I said in the video a 450 works but if I bought a PSU for that system Id probably buy the RM 550/650
How many watts does your system actually need?
- Thread starter tinytomlogan
- Start date
I said in the video a 450 works but if I bought a PSU for that system Id probably buy the RM 550/650
zherial
New member
Hey Tom, you should've also mentioned the efficiency curve. The RM-450, being a gold rated PSU, should be at ~90% efficiency during the OCCT/unigine benchmarks. So if it pulls 430W from the wall, the components themselves only pull ~390W, which is even less(!) than what you mentioned. The PSU wasn't even that worked up and that's why the fan barely started spinning. I think that even with PSU degradation taken into consideration (another myth which needs to be clarified), a 450W PSU should be enough for such a rig.
remember300
Active member
i mentioned efficiencies earlier, and tbh if you look at that curve your probs looking at 94% at most and thats around the mid level draw of 225V
davev8
New member
Yes i was going to say but you beet me to it ,is that the psu OUTPUT is 450 watts but it was INPUT watts thats was measured, so tom had another 40 watts to play with as its 92% efficient the input will be 8 watts per 100w more than what the rig uses from the psu
i use this calculator http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
i fill in the spec of toms rig and it cam up with min psu 434 watts recommended 484 watts
so its nice for me to know that this calculator tallies with toms real world findings
i use this calculator http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
i fill in the spec of toms rig and it cam up with min psu 434 watts recommended 484 watts
so its nice for me to know that this calculator tallies with toms real world findings
NeverBackDown
AMD Enthusiast
Keep in mind max efficiency for any PSU is at 50% load. So you will not get the max efficiency at full load.
davev8
New member
yes you are correct...i see this psu has a pretty flat efficiency curve with only 2 watts variation across the board
I think tom should do a follow up vid showing the difference in 12v output of a cheap psu and a good one
EG i have a trust 420 watt psu that has 16 amps on the 12v rail
and a Sevanteam 400watt that has 30amp total (16 amp X2)
and a 350 watt hiper that has 22amp
The Trust is Sh1te but its its a lower mid priced psu at £30 not a bargain basement at £15
especially when you can buy a
Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2 with a 28 amp 12v rail for £2 more
1% difference at best so stop talking out of your arse. Eff % at 100% is still tested for the 80%+ rating.
daveygamer
New member
hello what psu would you say i need
i have i5 3570k
2x 7870 hawks
2 sata drives
1 ssd
1blu-ray drive
6 leg 120 fans
ga-z77-ud5h
at the moment i use an old ocz 1000watt psu but time to get a new psu what size psu would you think i would need
i have i5 3570k
2x 7870 hawks
2 sata drives
1 ssd
1blu-ray drive
6 leg 120 fans
ga-z77-ud5h
at the moment i use an old ocz 1000watt psu but time to get a new psu what size psu would you think i would need
Last edited:
Scoob
New member
I did a bit of research into this myself a while back, indeed I think I posted a topic on these very forums.
Anyway, picked up another power meter wall plug thingy the other day and did some tests. My system, when pushed in either gaming or the Heaven benchmark, pulls around 530w in total, not too bad considering it's an overclocked 2500k (so not as power efficient as the newer Ivy B. etc.) with a pair of GTX 680's - 2500k is @ 4.6 currently and the 680's are at 1200/7000.
The BIG thing, well at least for me, is this is power draw from the wall for the entire system - i.e. monitor etc. as well - so there are other things plugged in to the socket being measured too, here's a list:
- The PC components above plus 3x 120mm fans.
- 24" Monitor
- Illuminated Keyboard
- Speakers with Sub
- External Pump for Water cooling
- 4x 180mm fans on external rad
- My laptop dock with a laptop charging in it (always on, fiddly to unplug the dock lol)
So, that's a few items for that 530w. Interestingly, my 860i PSU apparently only spins up its fans when it hits a 400w+ load - I only rarely hear the fans spin up. My PSU is Platinum rated apparently and, using the monitoring software that came with it, it usually reports around 99% efficiency under these sort of loads, not a huge deal of course, but quite satisfying to see.
