850W POWER SUPPLY

[kitkat22]

You'll have to forgive the doubters. Unfortunately, quite often we see those who price out the souper-decked-out-does-backflips-uber PC and post it expecting to get a serious answer. Sorry, that had to happen to you.

Alienware makes good computers, but at a price. Oftentimes a little knowhow and questions to the right people will put you with a great system for a fraction of the price. Then you can take your wife out to a really nice restaurant with the money you saved and make her happy while you can still do the star wars bit.

Anyway, to the topic, I would up the ante on the PSU to at least 600W, more if you are planning future upgrades, etc. Good luck!

 

[d2arcturus]

I think everyone else is jealous :laugh:, cool system. :thumbsup:

 

[kitkat22]

I know I am

 

[PsYcHoCoW]

Anandtech reports a ~100W rating for the 7800GTX: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2451&p=7
And nVidia recommends a "500 to 550W" power supply for a high-end comp.. this one most certainly is
I did mistakingly pick a 15k rpm instead of 10k rpm, but there's no way in hell a Raptor needs less power than a standard Caviar drive, as they get much hotter. Maybe the electronics without the motor draw that much, that would make more sense. And I forgot to count a DVD-Rom Drive and an audigy 2 zs 7.1 sound card so my thinking still stands

 

[Pariah]

Originally posted by: Mirko

250W for the video cards

6800 Ultra only use 72W MAX, 7800 GTX is even less.

So maybe 140W for both cards.

90W for the two 15k rpm drives

I don't see where he lists SCSI, but the two Raptors only use 8W MAX each.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=65&Language=en

No were do those specs say 8W is max usage. That's how much power they use when reading or writing. Max wattage is probably in the 30 watt range during spinup. 15k SCSI is around 35W's, not 45. Since SCSI can stagger spinups, it's not really an issue for SCSI. 7200 RPM ATA should not exceed 10 or 11W's non-spinup usage, even with 4 or 5 platters.

To answer the original question, a 510 PCP&C PSU would laugh at that pathetic system, and not even break a sweat. You have more than enough power. Do you have enough brains... Well, that's a different issue for another day...

 

[Coolin]

The PC Power and Cooling 510 should be more than enough. It was most likely a problem with the motherboard, not the power supply.

Let's take Psychocow's estimates and analyze them.


110W for the CPU <-- AMD's "maximum" numbers are very conservative. The CPU will need hit 110W in any real world conditions. I would peg the CPU at ~80W under max load.
250W for the video cards <-- The 7800GTX use less power than the 6800 Ultras. This number is utter BS. I would peg max load at about 100W less than that.
40W for the RAM
90W for the two 15k rpm drives <-- The Raptors will use about 15W each while reading and writing. This number is totally overblown. Hard drives use the most power while just starting up, but the PC Power and Cooling has a 600something watt max load, so it should handle the drives starting up just fine.
26W for the two upcoming SATA drives
25W for the DVDRW
5W for the floppy <-- How often will you use the floppy?


Taking all that into account, your PSU is just fine. PC Power and Cooling makes some of the best PSUs on the market. Your 510W is a sustained power rating. It can handle significantly more than that under sudden "peaks". That website calculating PSU is based upon maximum power, no matter how unachievable it is in real world situations.

You've already used $6300 on your computer, don't spend another $500 on a power supply you don't need.

 

[KayKay]

i wish i had that kind of money

 

[Pabster]

Definitely try the PC P&C 510W. Expensive but best of the best.

 

[shawn61174]

Wow, thank you everyone. Really. This was very helpful. If I was to get the $480 850W PSU, which they don't stock, I would have to pay that all out of pocket, it wouldn't be warrantied in my system and I'd have to sell a great 1 week old 510W PC ower and cooling supply. Here's a link 850W PC power and cooling review

Now I could send the system back to Alienware and pay $240 to get the PSU replaced, warrantied and they would send back my 510W PSU, again for me to eat the cost and hopefully sell it. Here's a link to the review for it, again listing the power and peak power 510W PC Power and Cooling review

Or go with what I got. I do believe the alienware guy said the 510W PC power and cooling PSU is rated steady for 510, but is capable of 650 peak power.

Also I don't have a 3.5" disk drive and don't see the point and some of the calculation differences could be from my original computer or with the 2 x 500gb 7k500 hitachi HDD's I am adding.

Thanks sooo much, it has been enlightening and renewed my hope in learning the right answer. I'd still like to hear any thoughts on which way I should go. Keep in mind it is an expensive system (as many have pointed out), but also its an investment I want to protect and feel calm about it running safe. I do run my games like Half life 2 all out with every graphical setting maxed out and with rendering and content creation my cards and possibly CPU may run hotter.

