Which PSU?

Mojo

Mojo

Mojo

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Joined
18 Mar 2007
Posts
1,044
I've recently upgraded, but my power supply doesn't have enough juice on the 12v rails to handle my system (q6600, CF 3870).

My full spec:
Gigabyte GA-X38-DS4
Q6600 G0 (currently clocked at 3.4ghz)
Dual 3870xt
Dual 160GB HD in RAID 0

I've been tyring to work out what this equates to in amps on the 12v rail but am confused. Can anyone make any recommendations? Price is also a bit of an object, am buying on a budget really, no more than 60-70 quid if poss
 
Are Corsair basically the only ones i should be looking at? It seems a lot of money to pay for a 520W PSU although i speak unenlightened atm =/
 
no there some great psu makers (antec tagan,seasonic) for example you can look at biut advice to you, spend good money on a PSU its most important part of your pc. pure and simple.
 
Hello Mojo, I would also have to recommend the Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU for the system that you have specified.

To give you a rough idea of the power consumption of the system you have mentioned:

A single ATI Radeon HD 3870 XT will consume around 115 watts under load which equates to 10 amps. So, two ATI Radeon HD 3870 XT would equal to 20 amps. If we add an Intel Q6600 overclocked to 3.3GHz which will consume around 150 watts which equates to 13 amps, we are currently at 33 amps. Adding a couple of hard drives rated at one amp each and then some for the extra headroom, the above system will be pulling around 37 amps on the +12Volt rail - The Corsair HX520W unit is able to provide 40 amps on the +12Volt rail and will run your system absolutely fine. :)
 
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I also recommend the Corsair. Have had mine for 12 months or so now, and not had one problem. Still silent, and just does its job. Just what is needed TBH.
 
You have expensive, quality parts in the PC. You spent your hard earned cash on that kit. So it is NOT a good idea to then skimp and buy a cheapo PSU as this can easily damage the hardware.

You wouldn't put cheap remould tires on a Porsche. :D

The Corsiar PSU isn't just supplying a higher load. It is also a much better QUALITY power being supplied. It will be cleaner and more reliable power. And if the PSU ever does fail on you - it won't then bork your whole system like the cheapo power supplies do.

Also - just for the comic factor. When you install your quality Corsair PSU, notice the WEIGHT difference between it and your old PSU. This is the weight of quality parts. :)


Yes - WELL worth the money. (FYI - I am an IT Support Engineer who gets to see first hand what a cheapo PSU does to an eMachine\Advent\etc PC when it fails... and takes out the rest of the system with it....)

(On Friday I was installing a £130 OCZ 850watt PSU... so that Corsair is a cheap bargain :))
 
Had a cheapo PSU take out all my parts before, x1800xt and the likes, was a big deal at the time as it was all my pocket money :( now I have a nice corsair 620w and its about twice as heavy but twice as quiet and I believe have 5 year warranty :)

Dont skimp on a PSU, you can take ti from upgrade to upgrade safe that it won't take everything else out.
 
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