PSUs

[Goobley]

Hi folks, I was having a chat with a guy in the local pc shop walker after he saw me looking at psus (not impressed with my cx600, but it's not about to blow up so I shouldn't need to change it).
We had a little disagreement over the required psu to run my system and I wondered if you guys could clarify

Amd athlon ii x3 450 unlocked to x4 640(?) 3,2Ghz stock speed and power.
HD 6850 (sapphire if it makes a difference)
1 sata 7200 barracuda sata
2x2gb ram at 1.5v
4 120mm case fans and 1 92mm CPU cooler
Cx600

Until earlier I also had an old IDE seagate that I use for data storage but I was told to remove this ASAP to reduce the load on an already dodgy (close to its limits psu).

Is my psu sufficient for this rig? By a decent margin? Can I put the IDE drive back and add I sata ii ssd without risking my psu (and therefore my computer).

When I bought this psu I expected to have lots of headroom and want to find out if you guys agree with menor if it needs to be switched out ASAP. I'd like to keep this psu until I get to my Ivy bridge/amd equivalent rig ( might upgrade to a x6 in the meantime)

Thanks for any advice that may shed light on the situation
Chris

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

A decent 400W to 450W PSU would run your current system fine. The CX600W will be enough for even a more powerful system. However,the main issue with the new Corsair CX series is their use of sleeve bearing fans and budget capacitors. The first generation CX600W also had relatively low efficiency too.

Edit!!

Even a decent 350W to 400W PSU would probably be fine if the CPU was not overclocked. Ulti ran a Core i3 530 and an HD6850 1GB off a Seasonic 330W PSU:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...-pictures.html

[jim]

I've used a CX500 to run a dual-core processor and dual 5870s at full pelt 24/7.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I've used a CX500 to run a dual-core processor and dual 5870s at full pelt 24/7.

Until those Samxon GF series capacitors decide life is too hard on them!!

[watercooled]

I agree, I don't think much of the CX series - it's a budget PSU promoted by a brand known to make decent ones. I mean there are far worse ones out there but I wouldn't use one myself. Unplugging that drive really won't make any difference either way, HDDs don't use much power. 600w is more than plenty for that system and any non-extreme upgrades.

I'd say <400w is enough for most normal systems and overkill for most of them,
~500-600 is a good safe rating for a normal high-end PC - single high-end GPU + room for overclocking.
>600w is only really worth buying for multiple high-end GPUs/watercooling/dual socket.

Buying higher than necessary shouldn't be a problem, just a waste of money both at purchase and because an over-spec'd PSU will run at a lower efficiency at idle (where most PCs spend most of their time).

Only a very rough guide obviously, and stuff besides wattage is very important - check *real* PSU reviews, i.e. someone who uses a load tester, and oscilloscope and has a good understanding of electronics, NOT some random guy who loves getting free hardware so says everything is good...

[Goobley]

Thanks for the responses guys.
I'm well aware rhat the psu is pretty sh!te, but I'm hoping it should last. The computer often doesn't even get turned on during the week, and then only for about 12 hrs a day at weekends. (then some weeks I leave the CPU and GPU at 100% all week, this is a rare occasion though, all in all it doesn't get much use.
I did read lots of reviews before getting the psu because I was going to get an antec hcg 620 but it was out of stock and I didn't want to wait (silly me).

I forgot to mention that I voided the warranty on the psu anyway yesterday to clean it and check the caps, since the lovely French postal service want to charge me 30€ shipping to the netherlands (well over half the price of a new antic trupower or high current.

I'm just going to add regular cap checking to my computer maintenance schedule(in the once a month bracket) and get up in the middle of the night to propose several prayers and sacrificial offerings to some higher being xD

Thanks again, at least I know I should be a be able to afford my SSD now
Chris

[watercooled]

I wouldn't bother with that, I mean it should be good enough to power your system for a while and just looking at capacitors doesn't tell you their condition anyway. Caps can bulge but they can be bad long before that starts to happen.