Need help with my psu

[lordskeep]

Hi,

Ok I'm a bit confused with my power supply amp output.
I'm running a Intel core 2 quad core cpu. One hard drive and dvd rom burner.
A active thermo-electric chip (TEC) heat sink with a front panel led display.Three Fan around 120mm two of them have led lights and 4 gigs of dd2 ram.

I want to add a GTX 260 to my system but I'm unsure if my psu can power it.
Here's my psu specs off the box.

800 watts
20/24 pin motherboard connector X1
4 pin +12v motherboard connector X1
8 pin =12v motherboard connector x1
4 pin molex connectors x4
4 pin Floppy power connector X1
6/8 pin pci express connectors X2
Sata connectors x4

Power info:

800 watts
DC output +3.3V @30A
+5V @30A
+12V @28A
+12V @28A
-12V @0.6A
+5VSB @2.5A


Can someone please let me know if this power supply will be able to run a GTX 260 Please.

Thanks Chad

 

[ScottinIndy]

An 800 watt PSU should handle your rig with no problem, The X factor is always the quality of the PSU. You did not list the brand of PSU. As a general rule a high quality 550 watt will likely outperorm a POS 800 watt unit so making sure you have a quality unit would be an important factor.

 

[lordskeep]

Thanks for the reply.Here's the link to the power supply I bought off ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/800-W-Watt-24-2...QcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_UPS?hash=item335a80d3d5

The name Brand must be called A-Power.

This thing junk or will it work for the GTX 260?

 

[Bobnova]

What's the rating on the TEC? Generally speaking, to cool a core2quad the TEC needs to be pretty monstrous to do anything useful, ~240w is the lowest i'd use. That of course eats up a lot of power.

That PSU should be ok, 60 bucks for 800 watts makes me suspect it's wildly over rated, but unless that TEC is on the huge side you'll only be drawing 300-500w.

 

[lordskeep]

Hi again,

Since this is a over clockers website and a very nice one at that, here's a link to a very good review on the TEC I'm using to cool my cpu.

His conclusion is not the best for it, but I think it rocks! and keeps my cpu very cool and stable.One thing he left out in the review is that the TEC is only active when things start getting hot.Other wise it's just using the four heat pipes and fan.

My fan always runs in slow and the TEC has never been needed or active cause this thing cools very well.So why have the TEC then? I just like the idea that it's there if I ever need it.

Thanks for the help and reply's

Chad

 

[lordskeep]

Oh I forgot the link lol

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/ultra_chill/

 

[Bobnova]

Out of curiosity, if you run prime95's Large FFTs test for ten minutes, what are the CPU core temps like?

 

[lordskeep]

Ok,

I ran prime95 Large FFTs test for 14 minutes,I topped out at 29 degrees C/84 degrees F fan stayed on low speed and TEC never became active.
I'm just starting to get into this kind of stuff,So thanks for the heads up on a good program I can use to test my core temps with.So is that a good temp? I also use Arctic Silver 5 for thermal compound.
After test I returned to a temp of 22 C 71 F

Here's a link to a picture of my prime 95 test

http://i42.tinypic.com/sxna6a.jpg

 

[Bobnova]

That's extremely good, almost unbelievably good really, what program were you using to get the temp reading?

(Course, this has nothing to do with the PSU question, heh)

 

[lordskeep]

I'm testing the temp three ways.With my machine at idle in bios I can read the cpu temp from my mother board.Also my TEC has a temperature sensor on the copper heat sink right on top of the cpu that I can read from the digital
drive bay lead that comes with the setup.Finally I have a gamers type case with a open mesh top right above my heat sink.I have a digital thermometer probe type that can fit through the mesh holes.I stick the top of the probe between the heat sink plate and the cpu.

In bios with all three temp sensors reading, all read the same temp, to the tee.
Of course I can't run prime 95 in bios but I know that my other two temp readings are accurate while running prime 95.

I think a big help to my temps is my case design.It pulls room temp air into my case right below my heat sink fan to feed it.Then the heat sink fan blows the heat right out the top of my case through the mesh top where another fan is made to be placed to vent.
I should put a fan there to see if it will lower the temp even farther.

Is there a good software you know of that I could use as a forth temp reading? If so I could use win 7 snip it tool to post a picture of the temp while running prime.


P.S I think I might heat up a bit with a GTX 260 in though

 

[Bobnova]

Give coretemp or realtemp a try, just for giggles.
The mobo sensor as well as both other sensors are all external, while coretemp and realtemp read the sensors that are built into the CPU silicon die itself.

 

[lordskeep]

Dude you totally rained on my parade lol just kidding

Well crap, I ran both coretemp and realtemp for some reason realtemp would not see core 4 aka 3,but coretemp did so it's ok.

I looked up other people's temps doing the same tests as me and I guess I would fall into good/fair.Well here's a link to my temps

http://i39.tinypic.com/1fhjiv.jpg


Oh btw I had a little problem with the screen shot tool so as you can see I killed prime after 37 minutes,but as you can see by the time line I kicked it right back on so the temps never had a chance to change.

 

[lordskeep]

One more question here about my psu.Looking at my power supply specs above, does that mean I have two 12 volt rails each with 28 amps? cause the card says I need at least a combined rating of 38 amps I believe.And hopefully that means the 2 6/8 pin pci express connectors are on the 12 volt 28 amp rails.

 

[Bobnova]

Mid 40s are still very, very good intel quad core temps!

Your PSU does indeed claim two 28 amp rails, the 260 should be just fine on there. GTX260 cards have a TDP (absolute maximum power draw under terrible circumstances) of 182 watts, or 15.16 amps. Well within 28.