upgrading my power supply

[flankker]

hi, i got a new graphics card (X1600XT) so im looking at upgrading my power supply.

this is my pc (HP) http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho...76-65422405.html?jumpid=reg_R1002_UKEN

the current power supply is 300W. im looking for a good 500W one in the £40-£60 price range, preferebly from ebuyer.com

i saw this one: http://ebuyer.com/customer/products/ind...cm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=99137

will it be ok? if not can anyone recommend another one for me? thanx.

 

[pkme2]

Here's a great PSU test site. Start here first.
http://jonnyguru.com/psu6.html

 

[Operandi]

The 300 watt PSU is fine, I don't think there is a need to upgrade.

But if you do I would go with this Seasonic.

 

[flankker]

Originally posted by: Operandi
The 300 watt PSU is fine, I don't think there is a need to upgrade.

But if you do I would go with this Seasonic.

Will 300W really be enough?

i have an 19' lcd monitor, the X1600XT, hardrive, DVD writer, and a P4 intel 3.0Ghz and 1 gig of ddr2 ram. if it is enough then i wont bother upgrading then. what do u think?

 

[DaRkLoRd666]

Originally posted by: flankker

Originally posted by: Operandi
The 300 watt PSU is fine, I don't think there is a need to upgrade.

But if you do I would go with this Seasonic.

Will 300W really be enough?

i have an 19' lcd monitor, the X1600XT, hardrive, DVD writer, and a P4 intel 3.0Ghz and 1 gig of ddr2 ram. if it is enough then i wont bother upgrading then.

well since the 19' lcd is not taking power from the psu, u dont count that. the P4 takes 150 watts and the GPU takes 225 (both at full load) and dvd takes 20 watts so you should upgrade your PSU and 500W looks good i havent heard of that company before but dont know many PSU manufacturers

 

[ultflood]

I think the x1600xt requires a 300W PSU?

Check your installed PSU if it says "300W" or "300W Max or Burst." I had a stock PSU that was really 268W but I think it had a burst of 300W.

Make sure that you figure out the compatability of an ATX PSU with your motherboard (and mainly, measure your current PSU to make sure the new one fits). One way to do this is to use HP's online chat to ask a tech rep; another way is to google it; yet another way is to match the old and new PSUs wire for wire. Also more than the wattage, look for a PSU with decent 12V rails...like dual 18amps. I've been reading different things about Antecs - check out Fortron FSP Group on Newegg (or Sparkle, which I think is the same company.

=)

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: flankker

Originally posted by: Operandi
The 300 watt PSU is fine, I don't think there is a need to upgrade.

But if you do I would go with this Seasonic.

Will 300W really be enough?

i have an 19' lcd monitor, the X1600XT, hardrive, DVD writer, and a P4 intel 3.0Ghz and 1 gig of ddr2 ram. if it is enough then i wont bother upgrading then. what do u think?

Yes 300 its enough. SPCR did an excellent test: Power Distribution within Six PCs, where the highest power draw they had came from a 3.8GHZ P4 / 6800GT system. The most it drew was 230 watts under full load which is far more then what your system would ever pull.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: flankker

Originally posted by: Operandi
The 300 watt PSU is fine, I don't think there is a need to upgrade.

But if you do I would go with this Seasonic.

Will 300W really be enough?

i have an 19' lcd monitor, the X1600XT, hardrive, DVD writer, and a P4 intel 3.0Ghz and 1 gig of ddr2 ram. if it is enough then i wont bother upgrading then. what do u think?

Yes 300 its enough. SPCR did an excellent test: Power Distribution within Six PCs, where the highest power draw they had came from a 3.8GHZ P4 / 6800GT system. The most it drew was 230 watts under full load which is far more then what your system would ever pull.

Hopefully his PSU at least 16A on the +12V rail.

 

[flankker]

Yes 300 its enough. SPCR did an excellent test: Power Distribution within Six PCs, where the highest power draw they had came from a 3.8GHZ P4 / 6800GT system. The most it drew was 230 watts under full load which is far more then what your system would ever pull.

i had a look here http://tomshardware.co.uk/2005/10/06/at..._the_x1000_promised_landuk/page14.html and it shows the X1600XT uses 200W under load, so i dont want to take the risk.

so could anyone point in the direction of a good power supply?

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: flankker

Yes 300 its enough. SPCR did an excellent test: Power Distribution within Six PCs, where the highest power draw they had came from a 3.8GHZ P4 / 6800GT system. The most it drew was 230 watts under full load which is far more then what your system would ever pull.

i had a look here http://tomshardware.co.uk/2005/10/06/at..._the_x1000_promised_landuk/page14.html and it shows the X1600XT uses 200W under load, so i dont want to take the risk.

so could anyone point in the direction of a good power supply?

No, that?s the entire system that?s using 200 watts, not just the graphics card.

 

[DaRkLoRd666]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: flankker

Originally posted by: Operandi
The 300 watt PSU is fine, I don't think there is a need to upgrade.

But if you do I would go with this Seasonic.

Will 300W really be enough?

i have an 19' lcd monitor, the X1600XT, hardrive, DVD writer, and a P4 intel 3.0Ghz and 1 gig of ddr2 ram. if it is enough then i wont bother upgrading then. what do u think?

Yes 300 its enough. SPCR did an excellent test: Power Distribution within Six PCs, where the highest power draw they had came from a 3.8GHZ P4 / 6800GT system. The most it drew was 230 watts under full load which is far more then what your system would ever pull.

Hopefully his PSU at least 16A on the +12V rail.

thats what u think


just to add one more quote to it actualy

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: flankker

Yes 300 its enough. SPCR did an excellent test: Power Distribution within Six PCs, where the highest power draw they had came from a 3.8GHZ P4 / 6800GT system. The most it drew was 230 watts under full load which is far more then what your system would ever pull.

i had a look here http://tomshardware.co.uk/2005/10/06/at..._the_x1000_promised_landuk/page14.html and it shows the X1600XT uses 200W under load, so i dont want to take the risk.

so could anyone point in the direction of a good power supply?

200W for the entire system FROM THE WALL. Using a FX-57 a raptor and all the other gubbins of a high end computer.

The PSU will have been supplying 160W or so.

 

[pkme2]

Using that 300W is like playing Russian Roulette with your system. If those advising you to keep the 300W are willing to guarantee if anything goes wrong with your system, they are willing to replace burnt outout components, then go with it.
My friend's computer shop does a bang up business repacing those underpowered PSUs, especially when the owners do upgrades. Majority will recommend a 450W PSU and even more depending on your needs. A better PSU costs less than a major repair. Its your choice and your money.

 

[flankker]

ok, so u guys are saying that i'll be all right with what i got then? ok, thanx for the help, u just saved me from spending unneccesary money. who wants a beer?

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: pkme2
Using that 300W is like playing Russian Roulette with your system. If those advising you to keep the 300W are willing to guarantee if anything goes wrong with your system, they are willing to replace burnt outout components, then go with it.
My friend's computer shop does a bang up business repacing those underpowered PSUs, especially when the owners do upgrades. Majority will recommend a 450W PSU and even more depending on your needs. A better PSU costs less than a major repair. Its your choice and your money.

So you keep saying... did you even read that article I linked to? Quality is far more important then quantity, running a PSU at 25% load isn't going to be any more reliable then running one at 70% load.

I build several machines a year that I am personally responsible for, if something goes wrong I get called. Some of those systems are fairly high-end, defiantly more power hungry then the OP's system; I've never used more then a 380 watts (Seasonic).