450 Watts wasn't enough...

[torin3]

My computer at work is an Abit IP35-E with a low end 8400GS video card in it and a Q6600. It just fried a 450 Watt Rosewill RD450-2DB. I have F@H running on it 24/7, which probably didn't help. I plan on keeping folding, so I'd like to find a budget friendly PSU that won't have a problem like this one. It got hot enough it melted epoxy/insulation and blew it over the exterior of my DVD drive.

I'd like to order a replacement today if I could.

Thanks in advance.

[burebista]

Antec EA380?

[torin3]

Antec EA380?

I realize that some companies inflate their numbers, but I didn't think Rosewill was that bad in that department. Would 70 (listed) watts less really be better, or does it have that much better cooling?

[burebista]

It's a decent Seasonic build, 80+ certified and silent.
mcoleg has done some interesting (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=511180) tests with it.
Alexhk too (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=512807).

[ScottinIndy]

I realize that some companies inflate their numbers, but I didn't think Rosewill was that bad in that department. Would 70 (listed) watts less really be better, or does it have that much better cooling?

I didn't have much luck with a Rosewill PSU a few years ago, They have used several different builders and the quality of your unit depends on who actually built it.
As far as a replacement, Doesn't sound like you need alot of power, Just quality power, A good ol Sparkle would probably work fine.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-SP450PN

[Neuromancer]

PSU manufacturers vary on where they are most efficient but it tends to be around 60% Oced Q6600 and idle 8800GTX in my friends rig is 410 Watt draw at 80% efficiency. That 320Watt minimum. That should be your maximum though even wit ha loaded GPU


60% for best efficeny of a 320W DC load is a PSU that puts out 533.33333 Watts and a good place to look for a decent manufacturer. But if you find one that goes a little higher in their best efficency, then you can get by with a smaller PSU

70% = 457w PSU max power
80% = 400w PSU max power


To find out where it is most effiecient lookup the PSUs people will recommned to you on jonnyguru's site

Here is an example
http://jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story2&reid=85

Look at the chart and see that 78% effiecieny is the highest it goes.. .but it does this from about 250-400+W of DC power needed. You rig will need about 300-320 DC watts so it works for you.

I am not recommending the hiper for your needs but it was just the first psu i came across down in your power range.



the antec 380 mentioned above will not cut it for long (recommending it for a quad core system that runs fully loaded 24/7 is equal to recommending just getting whatever psu is cheapest.


(note: the 60/70/80% i mentioned above is not the psus "efficency rating" but what percentage of load the PSU actually reaches their efficiency rating)

[WonderingSoul]

Corsair TX450W would hold up nicely I would assume.

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-vx-450w-power-supply/q/loc/101/205466485.html

$49.99 after rebates and Google checkout.

[burebista]

the antec 380 mentioned above will not cut it for long (recommending it for a quad core system that runs fully loaded 24/7 is equal to recommending just getting whatever psu is cheapest.
Do you have some facts or is just a rumor?
That PSU is 80+ certified and is rated at 50°C. He has only a Quad, everything else doesn't matter. And I'm pretty sure that in a decent case with a decent airflow EA380 will do the job. For long time.

Of course if budget friendly means that VX450 fits it's perfect. Otherwise EA380 is a good candidate.

[ratbuddy]

I realize that some companies inflate their numbers, but I didn't think Rosewill was that bad in that department. Would 70 (listed) watts less really be better, or does it have that much better cooling?

Rosewill is just Newegg's house brand :) I'm sure they use many different OEMs and I doubt very much if they actually test the PSUs to see if they are honestly rated.

[JamesXP]

You're giving rosewill too much credit, if you buy a cheap 450w psu don't expect it to output 450.

[Particle]

You've got it backwards, friend. A PSU that is rated for 500W output and isn't a $15 LOLMEGA brand will put out 500W of DC power. The efficiency factors into how much power the PSU draws from the wall to provide it.

eg: PSU outputting 500W at 72% efficiency and a power factor of 0.99: (500 / 0.72) / 0.99 = 701W draw from the wall

[Neuromancer]

Do you have some facts or is just a rumor?
That PSU is 80+ certified and is rated at 50°C. He has only a Quad, everything else doesn't matter. And I'm pretty sure that in a decent case with a decent airflow EA380 will do the job. For long time.

Of course if budget friendly means that VX450 fits it's perfect. Otherwise EA380 is a good candidate.

Everything else does matter. Why would you think it wouldnt?

HDDs Video cards and chipsets and memory and optical drives (usb devices too) do not requirte any power to run???

Yes the Quad will easily be more then half of the draw on the PSU, but everything else still adds up. Especially intel chipsets.

As for experiments with longevity on the 380W PSU... no i have no data to back that up, just the common sense that says if you run something at it peak capacity, it will not last as long as would something running 60-70% of capacity.

[burebista]

Neur0mancer his rig at stock speeds will never ever draw more than 170-180W DC during F@H.
Here (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2extreme-qx6700_11.html#sect0) we have Q6600 B3 in full-load: 87W. Assuming 80% efficiency of Vcore circuitry we'll have ~110W DC during F@H.
HDD almost nothing, DVD almost nothing, memory almost nothing, video in idle almost nothing, MB in full something. All these let's say 70W.

IMO it will be under 50% of PSU capacity during F@H.

Anyway my recommendation is EA380 for a budget friendly and VX450 for a budget less friendly. :)

[ratbuddy]

I would throw one of these in there: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006

Plenty of power, and the price is right..