Thanks. Shawn

 

[Tiamat]

Unforunately, you overpaid for your computer. But, if you are happy, then thats ok. Just remember to build your own system for your next computer in 2-3 years so you pay $2000 rather than $6200. There are many here that will help you get through the steps on how to build your own system.

In any case, for your setup, alienware should have tested the system out. I hope they are not charging you shipping fees for returning your box to them and stuff like that. In addition, I would say that 500 Watt power supply is cutting it close if you run at peak performance levels a lot.

Seasonic S12 600 is a great power supply and may actually be enough to grant you piece of mind. It is very efficient and last I looked, only costed $165. I don't know if alienware allows you to add in your own power supply and stay within warranty.

If you want to be able to use your computer to its fullest potential, I strongly suggest you read a bit and learn about how the stuff works. Nothing is worse than having a kick ass system but being tossed around like a rag doll because you don't know a thing about it.

Good luck and I hope the new power supply will be the fix.

P.S. I would call and complain to alienware about how they sold you a system that doesn't work. They shouldnt' allow you to customize a computer in such a way that when you get it home, you cant use it. Maybe you will get a complimentary 600 Watt psu outta it

 

[CreativeTom]

Wow what a total waste of money

 

[Jeff7181]

Buy an 850 watt PC P&C power supply, and I'll take your existing one off your hands for $50.

 

[Plifzig]

Eerily similar PC setups...

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1838341,00.asp

 

[shawn61174]

Funny, how that is my exact computer...minus that 850W PSU and the it does have the drives I am having shipped the 7k500 500gb drives and this computer...just components is $5300, how on earth are some people saying I should've paid $2000 for this. I can understand if you're the type of person that only wants to spend $2000 on a system, but given that alienware is a builders, is making a profit, but does guarantee it, ship it, configure it, test, warrantied for three years, has software on there, I have the Dark Side PC Star Wars case (which looks awesome), the desktop theme and some other CD's and things well...its a lot of money, but some people spend $10000 on these boutique PC's from Voodoo or Falcon or ALX etc. I know most of the people here are builders, but I have had a computer put together from a shop for me once and when it crapped out I was left with the bill. Right now for example its nice that since this Mobo is bad its being replaced and a tech with the thermal gel and all that will work on it immediately.

I am still not sure what to do. I might call Alienware about the PSU. Is there a test or software program anyone knows of where you can stress your system to see what the max load of power draw would be? Where I could get an exact number from my specific configuration?

Thanks guys!

 

[NuroMancer]

Originally posted by: Coolin
The PC Power and Cooling 510 should be more than enough. It was most likely a problem with the motherboard, not the power supply.

Let's take Psychocow's estimates and analyze them.


110W for the CPU <-- AMD's "maximum" numbers are very conservative. The CPU will need hit 110W in any real world conditions. I would peg the CPU at ~80W under max load.
250W for the video cards <-- The 7800GTX use less power than the 6800 Ultras. This number is utter BS. I would peg max load at about 100W less than that.
40W for the RAM
90W for the two 15k rpm drives <-- The Raptors will use about 15W each while reading and writing. This number is totally overblown. Hard drives use the most power while just starting up, but the PC Power and Cooling has a 600something watt max load, so it should handle the drives starting up just fine.
26W for the two upcoming SATA drives
25W for the DVDRW
5W for the floppy <-- How often will you use the floppy?


Taking all that into account, your PSU is just fine. PC Power and Cooling makes some of the best PSUs on the market. Your 510W is a sustained power rating. It can handle significantly more than that under sudden "peaks". That website calculating PSU is based upon maximum power, no matter how unachievable it is in real world situations.

You've already used $6300 on your computer, don't spend another $500 on a power supply you don't need.

Just a fyi, this site, if you read it or bothered to take any time at all says that if one retail card watts higer, then they use the highest one.

For example a BFG OC 7800GTX uses more power then a stock EVGA 7800gtx.
They take the one that requires more. Oh and as someone posted, the anandtech results show ~100watts per card. That means 200 on stock cards, so 50 watts less not 100.

As for the CPU, the single cores averaged around 89 watts according to amd, even if we went with you line if thinking, and say that they only use 72% of that under load. That Says that they are using 64watts, now if we double that, we hit 129.45. Now we also know that the dual core arch. does not take "double" the power but I think it is safe to assume that the 110watt number is a more likely representation of what it uses under load not 80.

 

[NuroMancer]

Originally posted by: shawn61174
Funny, how that is my exact computer...minus that 850W PSU and the it does have the drives I am having shipped the 7k500 500gb drives and this computer...just components is $5300, how on earth are some people saying I should've paid $2000 for this. I can understand if you're the type of person that only wants to spend $2000 on a system, but given that alienware is a builders, is making a profit, but does guarantee it, ship it, configure it, test, warrantied for three years, has software on there, I have the Dark Side PC Star Wars case (which looks awesome), the desktop theme and some other CD's and things well...its a lot of money, but some people spend $10000 on these boutique PC's from Voodoo or Falcon or ALX etc. I know most of the people here are builders, but I have had a computer put together from a shop for me once and when it crapped out I was left with the bill. Right now for example its nice that since this Mobo is bad its being replaced and a tech with the thermal gel and all that will work on it immediately.

