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Thread: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

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    Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coo...m-wattage.html

    The precis is that if you buy more than a 600W power supply you're wasting your money, unless you're running multiple GTX295s.

    Can't say I'm surprised, personally.

    PK

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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    Seeing a high end gaming system comes in at just under 400W, I am very happy with by purchase of an HX850, as I like to run a PSU at 50% because....

    • Computers can spike to a much higher than average, while good PSUs should be able to go over for a short amount of time I don't like to realy on it.
    • PSU makers in the past have put much higher figures than really they can supply.
    • Can the current be supplied where you need it? (That while I have a Single rail PSU)
    • Capacitors age so with time cannot supply nearly the same power as when they were new.
    • A PSU working at 50% is allow quieter than one running at 80-90%
    • Running a PSU under the maximum rated values reduces the strain on it and extends its life.


    I always like to compare things to an electric fire, a one bar electric fire is 1kW! Its of no surprise that most computers take less than half that.

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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    Yeah but a hoover is 1.2KW!
    shows how energy efficient computers are really.

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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    I've never gone above my current 620W personally. Unless you're running DLI/Crossfire &/of a watercooling system off it there's no need
    [
    Quote Originally Posted by Blitzen
    When I say go, both walk in the opposite direction for 10 paces, draw handbags, then bitch-slap each other!

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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    I run my whole Q6600 PC on a 380W supply, never had a problem.

    I'd probably buy a 550W or so when I upgrade the better graphics than a 9600GT, but mostly so it doesn't have to strain to supply the power and make lots of fan noise etc. There is also a good choice of PSUs in that range, modular etc

    Overclocking your CPU can also increase power draw, that should be kept in mind!

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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    Quote Originally Posted by oolon View Post
    Seeing a high end gaming system comes in at just under 400W, I am very happy with by purchase of an HX850, as I like to run a PSU at 50% because....

    • Computers can spike to a much higher than average, while good PSUs should be able to go over for a short amount of time I don't like to realy on it.
    • PSU makers in the past have put much higher figures than really they can supply.
    • Can the current be supplied where you need it? (That while I have a Single rail PSU)
    • Capacitors age so with time cannot supply nearly the same power as when they were new.
    • A PSU working at 50% is allow quieter than one running at 80-90%
    • Running a PSU under the maximum rated values reduces the strain on it and extends its life.


    I always like to compare things to an electric fire, a one bar electric fire is 1kW! Its of no surprise that most computers take less than half that.
    The point of the measurements is that the highest spike was still way under the maximum rating for the power supply. Only crap PSU makers note more than they can supply - my Seasonic PSU is adamant it will supply 600W at top efficiency pretty much forever and reviews back this up.

    Your point that a PSU running under the maximum rating will be quieter could certainly have some merit : I've not seen anyone test that.

    The surface of a CPU is hotter than the surface of the Sun, so I'm not sure that comparing it to a leccy fire is a good idea

    PK

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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    I've a 650W corsair PSU but that's only because I needed a lot of SATA and Molex connections for my storage arrays.

    I've also clocked the hell out of my CPU and as such this gives a little bit more of a security blanket

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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    Most Hexites have known this all for a while....

    700W here, running opverclocked i7, 4870x2, 8600GTS, 4 SSDs, 8 HDDs, 1 optical, a couple of lights and my water cooling pump.
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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    Quote Originally Posted by shaithis View Post
    Most Hexites have known this all for a while....

    700W here, running opverclocked i7, 4870x2, 8600GTS, 4 SSDs, 8 HDDs, 1 optical, a couple of lights and my water cooling pump.
    Eeesh. Sure you've got enough kit there? 8600GTS for Physx or multi monitor?

    PK

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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    Quote Originally Posted by Syllopsium View Post
    Eeesh. Sure you've got enough kit there? 8600GTS for Physx or multi monitor?
    Physx
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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    Yeah, waste of time...people with too much money....

    I think I will have 2 x 5870 cards at some stage, but even then I imagine a 600W PSU would do... Aww well.

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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    I have a 700w Xclio psu but that was because it was cheap compared to most especially when directly compared with corsairs 620w psu(was about £30 cheaper!). Bought it for future use if i ever needed the extra and because it will last longer due to the limited strain on it!.

    Majority of psu's have an 80 plus award now and so they should be atleast 80% effcient at 20/50/80% load(iirc) so basically buying a higher psu is actually a good thing IF you can afford to because you will have a good long lasting PSU as it has little strain and will be pretty effcient.
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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    I just rewired my main desktop system and with 2x Monitor + Desktop + Speaker + Router + 4x Ext HDD the power usage from the wall is 400~450W. It probably will just tip 500W at max load.

    Monitors are the power hogs...
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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    Surely it's better buying bigger for the ol' growing space?

    I'm guilty of getting a HX750 when I know I didn't need it (it was to replace a knackered 600W Zalman) but it was, and this will sound silly, only £110. £110 for a pretty fundamental part of top quality that's also damn near silent isn't exactly thievery. Plus, in the case of the HX750 anyway, it's most efficient at about half-load which seems to be roughly where I'm at right now.


    In 2 or 3 years time, who knows what crackers idea I'll have and want to run! If I got a "just enough" 400W or whatever, I might have to look at a new PSU.

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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    Quote Originally Posted by Syllopsium View Post
    The surface of a CPU is hotter than the surface of the Sun, so I'm not sure that comparing it to a leccy fire is a good idea PK
    Are you sure you're not thinking of an inkjet printer head?

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    Re: Interesting : >600W? Waste of money

    Quote Originally Posted by nibbler View Post
    Yeah but a hoover is 1.2KW!
    shows how energy efficient computers are really.
    TBH though you don't tend to run your vacuum 4hrs+ a day ..... do you?!

    For most peeps who have posted so far it would seem efficiency is irrelevant since anyone running multiple GPU's can't seriously claim they're paying a close eye on the leccy bill. They've already decided gaming/folding prowess comes ahead for power consumption or they'd all be running 4890's and dropping ppd by the second.
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