Does this PSU sound underpowered for my system?

[Silmatharien]

My new system that I built over the course of the last year consists of an ASUS Z87-Pro, an i5 4670k Haswell processor, a GTX 760, 8 GB of RAM as well as an SSD and a couple traditional hard drives.

I took my PSU from an old build I did in 2005. It's an FSP Epsilon 600w (FX600-GLN). The specs on the side of it are basically 4 12v rails (15A each), a 5v rail for 30 A and a 3.3v rail for 36 A.

I've had problems pretty much since I built this where the system wouldn't always boot the first time. I'd try, it wouldn't POST, so I'd power down and back on a bunch of times and eventually it would work. No problems in Windows until yesterday. I was playing Metro 2033 and the entire system just powered down. This happened twice to me. I didn't think the PSU would be an issue, but now I'm starting to think it is. What do you guys think?

 

[Silver_Pharaoh]

Grab a multimeter and test the rails.

But I'd buy a new PSU anyway. Going on close to 10 years is tough for a PSU.

 

[mrsteve0924]

the power spec for that GPU is "500 watt or greater power supply with a minimum of 30 amps on the +12 volt rail"

since you have 15A only on each rail could that be causing the issue?

 

[Silmatharien]

the power spec for that GPU is "500 watt or greater power supply with a minimum of 30 amps on the +12 volt rail"

since you have 15A only on each rail could that be causing the issue?

I thought about this. The GTX 760 has 6 pin and 8 pin 12v molex connectors on it. The PSU has a 6 pin connector coming straight from it, and I used an adapter for the 8 pin, but that shouldn't exceed 15A.

I did check all of the voltages coming out of the PSU and everything checked out.

 

[Silver_Pharaoh]

You need to ensure your load is balanced on the rails.
That's the drawback with multi rail PSU's

But I don't actually know how to do that
My PSU is a single rail so I have no experience there...
I think there is a guide over at johnnyguru.com

 

[Bobnova]

9 years is a long time for a PSU that isn't absolutely top bin.
I would start by buying a new PSU. That wattage is fine (actually overkill), but given its age and very low rail ratings (though technically enough, if laid out correctly) it could easily be the problem.

On big PSUs (I call that ~600w and up) multi-rail is the way to go, it's marginally safer and if correctly designed has zero drawbacks.
15 amps/rail is not correctly designed for modern bits however, that's a holdover from Intel's fairly horrid initial spec.
I think that spec is still in place, just ignored.

In any event, grab yourself a new, good, PSU and odds are your problems will go away.

 

[Silmatharien]

Would the Seasonic G series 550 w (http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=373) be a decent choice then for me?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

The G 550 is a great PSU!

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

I've had problems pretty much since I built this where the system wouldn't always boot the first time. I'd try, it wouldn't POST, so I'd power down and back on a bunch of times and eventually it would work. No problems in Windows until yesterday. I was playing Metro 2033 and the entire system just powered down. This happened twice to me. I didn't think the PSU would be an issue, but now I'm starting to think it is. What do you guys think?

The POSTing issue sounds similar to when I was OC'ing a Conroe with load line calibration disabled.

If OC'ing the processor, you probably require CPU load line calibration enabled in the BIOS.

For the shutdowns:

May be a push pin that didn't click in.

-----

Check the caps! That FSP is likely worth recapping for another project, if any found bulging or leaking on the bottom.

http://badcaps.net

 

[Meathead]

9 years is a long time for a PSU that isn't absolutely top bin.
I would start by buying a new PSU. That wattage is fine (actually overkill), but given its age and very low rail ratings (though technically enough, if laid out correctly) it could easily be the problem.

On big PSUs (I call that ~600w and up) multi-rail is the way to go, it's marginally safer and if correctly designed has zero drawbacks.
15 amps/rail is not correctly designed for modern bits however, that's a holdover from Intel's fairly horrid initial spec.
I think that spec is still in place, just ignored.

In any event, grab yourself a new, good, PSU and odds are your problems will go away.

Only if you use it as a computer power supply. For example, if my Corsair 850W psu was multi-rail, I would not be able to power my electronic lipo charger above the 30-40A range. I'm really glad mines single rail in that regard.

 

[EarthDog]

Only if you use it as a computer power supply

Well, this is an enthusiast computing site... LOL!

One also has to remember that a lot may show xx Amps on the 12v rails, but there is no OCP on the rails... You cannot trust the label in this regard. Its best, at least from what knowledge I have, to look up reviews and double check.

 

[Meathead]

Well, this is an enthusiast computing site... LOL!

One also has to remember that a lot may show xx Amps on the 12v rails, but there is no OCP on the rails... You cannot trust the label in this regard. Its best, at least from what knowledge I have, to look up reviews and double check.

Haha yea yea minor details. It is nice to put that backup PSU in action instead of collecting dust in my closet though.

 

[Bobnova]

Only if you use it as a computer power supply. For example, if my Corsair 850W psu was multi-rail, I would not be able to power my electronic lipo charger above the 30-40A range. I'm really glad mines single rail in that regard.

Sure you can, you join the output wires together into a bus, making it effectively a single rail unit.

Plus many modern PSUs the OCP is set above 30a anyway. Antec likes ~35a for instance.

It's always safer to have OCP that is somewhere near the load you use.

 

[Adragontattoo]

OP look at getting a higher power PSU instead of the 550 if you can. You might NOT ever need the extra couple hundred watts of power, but it is MUCH easier and cheaper to not have to order a new PSU because you overloaded the current one with your next upgrade.

 

[caddi daddi]

PLEASE go look at the reviews of the psu you are thinking about, I just replaced a 1050 watt, crappy psu with an 850 watt GOOD PSU and now I wish I had never even seen that 1050 unit.....