how accurate is the psu calculator

[frank84]

building a new system.

i googled psu calculator..
typed in things

and i got 350W


Intel Q6600
some mediocre mobo
2 x SATA HDD
1 x SATA DVD+/- 20x
2 x 2GB DDR2 800
Nvidia 8600gt
2 x 120mm fan

 

[BlueAcolyte]

About right.

 

[frank84]

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
About right.

really?

350W is really going to cut it?

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
About right.

There are NO PSU calculators that are even remotely coorect.

 

[frank84]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
About right.

There are NO PSU calculators that are even remotely coorect.

then what do you suggest?

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
About right.

There are NO PSU calculators that are even remotely coorect.

This.

 

[frank84]

Originally posted by: Quiksilver

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
About right.

There are NO PSU calculators that are even remotely coorect.

This.

??

i dont get it

anyone got an idea how much W i need for new PSU?

 

[HOOfan 1]

I'd say a good quality 350 Watt would probably do you...Dell sells components like yours with a 350 Watt PSU all the time.

However, I personally would buy a 400-450 Watt....still good quality of course.

 

[Mucker]

I'd recommend this: http://www.provantage.com/cors...psu-650tx~7CSMC05F.htm

Plenty of power and the fan will never ramp up with your load requirement. You would probably draw about 450 watts peak if you were lucky and because of that, things will be quiet and cool. About $73 shipped AR. The cost won't be much more than a good quality 500 watter. No brainer IMO.

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: frank84

Originally posted by: Quiksilver

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
About right.

There are NO PSU calculators that are even remotely coorect.

This.

??

i dont get it

anyone got an idea how much W i need for new PSU?

I'd have to say your will draw no more than 300W at most. Now if you were to overclock it things would be different. As far as PSU selection I'd prolly pick up a quality 350/400W PSU to allow for some freedom.

Antec Earthwatts 380W $30 AMIR + Free Shipping

 

[frank84]

thank you all for your comments

i've been looking into Antec Cases that come with Antec PSU
are those good?

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: frank84
thank you all for your comments

i've been looking into Antec Cases that come with Antec PSU
are those good?

Just the ones that come with Earthwatts already which are...

NSK6580 -430W
NSK4480 -380W
NSK3480 -380W
NSK2480 -380W

 

[solog]

Originally posted by: frank84
then what do you suggest?

Instead of googling estimates, google your actual components. You want to enter your product and "TDP".

For example, the Intel Q6600 has a TDP of 105W. That doesn't mean it always or ever uses that much (for cpus, TDP refers to the maximum amount of a particular line. I don't know if the Q6600 is the highest one which would be the one that uses 105W at peak). The 8600GT (run at Nvidia stock settings) has a TDP of 43W.

You can look up your hard drives and they will likely peak at somewhere around 15W. Fans should say right on them how much they use. I'm not sure about the motherboard but I would guess around 30 watts.

 

[solog]

I forgot about the memory but it should be single digit and the 15 watts was per hard drive.

That Earthwatts 380W powersupply linked above is a good deal. I'd say most of Antec's cases are good but looks also matter and that is subjective. The list above is missing a few cases w/ powersupplies like the Sonata III and the Sonata Plus 550 (which uses a Antec NeoPower unit (higher grade)).

 

[Foxery]

Don't forget to leave yourself some breathing room. If you buy "exactly what you need," the unit will have to run near its max capacity, and you'll have no leeway to ever overclock or upgrade the system in any way. Honestly, 430 or 450 is the smallest you should consider for a quad core/gaming rig. 500ish is the sweet spot these days; going higher, you either have some pretty extreme hardware, or you're falling for an advertising gimmick.

Take it from someone who made that mistake. My "perfect" PSU is now maxed out and waiting for me to afford a larger one.

 

[tomoyo]

Originally posted by: Foxery
Don't forget to leave yourself some breathing room. If you buy "exactly what you need," the unit will have to run near its max capacity, and you'll have no leeway to ever overclock or upgrade the system in any way. Honestly, 430 or 450 is the smallest you should consider for a quad core/gaming rig. 500ish is the sweet spot these days; going higher, you either have some pretty extreme hardware, or you're falling for an advertising gimmick.

Take it from someone who made that mistake. My "perfect" PSU is now maxed out and waiting for me to afford a larger one.

Pure guessing there. A 380 can have more than enough headroom for plenty of upgrades on a quad core gaming rig. All depends what exact parts you're dealing with. I have a pretty serious gaming rig and I don't even hit over 200 watts at load.

