Power Supply enough ?

Ranmier

Ranmier

Ranmier

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Joined
2 May 2012
Posts
56
Heya

So I have, after 2 weeks of planning, finally ordered up the components for my new rig. I have also had to extend my desk so that I will be able to display my pride and joy once it is built.

I do however have a small concern. I have a 550w PSU (Powercool 550w 80+) and I wonder if it is enough to run the new rig:

Asus M5A99X EVO 990X Socket AM3+ ATX Motherboard
AMD Bulldozer FX-8 8120 3.1Ghz Socket AM3+ Processor
Corsair 120GB Force 3 SSD
Sapphire HD 6870 1GB PCI-E
Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3
2 x Seagate 1TB Barracuda Sata HHD

All going into a Phantom 410 Case.

I will be adding a better cooling fan (most likely a Phantex CPU cooler) and some lighting at some point.

Any help appreciated
 
I wouldn't, its a cheap PSU and as such shouldn't be trusted, never ever skimp on the PSU quality.
 
I already have the PSU as it's coming over from my current tower and is only a couple of months old. I will pick up a new one when I order the CPU cooler etc..

What is a good choice given the system? Don't want to buy a 1000w PSU when I only need 500w etc.

Thanks

PS Picked the CPU as I will never again buy Intel :)
 
The power supply is one thing you should never skimp on - if it goes awry it can take your entire system with you. Get a decent Corsair or Seasonic one, if you're going for SLI/Crossfire, you should be aiming around 800W, if I'm not mistaken. Maybe a tad less. It you don't think you'll go for that, get a good-quality 500-600W.
 
When will people learn? 550W of powercool is NOT 550w, you are more likely going to find internally its a 200-300w psu of old design, just rebadged to fool the unsuspecting. It can be had for 28.00 in some places, tells all you need to know. I've seen so far two dead 950w units that were powering nothing near that, not even sli or crossfire etc..
 
The Powercool was brought a couple of months ago after the one in my current system died. When I got it it was simply a cheap replacement for the PSU that died; I had no plans at the time to build a new rig.

I understand the need for a decent PSU, gonna order it up today (wife said ok :P), just need to pick 1.
 
As the Corsair 750w I was looking at wasn't in stock I've added the Hale82 750w psu to my delivery which ''hopefully'' will be here Wednesday :)

Although wife is unhappy and I'm now going to be painting the bedroom along with the bathroom and kitchen during my ''holiday''.... at least my PSU isn't going to kill my system.

THANKS again to all for the help and advice!!
 
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Don't really have a good opinion of Intel due to bad experiences I've have had with Intel customer support.

I'm also not looking to pushing the system to infinity and so I think the upgrade from my current quad core Phenom 9550 is going to be more than enough for me.
 
Hi there,

It is a shame you had bad experiences with Intel customer support in the past - but the fact is that in the current generation of CPUs Intel chips are considerably faster and more efficient than AMD's Bulldozer. Therefore, if you went for an AMD chip now - it would be out of brand loyalty and the hope for better customer service.

Also, with customer service - you are pretty unlikely to have to contact either AMD or Intel with current systems, since CPU return rates (for faults) are very low and in most cases you will deal with the retailer, not Intel/AMD if you issue occurs within the first 12 months of buying. Also, if you have an issue with your motherboard, it will be the motherboard manufacturer you deal with (eg ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI) you deal with - not Intel or AMD.
 
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