please proofread before I make a fool of myself

Ok Ramm...I took a minute to refine what I was talking about. I agree with what you said...yes...wattage is VERY important when discussing efficiency. But what I was trying to explain is that when discussing efficiency of a power supply, the max wattage at which the PSU is rated at should be COMPLETELY disregarded. Just keep in mind that if you're testing a SLi machine with 10 hard drives and dual core CPUs that you should not use a 300W PSU to test.

Earlier, you said that the results which were obtained from these tests are not that important because they are comparing a 500W PSU to a 600W PSU. I want you to know that this is extremely innacurate.

According to the test; 3dmark2003 was used to put a load on the system. Since the PSU is modular, the wattages were measured from the ends of the PSU, instead of the of the ends of the wire. Why? Because "modular plugs limit power by adding to electrical resistance. The voltage drop can be as much as would occur in 2 feet of standard wire."(pcpowercooling.com)

Next, the wattages were tested on the PSU, which was 500W, and not modular. It was discovered that the 500W PSU needed only ONE MORE WATT to power the SAME SYSTEM UNDER THE SAME LOAD as the 600W. When you heard this, you quickly tried to turn the results invaluable because they weren't comparing apples to apples, and in fact, you thought they were comparing pinapples to mangos because they were comparing a 500w to a 600w. This idealogy is...wrong.

What you need to understand is that a PSU only uses the amount of wattage that is needed to power a system. If we were using a 1 kilowatt PSU and a 300W PSU, to conduct the same test, I rest assured that the results would of still been close (When dealing with the same manufacturers or OEM companies).

"If your PC currently has a 400W supply and the system needs 350W, it will still need and use only 350W.."(pcpowercooling.com)

Do you understand now?





Please anyone correct me if I'm wrong and tell me why. My internet friend thinks well...read it. Thanks for your input!

Herr Rogers said:

Ok Ramm...I took a minute to refine what I was talking about. I agree with what you said...yes...wattage is VERY important when discussing efficiency. But what I was trying to explain is that when discussing efficiency of a power supply, the max wattage at which the PSU is rated at should be COMPLETELY disregarded. Just keep in mind that if you're testing a SLi machine with 10 hard drives and dual core CPUs that you should not use a 300W PSU to test.

Earlier, you said that the results which were obtained from these tests are not that important because they are comparing a 500W PSU to a 600W PSU. I want you to know that this is extremely innacurate.

According to the test; 3dmark2003 was used to put a load on the system. Since the PSU is modular, the wattages were measured from the ends of the PSU, instead of the of the ends of the wire. Why? Because "modular plugs limit power by adding to electrical resistance. The voltage drop can be as much as would occur in 2 feet of standard wire."(pcpowercooling.com)

Next, the wattages were tested on the PSU, which was 500W, and not modular. It was discovered that the 500W PSU needed only ONE MORE WATT to power the SAME SYSTEM UNDER THE SAME LOAD as the 600W. When you heard this, you quickly tried to turn the results invaluable because they weren't comparing apples to apples, and in fact, you thought they were comparing pinapples to mangos because they were comparing a 500w to a 600w. This idealogy is...wrong.

What you need to understand is that a PSU only uses the amount of wattage that is needed to power a system. If we were using a 1 kilowatt PSU and a 300W PSU, to conduct the same test, I rest assured that the results would of still been close (When dealing with the same manufacturers or OEM companies).

"If your PC currently has a 400W supply and the system needs 350W, it will still need and use only 350W.."(pcpowercooling.com)

Do you understand now?





Please anyone correct me if I'm wrong and tell me why. My internet friend thinks well...read it. Thanks for your input!

Click to expand...

That is true. But are there any other factors? What kind of wattage is it giving your computer(fluctuations in power)? Is the power being used efficiently?(Heat/powerloss) How long will the cheap power supply last? What componets will it take with it if it decides to go? Warranty compared to the cheapy?

