Enermax 353-watt bit weak?

iMacMart

iMacMart

iMacMart

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I thought my PSU was a bit on the weak side as it was passed from a friend after my last one blew up!!

Just had a look and its an Enermax EG365AX-VE (353 watt)

Got this running off it:

Sata 120gb Drive
Raptor 36gb Drive
NEC DVD dual layer
MSI CD/R burner
Zalman CNPS9500-LED Aero Flower Socket 939
ATI 850XT PE
3 x 80mm Case vans

I take it a better PSU would be advisable? Didn't really think about it before?

Summit like Enermax NoiseTaker 600W ATX Dual fan or the 620 perhaps!?!
 
That supply should be able to handle your current system without any problems. I wouldnt bother upgrading it unless you change that 850XT graphics card.

Just to give you some idea of computer load, my own system is as follows

Pentium 'Northwood' [email protected]
4x512meg DDR PC3500 (2gig total)
2xSamsung 160gig SATA disks
Geforce 6800GT overclocked to Ultra speeds
Sound Blaster Audigy
Gigabit PCI Lan Card
1 CDrom burner
1 DVDrom burner
3 80mm fans with LED's
1 normal 80mm fan.

I also have a rather nifty mains inline wattmeter, according to this, the PC is drawing 180watts during bootup, 140watts idle, and around 240watts when gaming or apps that heavily load the CPU (Prime95/folding/seti etc)

Considering that the PSU is probably only 65-70% efficient, and the wattmeter is on the 240V side of the PSU, the computer is probably only drawing around 170watt from the PSU.
 
What spec is your PSU Corasik?

My PSU has made a few strange sounds lately, a tap on the top of the case and it stops, just worried as it's gonna smoke on me :D

Cheers
 
Well, I've got a 450W PSU, its not a super brand or anything(Not a Qtec though), but it does the job. Im just thinking your hardware is probably no more energy hungry than mine, and Enermax PSU's are generally good quality.

What sort of noises is it making? Humm/buzz/clicking, or is it the PSU fan thats making noises. If its the fan, and it fails, then the PSU could overheat, and that wouldnt be too healthy.

If you dont have confidence in the PSU then you may be wise to replace it, but unless your planning a major upgrade, including a Crossfire graphics solution, then a 600W PSU would be total overkill for your system.

Between 400 and 500W is ideal for an good system with a couple of hard drives, and a single graphics card (even top of the range graphics). If you are the kinda of person that likes the idea of 7 hard drives, crossfire (or quad SLI) than 600+ would be better :).
 
Lol nah...


But yes its a humming sound, I've had it out a few times but can't see why it does it?


Maybe I'm just a flapper :eek:
 
Unless its severe, I wouldnt worry about a mild hum. The best 'test' for a PSU is to check its voltages, both under load, and system idle. There will normally be a small voltage drop, at full load, but everything should remain within ATX specs.

The motherboards voltage sensors are normally fairly inaccurate, but good enough to get a 'feel' for the PSU's health.
 
How can I check that when Im in the BOIS? I need to be in windows to run a game to stress test no?


Or am I missing summit?
 
Normally motherboards come with a little voltage monitor software, but if you cant find it MBM5 (google for motherboard monitor + mbm5) can detect most motherboards, and do it all for you.

You can often find them in bios too, you should consider the readings in bios as the system under moderate load (high cpu, but low gpu)
 
Tried MB5 before and it doesn't support my mobo!!

Will google it and see what I can find.......


appreciate your help though ;)
 
You could pop down to your local 'car accessory' shop, or DIY store, and pick up a cheap £10 draper digital multimeter. It may not be totally accurate, but chances are it will be considerably more accurate than the motherboard.

You can measure the most important (12V and 5V) power rails directly from one of the hard disk type 'molex' connectors. Just be carefull not to short out the connections with a single probe.
 
LOL........... I'm colour blind so I won't be pokin anything in anywhere :D

Mates a sparky though so he may have the tools for the job..!!!
 
Well, can ask your sparky friend, although not much need to worry about being colourblind to check the molex.

5V Ground Ground 12V is the pinout for a molex connector, you can use either ground with either voltage, so as long as you take an edge pin, and either of the 2 middle pins, you can measure the voltages. And the multimeter will tell you if your on 5v or 12v :)
 
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