And all psu calculators should be taken with like 10 grains of salt minimum. Most have no clue what the actual power consumption of products are. Even intel only gives extremely ballpark numbers on their processors. A 65W tdp may really mean 40 watts in reality.

 

[Foxery]

tomoyo: It depends. Overclocking changes things a great deal. AnandTech has posted some charts with CPU reviews showing quad-core CPU consumption going sky high when you boost the speed. 380 will run that system at stock speeds, but overclocking will hit its max capacity.

It's better to have "too large" of a PSU than too small. (Within reason, of course.) "80 Plus" certified ones will have the same efficiency level no matter your CPU frequency. Good PSUs can also stay with you through upgrades/new systems. Spend $10 today to save yourself $100 tomorrow. I wish I had.

 

[tomoyo]

Originally posted by: Foxery
tomoyo: It depends. Overclocking changes things a great deal. AnandTech has posted some charts with CPU reviews showing quad-core CPU consumption going sky high when you boost the speed. 380 will run that system at stock speeds, but overclocking will hit its max capacity.

It's better to have "too large" of a PSU than too small. (Within reason, of course.) "80 Plus" certified ones will have the same efficiency level no matter your CPU frequency. Good PSUs can also stay with you through upgrades/new systems. Spend $10 today to save yourself $100 tomorrow. I wish I had.

Yes it does depend. All depends on what each person's needs are. Overclocking is a major difference maker if you're playing with overvolting and whatnot. But if you're not, most people spend too much for something without a good reason. For the most part getting a VX450 or something similar is all anyone would ever need. I would expect a good 450W could last 2 or 3 upgrade cycles if you're not going crazy with ocing/sli/xfire/etc. And if you only want a decent system without a heavy video card (similar to op's), even a 380 is plenty for a long time. My minisystem has only a 300W psu and it probably has a decent amount of headroom still. Specs are pretty similar to op except for no quad core. It's even oced a bit

 

[frank84]

no OC for me
no gaming for me either (nothing hardcore that is.... no 3D lol)

mostly photoshop, lightroom, and premier pro

that's all

380W sounds great to me
unlesss i have more people saying i need to get 400 or 450

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: frank84
no OC for me
no gaming for me either (nothing hardcore that is.... no 3D lol)

mostly photoshop, lightroom, and premier pro

that's all

380W sounds great to me
unlesss i have more people saying i need to get 400 or 450

Keep in mind that leaving some headroom also gives room for later expansion. Adding a hard drive or upgrading a component (be it video card, CPU, etc) will likely require more power. And how often do you upgrade your PSU compared to other components?

 

[Jessica69]

Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo

Originally posted by: frank84
no OC for me
no gaming for me either (nothing hardcore that is.... no 3D lol)

mostly photoshop, lightroom, and premier pro

that's all

380W sounds great to me
unlesss i have more people saying i need to get 400 or 450

Keep in mind that leaving some headroom also gives room for later expansion. Adding a hard drive or upgrading a component (be it video card, CPU, etc) will likely require more power. And how often do you upgrade your PSU compared to other components?

And that's so true.....the power supply tends to be ignored.

What I can't believe is the number of people saying "Don't buy more than XXXW power supply." I guess running a power supply, to them, so close to its full rated capacity isn't much to think of, but to me, that is a prime consideration in what I purchase.

I much prefer buying one that, with my current config., will top it out at roughly 50% of capacity....which tends to be most power supply's sweet spot for efficiency, lowest ripple and noise production......and puts much less stress on the ps...and creates much less heat than one running at 70% of capacity or more.

I'd buy as big as you can afford.....and then feel good that you bought a better built, quieter and cooler running power supply than buying "Just what you need today."

I say better built because as you move to higher wattage units, the internal componentry tends to be of higher quality, more durable, and will last longer.

 

[PascalT]

Calculators are way off I think. I googled a known one, and it told me i needed 750W for my system when I know it should be around 350W at MOST.

As others said, do not go cheap on your PSU. To me it's the most efficient dollar spent on a system. I've had 2-3 cheap PSUs die on me before and every time it cost me a hard drive and/or a PCI card when it blew up.

I got an OCZ PowerStream after that and my system has been rock solid since. I just got a new OCZ one with more wattage than I need but only because it's worth it to pay for quality.

 

[tomoyo]

Um, based on OP's comments, his psu WILL be at 50-60% capacity at load and far less at idle. We're not talking about a 300W system here folks.