What this comes down to is this: spend the extra money on a good PS. I have antec PS's. A 400w and 550w. Both have run duallies with no problems, both will most likely run my new system as well.
I spent $230 on the MB, $135 on the CPU's, $45 on HSF's, $190(?) on 2gb's of ram, $120 on a raptor drive, $190(long ago) on the video. Do i want to trust this to some cheap POS PS that MAY run it, burn it, etc. OR I could(and did) spend the extra $$ and get a QUALITY PS and not have the slighest worry that I am not getting quality power or enough power.

My 2 cents.

Herr Rogers said:

...

Click to expand...

You're correct. They're called switching power supplies for a reason - they only use/provide the necessary power. As hagrid pointed out, though, there's many factors that make a PSU "good."

Ok Ramm...I took a minute to refine my argument. I agree that wattage is VERY important when discussing efficiency. But what I was trying to explain is that when discussing efficiency of a power supply, (*note, i can't tell if you're emphasizing 'power supply', or if you just contradicted yourself. if so, say so) the max wattage at which the PSU is rated should be COMPLETELY disregarded. Just keep in mind, if you're testing an SLi machine with 10 hard drives and a dual core CPU (*note, or 'two or more dual' etc.) that you should not use a 300W PSU to test.

Earlier, you said that "the results obtained from these tests are not very important, because they are comparing a 500W PSU to a 600W PSU". This method/testing procedure is innacurate, and wrong.

According to the test, 3dmark2003 was used to put a load on the system. Since the PSU is modular, the wattages were measured from the ends of the PSU, instead of the of the ends of the wire. This was done so because "modular plugs limit power by adding to electrical resistance. The voltage drop can be as much as would occur in 2 feet of standard wire."(pcpowercooling.com). Next, the wattages were tested on the 500W PSU (which was not modular). It was discovered that the 500W PSU needed only ONE MORE WATT to power the SAME SYSTEM UNDER THE SAME LOAD as the 600W. When you heard this, you quickly tried to turn the results invaluable (*note, wording) because they weren't comparing apples to apples. In fact, you felt they were comparing pinapples to mangos, because they were comparing a 500w to a 600w. This is also wrong.

What i'm emphasizing, is that a PSU only uses the amount of wattage that is needed to power a system. If we were using a 1 kilowatt PSU and a 300W PSU to conduct the same test, rest assured, the results would be close to identical, if not that(When dealing with the same manufacturers or OEM companies).

"If your PC currently has a 400W supply and the system needs 350W, it will still need and use only 350W.."(pcpowercooling.com)

Please tell me if anything is unclear.





there. completely revised and edited. i can't belive you said "would still OF been". i'm going to have you give you a B. if this thesis is presented professionally, you might want to rewrite the entire thing and omit any first person. if presented personally, you should not resort to an underhanded ad hominem style "do you understand" 'or do i have to spell it out? twit' type of attack.
-10 for poor english. -5 for clarity's sake.
i give myself an A- for lack of proper capitalization, and acting the fool.

So basically what it comes down to is, "When testing for PSU efficeincy, one should not disregard the facts simply because both PSUs don't have the same rated output. (As long as the machine's power need is less than or equal to the amount of power that the PSU is rated at) "

hagrid said:

That is true. But are there any other factors? What kind of wattage is it giving your computer(fluctuations in power)? Is the power being used efficiently?(Heat/powerloss) How long will the cheap power supply last? What componets will it take with it if it decides to go? Warranty compared to the cheapy?

What this comes down to is this: spend the extra money on a good PS. I have antec PS's. A 400w and 550w. Both have run duallies with no problems, both will most likely run my new system as well.
I spent $230 on the MB, $135 on the CPU's, $45 on HSF's, $190(?) on 2gb's of ram, $120 on a raptor drive, $190(long ago) on the video. Do i want to trust this to some cheap POS PS that MAY run it, burn it, etc. OR I could(and did) spend the extra $$ and get a QUALITY PS and not have the slighest worry that I am not getting quality power or enough power.

My 2 cents.

Click to expand...

Yes, there are many other factors. Prices and warranties aside, my friend was thinking that when they compared a 500W seasonic to a 600w sintek, and the results were EXTREMELY similar, that if you instead added the 600W seasonic than the results would have been different, and would have "raped" the sintek.