I have come across a new PC with sandybridge 2.7ghz dual core for £200 should i get it as a gaming s

6644kp

6644kp

6644kp

Associate
Joined
27 Nov 2010
Posts
534
Its brand new and these are the specs

Pentium Sandybridge G630 2.7Ghz Dual Core
8GB DDR3 RAM
1TB HDD
Basic Case (Its from a British computer manufactuerer)
Basic PSU
Basic DVD RW drive
Basic H61 mobo im guessing

Now I have tried very hard but I cant match a self build at this price due to in no small part the very expensive hdd's

Since the G630 is roughly equivelant to a Phenom II X4 @ 3.5 GHz I was thinking of getting a GTX 560TI for around £150-160 and getting toghter a very decent gaming rig for £350-£360

Should I do it?
 
 
djabs786 said:
If you get a 560 ti, you'd need to upgrade the PSU, because I think they'll just give you a 150w unbranded power supply.
Click to expand...

I think the PSU is better I have a 250W PSU in my current Packard Bell and it has on/off master switch this new one has it probably has a greater 300W one and a G630 + gtx 560 ti will not consume more than 200W under load I think it wil be fine I have been running a Radeon 4850 on a 250W generic PSU for two years now.
 
6644kp said:
I think the PSU is better I have a 250W PSU in my current Packard Bell and it has on/off master switch this new one has it probably has a greater 300W one and a G630 + gtx 560 ti will not consume more than 200W under load I think it wil be fine I have been running a Radeon 4850 on a 250W generic PSU for two years now.
Click to expand...


http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-review/7

Using a Socket 1366 system they measured 319W max, 169W average measured at the wall.
 
Last edited:
stulid said:
Still not convinced,
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/330

317Watts playing Crysis, again its with a more power hungry socket 1366 system.

Use a lower power card like the 6850.
Click to expand...

I think its that high due to the LGA 1366 QUAD CPU they use and a 80plus high wattage PSU which are ineffiecent at lower wattages check out the NCIX video there is a 70Watts increase in power consumption by the PSU itself when you upgrade from a low power psu to a 80+ high power psu

I think it will be fine
 
6644kp said:
I think its that high due to the LGA 1366 QUAD CPU they use and a 80plus high wattage PSU which are ineffiecent at lower wattages check out the NCIX video there is a 70Watts increase in power consumption by the PSU itself when you upgrade from a low power psu to a 80+ high power psu

I think it will be fine
Click to expand...

So how efficient do you think the cheaper one is going to be?
 
stulid said:
So how efficient do you think the cheaper one is going to be?
Click to expand...

+1

These are still switched mode power supplies - so a cheaper, lower quality one will have even worse performance and efficiency at low load (as well as full load) - presuming the power capacity is the same.

Also, bear in mind that in the video he upgraded from a 600W PSU to a 1250W PSU. As you can imagine - running such a massive PSU with such a relatively low-power system means that the load level is way down the PSUs efficiency curve compared to the smaller unit, so it makes sense that power consumption would go up in this (not particularly realistic) situation. However, going for a good quality 400-500W unit won't have this problem and will actually be able to delivery the power it promises to.

Also, as mentioned earlier - if you want to put a £100+ graphics card in that system then you really should upgrade the PSU to a quality on. At full load, the GTX 560Ti on it's own will draw 170W from the PSU. Once you add in the 65W from the CPU and the other system power draws then the total power usage will be relatively high and not something I would trust a basic, low quality PSU to supply reliably and cleanly.
 
Last edited:
stulid said:
So how efficient do you think the cheaper one is going to be?
Click to expand...

60% to 70% seems to be fine.

Reason im more confident than others is well I have been running a Core 2 Duo @ 2.13Ghz with 2GB RAM and Asus Radeon 4850 for two years now on a generic 250W PSU.

Now I play games such as GTA:TBOGT for hours and even ran heaven 2.5 at 1080p + 8XAA and 16XAF for an hour so I got like 2FPS average.

Now you tell me surly my current setup consumes 175W at load right and my PSU is only a 250W no 80+ no nothing and its still fine for two years now.

I think many people on ocuk forums are too scared of cheaper PSU and write them off out of hand because mine should have blow up ages ago :p

Anyway maybe I'm gonna go all out Quad Core 3.0Ghz Sandybridge and 6970/570 performance and spend around £500 and self build however this scenario would mean the GTX 570 would have to come down another £40 or the 7870 equals it in performance and costs £200

Although my dillema is I dont want to spend too much right when the next gen of consoles are going to start next year, im afriad my new PC will be obsolete and strugelling with games too soon.

I'm not sure yet what to do. :(
 
The problem with generic PSUs is that you don't know what you're getting. You may get lucky (like you seem to have) and receive a PSU that remains solid for a few years. However you will find many that can't get close to outputting their rated wattages without excessive ripple and out-of-spec voltages or they simply explode if you try.

After doing a LOT of PC hardware stuff I think I can say that the paranoia about low quality PSUs is justified. Since they cause so many problems (like when people think that a £25 600W PSU is fine for powering their gaming rig) I would never suggest anyone use a no-brand PSU in a PC that uses a half-decent graphics card.

Here is a roundup of some cheap PSUs done by Jonnyguru (a well respected PSU review site) using the same testing methods they use for the branded PSUs they review. It is quite an interesting read.
 
Last edited:
I avoid generic PSUs, however the one that came with my old packard bell machine, a 250w FSP china special, ran my 2.8Ghz core2quad, and 6770 for nigh on 4 years with no problems at all.

It's kinda' the luck of the draw; it might come with a power supply that'll last you years, or it might be terrible and not last a month..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom