Will this PSU power enough?

Trojan Horse

Trojan Horse

Trojan Horse

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I want to run a build, but some people (yet most people say it is enough) tell me that this is the minimum I should go on..

The power supply: OCZ 500W ModXStream Pro Power Supply - UK

The computer specs:

CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 965
MOBO - Asus M5A78L-M/USB3
RAM - 8GB Vengeance 2x4 Blu
GPU - XFX 6870 DD
HDD - Old Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 160GB
CD DRIVE - Some old **** from **** system
CASE - AeroCool Strike X-One
OS - Win7 Ult 64

I tried using eXtreme PSU wattage calculator, and they say I need a PSU of around 400watts.. can anybody confirm this is a good enough PSU?

I'm full of doubts so I would like some decent credentials as well :)
 
because the 500W minimum accounts for all the rubbish no-name PSUs which a lot of people have which are rated at 500W but would struggle to provide much more than 400W.

A decent brand like OCZ will likely go up to 550Wish before actually reaching it's maximum - they don't "oversell" themselves. For another example my PSU is rated at 750W but has been tested all the way up to 890W and still worked fine, cos it's a good brand (corsair AX750).

Your PSU is fine for sure.
 
Trojan Horse said:
Thanks a lot ;)

Oh could you also give me the low down on amps, amperage & rails?

Apparantly they are the major thing on PSUs.
Click to expand...

Nearly everything in your pc relies on the 12v Rails(s). Some manufacturers use a single +12v rail which makes things easy to connect up as everything is connected to the same rail. Some use multi rail +12v lines and can get complicated balancing the rails. There are a few components that run on less but most of the big power hungry parts will eat into the 12v rail like you cpu and Graphics cards being the biggest munchers.

I generally would be more interested in the output and quality of the +12v rail rather than total wattage. Some manufacturers like to quote crazy wattage but when you read into the spec they have meagre 12v rails. This is why it's always best to go with a known brand of psu that has good reviews on sites like Jonnyguru.

Everything in your pc is connected to your psu so should it decide to self detonate there is a chance everything connected to it could be killed as well especially if it spikes. Most of the known decent brand psu manufactures use a safety system to prevent this so only the psu dies and hopefully all your uber expensive bits are ok.

Always buy the best psu you can afford and if you cannot afford a decent psu sacrifice something else first it could save you hundreds in the future.

Your psu is a mid range unit and has more than enough juice for your setup if you upgrade again it would be worth looking at a bigger better unit.

Edit - read the above as well might be better explained than me...

jonnyguru psu's
 
Oh I see, that makes me 'sort of understand'.

Does the OCZ really go up to 550w before failing?

Also .. say If I do upgrade in the future, could it handle an SSD, 2 more sticks of ram, 1 more HDD & possibly a fan controller, and 4-6 fans?

I've checked in the PSU wattage calculators, (and added 35% capacitor aging) it says 568 watt, now could the OCZ handle that?

And how long is 35% capacitor aging? I would go on the PC for around 4-10hours a day :P
would I choose a less capacitor aging, as it says 20% for 24/7 use for over a year, I want to use it for like 2-4 years.




Here is a screenshot of the calculator:
http://awesomescreenshot.com/01ebsyy22
 
Last edited:
Trojan Horse said:
Oh I see, that makes me 'sort of understand'.

Does the OCZ really go up to 550w before failing?

Also .. say If I do upgrade in the future, could it handle an SSD, 2 more sticks of ram, 1 more HDD & possibly a fan controller, and 4-6 fans?

I've checked in the PSU wattage calculators, (and added 35% capacitor aging) it says 568 watt, now could the OCZ handle that?

And how long is 35% capacitor aging? I would go on the PC for around 4-10hours a day :P
would I choose a less capacitor aging, as it says 20% for 24/7 use for over a year, I want to use it for like 2-4 years.

Here is a screenshot of the calculator:
http://awesomescreenshot.com/01ebsyy22
Click to expand...

I've no idea how far it goes before failing, I was simply using that as an example. I'm not to blame if anything goes wrong.

With that disclaimer out the way, 35% PSU aging is a long time. Go with 10% or if you're feeling REALLY cautious put 20%. Bear in mind the PSU rating (500W for your OCZ) includes a certain extra to account for the capacitor aging already. Brand new it will be capable of more than 500W.

Also remember that these calculator things use manufacturer rated TDPs for the most part which leave a decent margin of safety.

Refer to post #13 in this thread.
 
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