Anyway, just thought people would like another comparison to confirm that a dedicated gaming rig, even one running a pair of GPU's, doesn't need a 1200w PSU. My friend was actually running TWO PSU's in his old rig, one for the "system" and one just for the GPU's, for 2200w of PSU power all in. I did point out it was somewhat overkill, but he wasn't having it...until I replumbed it for him using just the "small" 1000w PSU and it was much more stable...
Cheers,
Scoob.
Anyway, picked up another power meter wall plug thingy the other day and did some tests. My system, when pushed in either gaming or the Heaven benchmark, pulls around 530w in total, not too bad considering it's an overclocked 2500k (so not as power efficient as the newer Ivy B. etc.) with a pair of GTX 680's - 2500k is @ 4.6 currently and the 680's are at 1200/7000.
The BIG thing, well at least for me, is this is power draw from the wall for the entire system - i.e. monitor etc. as well - so there are other things plugged in to the socket being measured too, here's a list:
- The PC components above plus 3x 120mm fans.
- 24" Monitor
- Illuminated Keyboard
- Speakers with Sub
- External Pump for Water cooling
- 4x 180mm fans on external rad
- My laptop dock with a laptop charging in it (always on, fiddly to unplug the dock lol)
So, that's a few items for that 530w. Interestingly, my 860i PSU apparently only spins up its fans when it hits a 400w+ load - I only rarely hear the fans spin up. My PSU is Platinum rated apparently and, using the monitoring software that came with it, it usually reports around 99% efficiency under these sort of loads, not a huge deal of course, but quite satisfying to see.
Anyway, just thought people would like another comparison to confirm that a dedicated gaming rig, even one running a pair of GPU's, doesn't need a 1200w PSU. My friend was actually running TWO PSU's in his old rig, one for the "system" and one just for the GPU's, for 2200w of PSU power all in. I did point out it was somewhat overkill, but he wasn't having it...until I replumbed it for him using just the "small" 1000w PSU and it was much more stable...
Cheers,
Scoob.
daveygamer
New member
what size psu would think i would need
i have i5 3570k
2x 7870 hawks
2 sata drives
1 ssd
1blu-ray drive
6 leg 120 fans
ga-z77-ud5h
at the moment i use an old ocz 1000watt psu but time to get a new psu what size psu would you think i would need
i have i5 3570k
2x 7870 hawks
2 sata drives
1 ssd
1blu-ray drive
6 leg 120 fans
ga-z77-ud5h
at the moment i use an old ocz 1000watt psu but time to get a new psu what size psu would you think i would need
Last edited:
budget might help but an RM650/750 would be fine
Scoob
New member
May I ask why you feel it's time to get a new PSU if the existing one is doing the job? I replaced my old Corsair 750w with the new 860i only because I though the old unit had a problem, turned out to be something else entirely... oops lol.
Possibly I'm wrong, but I'd have thought you OCZ, being a good brand, would remain a good unit for years to come. With modern hardware typically using less and less power, I can't see myself needing a PSU larger than my 860i unless some standard change to power connectors occurs.
Just interested in your thinking on this, though of course I totally get it if you just fancy buying new stuff lol.
Scoob.
I know for a fact my system doesn't pull anywhere near 1200 Watts. I'd guess that with my overclocking and the components I'm using I'm about 600 Watts from the wall socket with everything loaded to 100%.
But I purchased the AX1200 PSU that I use because it had a 7 year warranty, ran silently at my load level and enough capacity that it gave me the option in the future to use more power hungry parts. I was considering going Dual XEON's with the Z9 board before the E5 reviews showed that the XEON chips couldn't overclock. I was also considering Tri-SLI at one time although I didn't go that way eventually.
So for me I have 1200 Watts and 7 year warranty. I'm pretty much not going to buy a new PSU for the next 5 years (at the end of which my warranty ends). If this PSU fails any time within the next 5 I'll just RMA it and I know I over purchased enough capacity for any future build I intend to make.