[torin3]

And I'm pretty sure that in a decent case with a decent airflow EA380 will do the job. For long time.


Unfortunately for me, this is not a decent case, and there is really not decent airflow. Also, my desk area gets pretty warm when people aren't here and the AC is off.

Also, didn't know about Rosewill being the egg's house brand. Live and learn.

Thanks for the advice everybody. I should be ordering something soon.

[Particle]

Neur0mancer his rig at stock speeds will never ever draw more than 170-180W DC during F@H.
Here (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2extreme-qx6700_11.html#sect0) we have Q6600 B3 in full-load: 87W. Assuming 80% efficiency of Vcore circuitry we'll have ~110W DC during F@H.
HDD almost nothing, DVD almost nothing, memory almost nothing, video in idle almost nothing, MB in full something. All these let's say 70W.

IMO it will be under 50% of PSU capacity during F@H.

Anyway my recommendation is EA380 for a budget friendly and VX450 for a budget less friendly. :)

87W would be a believable number for just the CPU itself--not the whole system. Yes, it appears that the page's graphs were for the CPU only. Figure about 25-50W for a motherboard depending on how fancy it is. A high end GPU might also chew about 10-30W at idle. RAM is often said to pull around 5W a module. Hard drives often consume 10-20W. These things aren't insignificant.

[torin3]

Missed the deadline to get it tomorrow, but I wound up getting the Corsair 450W. I went with it because I needed an 8 pin CPU plug and I liked the 120mm fan. I definately have an air flow problem in this cramped case.

[burebista]

Perfect choice. :)

[WonderingSoul]

Missed the deadline to get it tomorrow, but I wound up getting the Corsair 450W. I went with it because I needed an 8 pin CPU plug and I liked the 120mm fan. I definately have an air flow problem in this cramped case.

Good call. If you haven't seen it yet, jonny did a great review of it here:

http://jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=64

[freeagent]

Neur0mancer his rig at stock speeds will never ever draw more than 170-180W DC during F@H.
Here (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2extreme-qx6700_11.html#sect0) we have Q6600 B3 in full-load: 87W. Assuming 80% efficiency of Vcore circuitry we'll have ~110W DC during F@H.
HDD almost nothing, DVD almost nothing, memory almost nothing, video in idle almost nothing, MB in full something. All these let's say 70W.

IMO it will be under 50% of PSU capacity during F@H.

Anyway my recommendation is EA380 for a budget friendly and VX450 for a budget less friendly. :)


im not doing anything but typeing this message and my rig is pulling 236w from the wall. just fired up some small ffts and usage goes to 352w, if you got that 380 youd be beating the crap out of it for no reason heheh.

[funnyperson1]

im not doing anything but typeing this message and my rig is pulling 236w from the wall. just fired up some small ffts and usage goes to 352w, if you got that 380 youd be beating the crap out of it for no reason heheh.

Mind you thats without factoring efficiency. Assuming 80% efficiency you're using closer to 2-300W DC. Of course add some 3D in the mix and you probably are pushing the EA380 close to full load. Your system is also different from the OP's in that his graphics card has like a 30W TDP and yours has like a 130W TDP.

That said with a Quad Core I would feel a lot better spending a bit extra to get the Corsair 450, the component quality and regulation design are much better than the EA380 for not much more money. The EA380 is great for your relatives machine where its a dual core and a mid-range graphics card.

[burebista]

freeagent let's compare apples to apples. You have a Q6600 @3.4 GHz and an 8800GTX overclocked. torin3 have a Q6600 stock and a 8400GS. ;)
That said with a Quad Core I would feel a lot better spending a bit extra to get the Corsair 450, the component quality and regulation design are much better than the EA380 for not much more money.
Fully agree with that.

[RangerXLT8]

Yeah the EarthWAtts 380 is a perfect unit for a Dual-core system with mid range GPU and at most 2-4hdd and an optical drive. It's not really a PSU that you take a quad-core to 3.6ghz.lol

[torin3]

freeagent let's compare apples to apples. You have a Q6600 @3.4 GHz and an 8800GTX overclocked. torin3 have a Q6600 stock and a 8400GS. ;)

Fully agree with that.

Sorry, not stock, running at about 3.3Ghz. Powering 1 internal HD, 1 external HD, DVD drive, 2 case fans (1x80mm, 1x120mm), Zerotherm CPU cooler with 120mm fan, and 3x40mm RAM fans.

[burebista]

OK, then you're right choosing Corsair VX450. :)

[freeagent]

Mind you thats without factoring efficiency. Assuming 80% efficiency you're using closer to 2-300W DC. Of course add some 3D in the mix and you probably are pushing the EA380 close to full load. Your system is also different from the OP's in that his graphics card has like a 30W TDP and yours has like a 130W TDP.


i know, this card is a glutton for power :( i just assumed it wouldnt be useing nearly that much in an idle state, or just rendering aero :cool:

freeagent let's compare apples to apples. You have a Q6600 @3.4 GHz and an 8800GTX overclocked.



yep it was covered in the post before yours :)

my vid is 1.28, and im giveing 1.38, so its just a slight bumparoo on the vcore :)

[funnyperson1]

i know, this card is a glutton for power :( i just assumed it wouldnt be useing nearly that much in an idle state, or just rendering aero :cool:




yep it was covered in the post before yours :)

my vid is 1.28, and im giveing 1.38, so its just a slight bumparoo on the vcore :)

For reference the formula for power consumption overclocked is this: TDP OC = TDP * (oc speed/stock speed) * (oc volts/stock volts)^2 so you're looking at around 160W on the CPU there.