generic 500w power supply ok for light use?

rommie · Nov 2, 2015

I'm breaking in an i7 870 for internet use only (the q6600 is in retirement) however it only has a delux brand 500w power supply, with only one pci-e connecter, the other is hooked up with a molex adapter. This is what's inside:

The i7 overclocked by about 30%
4 sticks of ddr3 ram
geforce 560 (idling 99.9% of the time)
one dvd burner, one SSD

One of the power supply estimator web apps reckons 400w is being used, 450 with the overclock (and a lot of overhead for usb devices and such). I'll end up getting a name-brand supply in several weeks. Is this okay to run? I mean, we all used pretty dodgy power supplies back in the AT days. I'd like to think that the 350w supply in the old q6600 dell system wasn't such great quality, either. (Hipro brand)

EarthDog · Nov 2, 2015

That is your choice if you want to take that chance...

Without seeing the label on the side that shows what it can actually put out, we can't help much.

wagex · Nov 2, 2015

NOAP GET THAT THING OUT OF THERE!
plz
do it
if not for me, for your i7
jk , you could be fine, but you could not, i had a generic psu running my i5 just fine, then one day i smelled something and it didnt turn on, take it apart, there is a big spot where a component used to be that incinerated. there was white dust all in the bottom of my case from it

RollingThunder · Nov 2, 2015

rommie said:
I'd like to think that the 350w supply in the old q6600 dell system wasn't such great quality, either. (Hipro brand)

Yes but you weren't 30% overclocked either..............

EarthDog · Nov 2, 2015

The i7 870 is a 95W chip while the Q6600 at stock is a 105W. Overclocking the 870 will break that 105W mark... that 30% number isn't that bad because of the power difference between the two chips.

rommie · Nov 2, 2015

wagex said:
NOAP GET THAT THING OUT OF THERE!
plz
do it
if not for me, for your i7
jk , you could be fine, but you could not, i had a generic psu running my i5 just fine, then one day i smelled something and it didnt turn on, take it apart, there is a big spot where a component used to be that incinerated. there was white dust all in the bottom of my case from it

I have a thermaltake 700w here but one of the fan blades broke. It's a non-standard fan size, even an electrical warehouse type shop couldn't find the right size. It's only a couple of years old, could I jerry-rig a 120mm fan in there as a cheap solution? Would it need to be more powerful than your average 120mm case fan?

EarthDog · Nov 2, 2015

I dont think you should be 'rigging' anything inside of a PSU... RMA that thing...

Blaylock · Nov 2, 2015

You should NEVER open a PSU unless you absolutely know what you're doing. If you're asking then it's safe to assume you don't.

rommie · Nov 2, 2015

Blaylock said:
You should NEVER open a PSU unless you absolutely know what you're doing. If you're asking then it's safe to assume you don't.

I wasn't the one who opened it, the guy who did, did know what he was doing but still got a shock. He wired in a fan but it wasn't all that powerful. After checking it's out of warranty

Blaylock · Nov 2, 2015

OK. Just an FYI there's enough power in some of those capacitors to take a man's life. The guy that got shocked was very lucky that day.

EDIT:

Time to pitch it and pick up a new quality unit. There are some nice smaller PSU's that are fairly cheap. Check out jonnyguru.com for some great reviews before purchasing.

rommie · Nov 2, 2015

Blaylock said:
OK. Just an FYI there's enough power in some of those capacitors to take a man's life. The guy that got shocked was very lucky that day.

EDIT:

Time to pitch it and pick up a new quality unit. There are some nice smaller PSU's that are fairly cheap. Check out jonnyguru.com for some great reviews before purchasing.

I just tried to balance the fan by breaking the opposite fin, and screwed it down with screws that were a bit too long - turned it on, sparks went everywhere, and I had to reset the safety switch on my meter box. I told my parents that I'm lucky to be alive so they're buying a new psu. It's very fortunate that it didn't take the motherboard along with it!

EarthDog · Nov 2, 2015

Oy...... glad you are ok.

Blaylock · Nov 2, 2015

I'm very glad you're alright and the house didn't burn down Rommie. Please heed our warnings. LOL

That said the EVGA 500B is a good budget PSU if you need to save money (review). But if it's your parents money, well why not get some real quality like the EVGA SuperNova 550 G2, right? (Review) Actually, after the mail in rebate it's only $20 more.

RJARRRPCGP · Nov 2, 2015

wagex said:
NOAP GET THAT THING OUT OF THERE!
plz
do it
if not for me, for your i7
jk , you could be fine, but you could not, i had a generic psu running my i5 just fine, then one day i smelled something and it didnt turn on, take it apart, there is a big spot where a component used to be that incinerated. there was white dust all in the bottom of my case from it

QFT! And PSUs with "ATX" in the model name, is also a red flag! They're 99.9 percent a POS!

rommie · Nov 6, 2015

EarthDog said:
That is your choice if you want to take that chance...

Without seeing the label on the side that shows what it can actually put out, we can't help much.

Here we go, sorry about the upside-downness:

https://imgur.com/PMnZsp6

EarthDog · Nov 6, 2015

Host here.. can't see 3rd party...

Blaylock · Nov 6, 2015

Fixed that for ya Rommie

Never heard of a dual core PSU lol I'll assume they mean dual rail.

RJARRRPCGP · Nov 6, 2015

Blaylock said:
Fixed that for ya Rommie

View attachment 170841

Never heard of a dual core PSU lol I'll assume they mean dual rail.

99.9 percent a POS!!

Dlaw · Nov 7, 2015

I think that's the first time I've seen a power supply listed as "Dual-core". They definitely meant dual rail, but I wouldn't trust that thing to run a $10 toaster, much less an i7. 17A on each 12V rail and 25/28A on the 5v and 3.3v? Yea, that thing is junk, man.

Chances are, you could get away with it. I wouldn't risk it, though.

grumperfish · Nov 7, 2015

Please don't use that power supply. You got lucky twice now, don't chance a third.

generic 500w power supply ok for light use?

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