Effect of PSU on room temperature

OpenToSuggestions · 13 Oct 2019 at 12:32

Hey all.
I live in a new build house and the upstairs gets stupidly hot in the summer. My 'games room' is in the 2nd bedroom. In the winter I rarely even turn the heating on upstairs.
I have a portable aircon unit I bought on FB marketplace (£45!) but it really is not practical to use due to the size and noise.
I have had a ceiling fan installed last week. This will help quite a bit as I had one in my previous house.

This brings me to my question:
I currently have a Corsair TX750W PSU. I have owned it at least 10 years and it causes me zero hassle (aside from not being modular!). It is '80 plus' rated.
Would a newer PSU such as a Platinum or Titanium rated model have any notable effect on room temperature due to the reduction in heat output?

EsaT · 13 Oct 2019 at 13:07

80+ Titanium PSU would likely decrease idle/desktop heat production by 15W and 30-35W under load.
Assuming it's PC in your signature.

OpenToSuggestions · 13 Oct 2019 at 17:47

EsaT said:
80+ Titanium PSU would likely decrease idle/desktop heat production by 15W and 30-35W under load.
Assuming it's PC in your signature.

It is

.

pastymuncher · 13 Oct 2019 at 19:16

The heat produced by a decent psu is nothing compared to what the cpu and gpu will chuck out. If the psu is in it's own compartment or at the bottom of the case sucking air from outside the case it will run much cooler than the old way of having the psu at the top of a case and using it as a extra exhaust fan. That was always a bad idea. Most of the best psu's these days don't even run the fan until the psu hit's a certain load or temp. However, in your case I would be looking at buying a new psu because it's 10 years old and a modern gold rated or higher will be much more efficient. I wouldn't go crazy and spend a fortune on a Titanium or Platinum rated one because the amount of heat it will dump into your bedroom will be insignificant compared to the rest of the pc.

OpenToSuggestions · 13 Oct 2019 at 20:38

pastymuncher said:
The heat produced by a decent psu is nothing compared to what the cpu and gpu will chuck out. If the psu is in it's own compartment or at the bottom of the case sucking air from outside the case it will run much cooler than the old way of having the psu at the top of a case and using it as a extra exhaust fan. That was always a bad idea. Most of the best psu's these days don't even run the fan until the psu hit's a certain load or temp. However, in your case I would be looking at buying a new psu because it's 10 years old and a modern gold rated or higher will be much more efficient. I wouldn't go crazy and spend a fortune on a Titanium or Platinum rated one because the amount of heat it will dump into your bedroom will be insignificant compared to the rest of the pc.

Perhaps my focus should be on the GPU TDP next time around? The 980Ti is a heat monster.....it is just a shame that the GPU market is horrific value at the moment. Heck, even the new 1660Ti is slower.

Minstadave · 13 Oct 2019 at 21:31

pastymuncher said:
The heat produced by a decent psu is nothing compared to what the cpu and gpu will chuck out.

This.

CPU/GPU are the low hanging fruit, not the PSU.

moogle · 13 Oct 2019 at 22:50

I think OP is confusing how much PSU capacity they have with the amount of power it uses. You could have a 2KW PSU but you will only ever use as much as your components demand, and whilst inefficient PSUs will produce more heat in converting AC to DC, it's still pretty small compared to the heat output of your other components (CPU and GPU depending on what you're doing, but since the PC is in a games room I guess playing games so the GPU).

As others have said, getting a more efficient GPU would reduce the heat output but is the heat such a big problem? I end up playing more games during the colder months to heat up the room but it's never so bad I need to stop playing (until it gets warmer!).

EsaT · 14 Oct 2019 at 09:44

OpenToSuggestions said:
Perhaps my focus should be on the GPU TDP next time around? The 980Ti is a heat monster.....it is just a shame that the GPU market is horrific value at the moment. Heck, even the new 1660Ti is slower.

Actually 1660 Ti performs quite nicely.
It's 1650 which is pure model numbering fraud/scam and slower than even 1060.
https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_radeon_rx_5700_and_5700_xt_review,13.html

Techpowerup has good graphics card power consumption measurements.
If you have PC powered most of the time remember to take also idle consumption into account.
Also remember that factory overclocked non-reference models have worser power efficiency as rule and they output more heat per performance than reference cards.
In fact they also often have worser idle consumption.

The more you have PC running the more important those differences become in long run.
So in such case would suggest 80+ Platinum PSU, which doesn't cost that much extra.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/seas...-platinum-modular-power-supply-ca-06r-ss.html
For (decade old) 80+ Gold, which should be now standard, best priced is Seasonic Focus based Phanteks Amp.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/phanteks-amp-650w-80-plus-gold-modular-power-supply-ca-09q-pt.html
(Corsair RM is step down in secondary capacitor quality)

JasonM · 31 Oct 2019 at 14:54

Something that can be done to reduce heat is under-volt the components.

For example i'm running an i7 8700 (non K) and it's down 0.09v from stock, that alone is taking maybe 10c from peak core temp. It's loads of hassle to setup and keep the machine stable, but you be surprised how much it reduces heat and fan noise, I also have a theory it extends component life, VRM's will have a much easier time with reduced CPU voltage. In the past I've even under-volted the chip set and had a marked reduction in system temp. Even memory will under-volt, i'm running Kingston Fury 2666 at 1.15v, it's solid stable no issues.

Your success at under-volting largely depends on the quality of your PSU. so higher quality PSU's with less ripple you can normally under-volt more. 10 years ago on an i5 750 I had an OCZ Silver PSU, I changed to a Seasonic X650, that same machine would under-volt more once the Seasonic X replaced the OCZ.

pastymuncher · 31 Oct 2019 at 19:09

^Ban!! This is overclockers not undervolters.

JasonM · 31 Oct 2019 at 22:27

pastymuncher said:
^Ban!! This is overclockers not undervolters.

When you own a non-K CPU you have to have some hobby, and messing with undervolting is only option

Quartz · 31 Oct 2019 at 22:53

OpenToSuggestions said:
I live in a new build house and the upstairs gets stupidly hot in the summer.

Make sure you have a through draught of air. Open a window or door downstairs and open a window in your games room. Ensure all the doors between stay open. Hanging a wet towel will also helpl cool the air.

EsaT · 1 Nov 2019 at 19:27

pastymuncher said:
^Ban!! This is overclockers not undervolters.

Why not just then change name to overvolters&space heater builders?