I am still not sure what to do. I might call Alienware about the PSU. Is there a test or software program anyone knows of where you can stress your system to see what the max load of power draw would be? Where I could get an exact number from my specific configuration?

Thanks guys!

If I was you I'd put it all back together, and run I belive it's called Prime95. Anyone? is that the right name? I know it's Prime. Anyway, I think that the psu probally can handle your system, I would put it all back together boot it, and either run Prime or do some heavy duty gaming and see what happends. I'll betcha it runs fine, if it shuts down, then I would go to a local retailer with a return policy and get a PSU with a higher rating but good quality, test it, and return it. If it works great go buy one from alien ware or wherever, NOTE: call them and make sure this does not void your warentee. As for the 2 drives, only time will tell if they push you over the 510watt barrier.

 

[CreativeTom]

Originally posted by: Plifzig
Eerily similar PC setups...

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1838341,00.asp

Give me $5000, and I will build you a machine nicer then that one (and still keep $1000 for myself)....lol

 

[feelingshorter]

Originally posted by: nycdude

Originally posted by: viivo
Eh, let him do it. GH is full of threads by people who spent all day on Newgg finding parts they'll never buy.

lol

yep

 

[SVT Cobra]

i still call BS...your first and last posts are full of holes.....

 

[Bozo Galora]

First of all, the hatred/flaming here is just normal AT GH operational mode.
They are not envious of your system, but rather the fact you have $6300 to blow on a computer - any computer.
Unfortunately, Alien preys on people who, even tho they are experienced computer USERS, have a limited knowledge of the hardware and how it interacts. It should seem obvious, peeps here who have 12,000 posts are not going to go out and buy a prebuilt, and look down their noses at anyone who does.

Basically, you are asking for help from a hostile audience.

An Alienware "tech person" who says "maybe the PSU is not enough" makes an outrageous statement from a company that professes to build state-of-the-art systems. But you are in a bad situation where you have a heavy but delicate item that has to be shipped back and forth. I ship stuff all the time, and packages are treated so poorly today, you cant even believe it. At the very least the HSF should have been removed before shipping, but then the enduser would need to know how to put it back on, which most will not.

Shipping damage is a real possibility, but under no condition should you have to pay for a new power suplly (not even an upgrade fee), OR RETURN SHIPPING. Its their baby - let them make it work. And in fact, you still dont know what went wrong - or that its even the mobo that went, since you admittedly do not have the expertise to trouble shoot it. Even if you bought the 850 Watt PSU (and prob void warranty), you still would not know if that would fix the prob. If the system dies again - then what??

This is the contradiction of buying a prebuilt bleeding edge PC. Extremely knowledgeable geeks would be able to work out system defects on their own, but would never buy an Alienware. Those who buy Alienware already put togethers are dead meat after any crash. The higher up the chain you go, the more things can go wrong. This isnt a $500 e-machine.

You are in a very unhappy predicament, for sure.

Heres the Nvidia approved PSU for SLI:
http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build.html (scroll down to bottom)

Heres a guy who fixed his troubles with an 850 Watter, but remember, we dont know what your difficulty is yet....
http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=130924

 

[jose]

Keep the same psu, they built the system, they should know if the psu is capable enough...

Don't eat any cost, just give them alot of grief if things don't work out...

What brand/model is the 600w ? Some 600w psu are worse than the 510 unit you have.

Personally, the 510 should be enough.

 

[kitkat22]

I would ditto on giving alienware a tough time. Just out of curiousity does installing new hard drives, etc void your warrenty? I didn't catch that earlier.

 

[PsYcHoCoW]

Originally posted by: Coolin
Let's take Psychocow's estimates and analyze them.

They're not my estimates, they're from the website someone posted. And I did make a mistake with the HDs - I had 15k rpm in mind, that's why I picked this drive. As for the rest, blame the website.


As for the problem itself, as some people have stated, it's Alienware that built the computer and tested it. They should not have let it get to you if it's not working right. If it happens more than once, and if it is indeed the power supply that is not beefy enough, they should be changing it for a part that does the job, and I hope to no additional cost to you.

 

[w00t]

everyone needs to stop hating the truth is the 510 is enough for pc cooling.

 

[fishmonger12]

this may of already been said like 40 times, but i'm going to reiterate it because A i'm too lazy to read all the replys and B your decision warrants it:

why the fvck did you get a STAR WARS themed computer?