measuring how many watts system is using

paradisiac · 5 Mar 2011 at 12:26

is there an app that measures the actual wattage the components are pulling from the psu?
think the BSOD issue i was getting with my mates i7 build is down to the fact he only had a 600w psu, but is there any way in testing what is actually being pulled? i know each component has its only rating and that, but something more accurate.

Hotwired · 5 Mar 2011 at 12:38

Nope.

Best thing to do is get a plug-in meter and read off it how much is being drawn by the computer.

Also if it is a 600W psu there should be no problem in running an i7 rig unless it's stacked with several top end graphics cards.

Random example: my i5 750 clocked at 3.4 plus my 4890, that draws 322W when running prime95 and furmark.

paradisiac · 5 Mar 2011 at 12:47

i7 950 Bloomfield
GA-X58-USB3
6 x Corsair XMS3 1600MHz 9-9-9-24 1.65v
Zotac GTX480
4x SATAII HDDs
1x SATAII DVD/RW
3x 120mm Case Fans
Corsair CX600

Hotwired · 5 Mar 2011 at 12:54

At worst with stress programs running it's not going to hit 600W which is apparently the minimum required for a 480 in a system.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2977/...x-470-6-months-late-was-it-worth-the-wait-/19

paradisiac · 5 Mar 2011 at 12:56

ok, have just fitted a 1000w coolmaster psu in and no errors at all so far.

Semple · 5 Mar 2011 at 13:03

How old is his PSU? overtime they degrade and provide a bit less power. I have an i7 with a 5770 running off of 600W (inc 4 hdd, 1 dvd/rw).

paradisiac · 5 Mar 2011 at 13:05

it was purchased as new the same time as the other components, and has had BSOD from day one. i have never managed to get it to pass memtest with all 6 sticks of ram installed, but with the new psu its on its second cycle without errors, so im hoping this may be the answer.

paradisiac · 5 Mar 2011 at 13:38

used the http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine calculator and it says minimum 546w recommended 596w, so 600w was borderline, or are these not accurate?

Semple · 5 Mar 2011 at 13:45

They're only to be used as a guideline. Your system may take a bit more or a bit less than what is stated.

paradisiac · 5 Mar 2011 at 13:48

memtest errored on cycle 3

LiamJ · 5 Mar 2011 at 14:04

A RAM error almost certainly.

paradisiac · 5 Mar 2011 at 14:08

looking that way. so now 1 stick at a time, which i wouldnt mind, but like i said, the first 2 cycles had no errors, so how long do you run it on each stick before deciding its ok?

Cycrow · 5 Mar 2011 at 14:47

Is there an overclock on the i7 ?

With all 6 ram slots filled it means u have to push the system harder for an overclock

Also the wattage of the psu doesn't mean all the much. It depends on the make and quaility as well
A decent 600w psu could prolly be push beyond that. Whereas a cheap 600w ull be lucky to get 500w out of it

paradisiac · 5 Mar 2011 at 14:57

nope everything is at stock. all bios settings are on defaults.

JonJ678 · 5 Mar 2011 at 14:58

I can't see it posted anywhere.. which 600W psu is it?

Current clamp / UK's version of a kill-a-watt are pretty much your only options for measuring power consumption.

paradisiac said:
or are these not accurate?

The quick and easy option is rarely the best one

paradisiac · 5 Mar 2011 at 15:02

JonJ678 said:
I can't see it posted anywhere.. which 600W psu is it?

paradisiac said:
i7 950 Bloomfield
GA-X58-USB3
6 x Corsair XMS3 1600MHz 9-9-9-24 1.65v
Zotac GTX480
4x SATAII HDDs
1x SATAII DVD/RW
3x 120mm Case Fans
Corsair CX600

has replaced it now with a coolmaster silent pro M 1000w but still getting memtest errors when all sticks are in, but not on the first couple of cycles, which makes it a nightmare for testing the sticks individually.

paradisiac · 5 Mar 2011 at 15:37

ok, something else to point out, for no reason whatsoever the realtek software pops up saying a jack has been unplugged, although nothng has been plugged in, and it does this every couple of seconds if i connect the front audio socket to the mobo, does this sound more motherboard failure than ram?

paradisiac · 5 Mar 2011 at 18:43

right, well built a second system, 3 sticks of ram in his 3 sticks in the second (to rule out mobo). his system has gone 3hours + without error, new system failed within 20mins, tried 1 stick at a time, first stick failed within 10mins, so will leave the other 2 sticks in new system and 3 sticks in his system until monday morning when im next back at work. hopefully they will both be error free so i can put it down to the 1 faulty stick, if either has errors then back to 1 stick at a time

paradisiac · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:03

problem i think is solved. i tested ram on a second pc and 2 sticks failed. tested the good sticks in his pc and it looks like 2 of the ram slots are also faulty. so RMAing the RAM unfortunatly, although gigabyte offer a 3year warrenty, its the retailers that deal with it, the shop he bought from is no longer, so gigabyte wont do anything