But I purchased the AX1200 PSU that I use because it had a 7 year warranty, ran silently at my load level and enough capacity that it gave me the option in the future to use more power hungry parts. I was considering going Dual XEON's with the Z9 board before the E5 reviews showed that the XEON chips couldn't overclock. I was also considering Tri-SLI at one time although I didn't go that way eventually.
So for me I have 1200 Watts and 7 year warranty. I'm pretty much not going to buy a new PSU for the next 5 years (at the end of which my warranty ends). If this PSU fails any time within the next 5 I'll just RMA it and I know I over purchased enough capacity for any future build I intend to make.
Kaapstad
Active member
You can get quite a difference in efficiency on a PSU depending on load.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_Plus
hi there! i have 530 watt psu ( http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001964 ). is this enough for my build? im a new pc builder and this is my first to build one. just a low end pc i guess. i'm just a moderate pc user/gamer mainly dota 2.
-intel g3258 (plan to oc, just to experience or any benefits i can get)
-msi h81m p33
-1tb sata wd sata blue
-8 gb ram ripjaws x
-palit gt730 gddr5 64 bit
-xigmatek dark knight night hawk cpu cooler
-6 xigmatek 120mm fans
-nzxt sentry mix 2 fan controller (acc)
-nzxt rgb hue led controller (acc)
i plan on upgrading my build in the near future. any feedback is much appreciated. thanks!
-intel g3258 (plan to oc, just to experience or any benefits i can get)
-msi h81m p33
-1tb sata wd sata blue
-8 gb ram ripjaws x
-palit gt730 gddr5 64 bit
-xigmatek dark knight night hawk cpu cooler
-6 xigmatek 120mm fans
-nzxt sentry mix 2 fan controller (acc)
-nzxt rgb hue led controller (acc)
i plan on upgrading my build in the near future. any feedback is much appreciated. thanks!
Thelosouvlakia
Classy-Fried-Chicken
It will handle it EASILY you system won't draw more than 200Watts under load!
And the PSU is futureproof enough. You could add a GTX 750ti and there you've got an awesome budget performer
And the PSU is futureproof enough. You could add a GTX 750ti and there you've got an awesome budget performer
barnsley
born in a.....
Its not an ideal brand but if thats the only psu you can get it'll be ok. You should get rid of three of those fans, the fan controller and led controller so you can atleast get an ssd/a graphics card that'll play games.
It will handle it EASILY you system won't draw more than 200Watts under load!
And the PSU is futureproof enough. You could add a GTX 750ti and there you've got an awesome budget performer
thank you very much for the fast reply. and yes i'm considering the gtx 750ti for an upgrade.
. but for now, i'll stick with the gt 730 as i plan on ocing the cpu. and i read that ocing might damage any components when done wrong, and i'm afraid this might happen to me. just to be safe. ^_^--------------
i already got the psu so i'm gonna stick to it. i'll consider your suggestion on removing those acc. and getting a more powerful graphics card.
but my knowledge on ocing is not that good and it's holding me back as i might damage a component (e.g. graphics card) so i'll be putting a less powerful gpu just to be safe.
thank you and thank you for the suggestion...
Last edited by a moderator:
Feronix
New member
thank you very much for the fast reply. and yes i'm considering the gtx 750ti for an upgrade.
The only thing that you can break when OCing your CPU is... your CPU. Potentially your motherboard if you get a really shit one. Also, I'm fairly certain you cannot overclock on the H81 chipset?
I'd follow Barnsley's advice and save up for the GTX 750 Ti. You could even use the stock CPU cooler for now to save even more money and as said you really don't need 6 fans for this set-up, nor a fan controller.
Lastly, I get that fancy lighting in your case is cool and all, but these really aren't things you should be spending money on with your budget. Get the core components now (mobo, CPU, GPU, HDD, case, PSU, RAM), then start saving up for extras such as an aftermarket CPU cooler, fans or lighting.
