturers, modular plugs have become a popular power supply feature. Unfortunately, there has been little or no discussion of the impact of this feature on overall performance and reliability. The fact is, modular plugs limit power by adding to electrical resistance. The voltage drop can be as much as would occur in 2 feet of standard wire. Worse yet, modular plugs utilize delicate pins that can easily loosen, corrode, and burn, creating the potential for a major system failure. That's why pros specify uninterrupted wire!

Powerstreams are NOT modular. Modstreams Are.

 

[jonnyGURU]

3. DON'T LOSE POWER WITH MODULAR PLUGS
Due to their look, convenience, and cost savings for manufacturers, modular plugs have become a popular power supply feature. Unfortunately, there has been little or no discussion of the impact of this feature on overall performance and reliability. The fact is, modular plugs limit power by adding to electrical resistance. The voltage drop can be as much as would occur in 2 feet of standard wire. Worse yet, modular plugs utilize delicate pins that can easily loosen, corrode, and burn, creating the potential for a major system failure. That's why pros specify uninterrupted wire!

Yes, yes... This marketing spin has been posted more frequently than the link to ExtremeTech's issues with PSU's in high end SLI systems.

Do yourself a favor... Measure the resistance in 2 feet of standard wire. Now put a 40A load on 2 feet of wire and measure the voltage drop. Yeah.. you got it. Marketing spin.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Here... Read something that's not marketing spin:

Picking the right power supply

Resistance: Modular connectors, adapters and splitters.

Years ago, there was this cat named Ohm and he explained to us that resistance sucks.

Ohm’s law as it pertains to resistance in electrical current is R (resistance) X I (current) = V (voltage.) So you can see, the greater the resistance, caused by either length of wire, gage of wire or having to go through connectors and/or the greater the current, the less voltage you get.

In simple terms, having a modular power supply may drop your voltage a little because of the resistance between the modular interface and the cable. And using a 20-to-24 pin adapter or any kind of splitter can cause a slight drop in voltage because of the resistance caused by any imperfect contact between the pins of such an adapter or splitter. But on that same note, every single connection you make (PSU to drive, or motherboard, or video card) is another connector that is going to create a little more resistance.

There’s been a lot of scare tactics used to convince people to not go with a modular power supply. But the reality is, even at high loads the resistance is quite minimal if the correct measures are taken. For example: A PCI-e cable is going to have less resistance if there’s 3 12V leads on each side of the cable and 3 grounds on each side of the cable. Unfortunately, some modular power supplies may only have one or two wires split into three for each row for a PCI-e connector. Some homework needs to be done on how the cables are constructed when considering a modular power supply.

And when using a modular power supply, adapters or splitter, make very certain that the connection between both interfaces is secure, firm and flush. Make sure all of your connectors are fully seated. This goes for standard power supplies and the connections you make to the motherboard, your drives, etc. as well. Because if you have a connector that is not fully seated, you create resistance. That resistance not only can cause a drop in voltage at the end of that particular wire, but also create heat. I’ve actually seen BURNT connectors from cables not being plugged all of the way into their sockets.

One last thing; Gold plated contacts. They don't do any good unless they're interfaced with gold plated connectors. In fact, the mating of dissimilar metals is actually more prone to corrosion than if both connectors were tin. So if you get a modular power supply with gold connectors, keep in mind that it may be better to have gold only on the power supply side where the modular interfaces are also gold plated, but not on the component side. Personally, I haven't seen hard drives and motherboards with gold plated power connectors.

In PC Power and Cooling's "Power Supply Myths exposed" they state that "the voltage drop can be as much as would occur in 2 feet of standard wire." Actually, two feet of wire does not present much resistance. But they do make the point that they may "can easily loosen, corrode, and burn." That should read, "corrode or loosen and burn." Fears of corrosion are rather unrealistic. A power supply connector has as much chance of corrosion as any other contact point in your PC. Your video card? Your RAM? Even the connectors to your drives, motherboard, etc. Obviously, when you double the number of connectors you double the chance of corrosion, but unless you live on a House board, corrosion is rare. The loosen and burn I explain. Solution: There's no reason to keep unplugging and re-plugging your power connectors. Make sure they're in tight and leave 'em alone.

That's quoted from my yet unfinished "Finding the right PSU" currently posted as a sticky at Anandtech.

 

[Kuma]

Thanks for the replies. After looking over my case last night I realized something that I should have mentioned. I am replacing the clear acrylic panels with black aluminum mesh because I felt there were not enough vents in this lil case. While cutting some mesh last night, I noticed the top of the fan on my PSU is pressed against the top acrylic panel. Looks like it gets soo hot that it warped the panel (thank god its being replaced). Am assuming the hot air that is supposed to be pushed out ie being forced back in as it nowhere to go. Seems like a stupid question but would this cause a performance loss in the PSU ?

 

[[Spectre]]

Thanks for the replies. After looking over my case last night I realized something that I should have mentioned. I am replacing the clear acrylic panels with black aluminum mesh becuase I felt there are no vents in this lil case. While cutting some mesh last night, I noticed the top of the fan on my PSU is pressed against the top acrylic panel. Looks like it gets so hot that it warped the panel (thank god its being replaced). Am assuming the hot air that is supposed to be pushed out ie beign forced back in as it nowhere to go. Seems like a stupid question but would this cause a performance loss in the PSU ?

Are you saying you have the PSU mounted so the there is a fan pointing up rather than down at the processor?

 

[Kuma]

Yes, the fan is pointing upwards. Point down on the processor wouldn't that heat up my CPU ?. Inside the case the PSU is not above the CPU. It is closer to the Vid Card. Without modding the chassis you can only mount it in one location.

 

[[Spectre]]

Yes, the fan is pointing upwards. Point down on the processor ok explain that one. In the case the PSU is not above the CPU. It is closer to the Vid Card.

Oh you have a Q-pack....still the PSU fan should not be obstructed...that obviously reduces airflow, which reduces cooling ability, which affects longevity and performance.

 

[Kuma]

Oh you have a Q-pack....still the PSU fan should not be obstructed...that obviously reduces airflow, which reduces cooling ability, which affects longevity and performance.

Thats what I thought.. uggh I can be stupid at times. I was killing my own PSU

maybe I should find one without a top mounted fan.

 

[jc@ultra]

You're installing the PSU upside down. The fan should face down, even in the X-Qpack. This will not overheat your CPU since the PSU is sucking air into itself off of the CPU.

 

[Kuma]

You're installing the PSU upside down. The fan should face down, even in the X-Qpack. This will not overheat your CPU since the PSU is sucking air into itself off of the CPU.

Learn something new everyday . When I install the new PSU i will try it, thanks. In the meantime, reviewing the power requirements for the X1900 and it states 30a on the 12v. My psu is only pushing 26a on the 12v so its gotta go. Ahh reading is fundamental

 

[Kuma]

New PSU ordered. Thanks everyone .

 

[Rishy]

what did you go with ?