Long overdue PC update - PSU question

Havana_UK · 4 Oct 2009 at 18:40

Hi all,

I'm thinking of doing a long overdue PC update, and was thinking of the following:

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - OEM
OcUK Value GeForce GTX 285 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)
Asus P6T Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard
OCZ Gold 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 2000MHz PC3-16000C10 Low-Voltage Triple Channel (OCZ3G2000LV6GK)
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366)

My question is: is my Enermax Liberty 620W PSU up to the job?

This will be replacements for the items in my spec.

Thanks for any help.

PermaBanned · 4 Oct 2009 at 18:43

I'd have gone for the UD5 personally, but wattage wise that PSU should be fine. You going to be using the same graphics? How many rails, what ampage and how efficient is it?

xGaffner · 4 Oct 2009 at 18:48

Wouldn't risk it mate, i'd just get a 650W Corsair if i was you.

Havana_UK · 4 Oct 2009 at 19:06

xGaffner said:
Wouldn't risk it mate, i'd just get a 650W Corsair if i was you.

Why would I switch my Enermax 620W for a Corsair 650W? Surely the additional 30W isn't what will cripple me and the Enermax was an exceptional PSU in its day. It's been running my PC flawlessly for many years now.

PermaBanned · 4 Oct 2009 at 19:07

Wattage isn't everything, as i asked before:

How many 12v Rails?
Ampage on the 12v Rails?
What's the efficiency rating?

Havana_UK · 4 Oct 2009 at 19:12

Hmm 2 x 12V I believe, 30A on each.

80%+ efficiency I believe...struggling to answer, I've had it for almost 5 years!

It is, or at least was, a very high quality PSU

/edit: Looks like Enermax still make it, or maybe a slightly newer version of it - here's a link: http://www.enermax.co.uk/products/power-supply/libertyeco.html

Havana_UK · 5 Oct 2009 at 19:00

Back to the first page, still wondering about this if anyone could help please.

I used the tool on the Corsair website to recommend what PSU I should go for and it suggested (for both my current spec and new proposed spec) that a 550W or greater PSU would be required.

sunama · 5 Oct 2009 at 19:48

Personally, I feel your Enermax 620w is more than upto the job.

I feel that a lot of people on this forum enjoy recommending people to spend more money than is necessary.

EffBee · 5 Oct 2009 at 19:53

Havana_UK said:
Why would I switch my Enermax 620W for a Corsair 650W? Surely the additional 30W isn't what will cripple me and the Enermax was an exceptional PSU in its day. It's been running my PC flawlessly for many years now.

It probably isn't supplying 620w anymore - power supplies age, losing power over time.

Havana_UK · 5 Oct 2009 at 19:55

sunama said:
Personally, I feel your Enermax 620w is more than upto the job.

I feel that a lot of people on this forum enjoy recommending people to spend more money than is necessary.

Thanks for the reassurance.

Maybe you have something there

Also now that OcUK don't sell Enermax PSUs anymore, no-one is recommending them, which is understandable. After all, OcUK are providing free forums to encourage people to dicuss the products they sell!

Havana_UK · 5 Oct 2009 at 20:09

Just checked my approx. power consumption using this tool: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

With my current setup, assuming 20% capacitor aging I need 423W, even assuming 50% aging I need only 529W, so I'm pretty confident.

With the proposed new setup the requirement is only fractionally higher at 533W (mainly through going from SLi to single card), and this too assumes 50% aging.

Sasahara · 6 Oct 2009 at 13:18

It should be fine, I doubt you have got anywhere near a 20% reduction from capacitor aging. 5-10% would be more likely.

As long as you combined +12v can supply your total power usuage you'll be fine. I'm not sure what that is, it's certainly not 30A x 2 as that would make it a 720w PSU before adding on the 3v & 5v output. ^^

Btw OC do sell Enermax PSUs via the rebadged brand Sapphire.